Should I Report?

Per the Academic Senate Resolution 722-10, instructors who are confident (or suspect) that cheating/plagiarism has occurred must report this incident to OSRR. The Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities will determine when a meeting with the student is appropriate based on AS-722-10, as well as determine what outcomes are warranted outside of the classroom. Regardless of the incident details, OSRR will maintain a record of the report to establish a broader pattern of behavior, meaning an instructor should report irrespective of their confidence level. The instructor of record maintains the ultimate authority when deciding what grade is issued to the student.

Students who have received a grade reduction as a result of academic dishonesty are NOT eligible to receive CR/NC, or to withdrawal from the course in which the grade has been impacted. All CR/NC will revert to the letter grade issued by the instructor for the course.

In addition, students are ineligible to retake the class again for grade forgiveness if the grade has been impacted by academic dishonesty.

More information about an instructor's steps to report incidents can be found on this page.

Memorandum template for notifying student of academic dishonesty

Philosophy

We know that students are going to cheat. This is the inevitable truth of being in higher education. What we also know is that students are less likely to cheat if they believe that there are real consequences to their actions. There indeed are real consequences to committing academic dishonesty including receiving a grade reduction from the instructor as well as potentially having to attend an academic values seminar and/or receive administrative outcomes, such as disciplinary probation. For repeated or egregious incidents, students may be subject for suspension or expulsion.

No Additional Action from OSRR

Just because you report an act of academic dishonesty does not mean that the Office Student Rights & Responsibilities is going to take additional punitive action against the student. We understand that each circumstance surrounding academic dishonesty is unique, and we will defer to the expertise of the reporting instructor as well as the possess as outlined in AS-722-10. In cases where OSRR does not take additional punitive action, we require the information for records-keeping purposes. 

Collaboration

We want to collaborate with instructors on these sensitive issues. We want to receive feedback on what works well within our process and what does not. We are very open, and we will defer to the instructor's expertise in the area, if desired, or we will take the case up on our own, if desired. Ultimately, the goal of reporting, transparency, and collaboration is to create a culture of integrity within our Cal Poly students.