Faculty Resources

To make a report online, go to honorcode.byu.edu and click “Make a Report.” You will be asked to provide the student’s name, a description of the incident or behavior, and any supporting documentation. You can also call the Honor Code Office at 801-422-2847 to speak to an administrator or visit the office in person in WSC 4450 to make a report.

The university’s Academic Honesty Policy and the Honor Code Office recognize faculty expertise and autonomy. Faculty determine if a student has engaged in academic dishonesty, as well as the appropriate impact academic dishonesty will have on a student’s grade or eligibility to remain in their course. “In a case where academic dishonesty is determined to have occurred, the instructor must notify the Honor Code Office of the incident as a means of encouraging behavior change and discouraging repeat violations.” (Academic Honesty Policy)

Step 1: Determine whether an act of academic dishonesty has occurred. 

When you believe that academic dishonesty has occurred, gather the relevant information that informs your decision. Then, invite the student to meet with you. Present the information and your concerns, so that the student has the opportunity to understand and respond. Listen to the student’s response and consider the student’s explanation in relation to the information you have compiled. Some students may not take advantage of the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the incident. That is okay, and you don’t need to wait indefinitely before moving forward.

Although most students will agree that they have violated the Academic Honesty Policy, some may not. In making determinations of academic dishonesty, universities use a standard of a “preponderance of the information." This means that the behavior is more likely than not to have occurred. Some professors are hesitant to hold a student responsible for a behavior they do not openly admit to because the student provides an explanation that is “possible.” For example, two students live together, take an online 40-question exam at the same time, and answer the same questions correctly and incorrectly. No other students in the class had identical tests. You present this information and the students respond that they didn’t collaborate. They report that since they studied together, they chose the same answers. While this is possible, the statistical improbability of this happening is so small that you should feel comfortable determining that these students violated the Academic Honesty Policy by working together on the exam.

Step 2: Determine the appropriate outcome 

Things to consider when making the decision on the appropriate grade impact

1. The consequences that have already been communicated through the syllabus or classroom instruction regarding acts of academic dishonesty. Be sure to follow through on whatever you have published, so that actions and consequences are reinforced.
   
2. The type of assignment – Did the cheating take place on a weekly assignment, or did it take place on a semester project or exam?
   
3. Fairness to the others in class. Some students comprehended the content and earned an A. Others struggled and earned a D. The student who violated the Academic Honesty Policy would have received a D, but instead earned a B. Would the academic penalty and any opportunity to retake/resubmit the assignment feel like a fair decision for other students that didn’t cheat and earned a D?
   
4. The maturity of the student. Is this a first-year student taking a 100-level GE course, so their understanding of academic dishonesty and disciplinary standards and expectations is limited, or is this a senior capstone class that is meant to demonstrate a student’s full learning and culmination of all of their coursework?

Communicate your decision to the student. Be direct and compassionate. Although you may feel disappointed or angry, strive to avoid interpreting the student’s behavior as a personal affront. We want students to feel supported as they experience the natural consequences of their actions.

Step 3: Refer the case to the Honor Code Office

Per the Academic Honesty Policy, “In a case where academic dishonesty is determined to have occurred, the instructor must notify the Honor Code Office of the incident as a means of encouraging behavior change and discouraging repeat violations." The HCO is tasked with maintaining a record of all academic honesty violations. If a student has engaged in academic dishonesty in your class, it is possible that they are exhibiting similar behavior in other classes. The Honor Code Office is able to track academic violations across classes and semesters and work with students to address and correct their behavior.

To make a report online, go to honorcode.byu.edu and click “Make a Report.” You will be asked to provide the student’s name, a description of the incident or behavior, and any supporting documentation. You can also call the Honor Code Office at 801-422-2847 to speak to an administrator or visit the office in person in WSC 4450 to make a report.

The case will be assigned to an Honor Code Administrator. If you haven’t already spoken to an Honor Code Administrator regarding the allegation, they will contact you by phone or email to make sure they understand the situation. Honor Code Administrators do not make judgements about whether academic dishonesty has occurred. They do not second-guess your determination or seek to influence the consequences to students for academic dishonesty in your class. The administrator will then meet with the reported student. The purpose of that meeting is to:

1. Document the behavior that occurred and discuss with the student their understanding of how it was addressed.
2. Explain and clarify university policies, including the Academic Honesty Policy and the Information and Records Retention Policy. If the student feels that they did not have the opportunity to be made aware of the allegation of academic misconduct and provided an opportunity to respond, or if the student disagrees with the faculty’s decision and wants to appeal, the student is referred back to the faculty member or department chair per the Student Academic Grievance policy
3. Understand the context surrounding the behavior and implement an action plan to address the behavior, if necessary.

After the Honor Code Administrator’s meeting with the student, the majority of academic dishonesty cases are closed and the student remains fully enrolled at the university. Further action may be taken if the student’s behavior is patterned or egregious. Examples of singular egregious behavior includes, but is not limited to paying someone else to complete coursework, uploading exams and projects to the internet which then facilitates the cheating of others, hacking into classroom management systems, and complex pre-meditated plans to deceive.

The legal system generally recognizes faculty expertise and autonomy. It is important, however, that you are fair and consistent in how you grade work and interact with students. There may be concern if your responses to academic dishonesty show a discriminatory and/or inconsistent pattern. Familiarize yourself with the university’s policies and be sure to follow them. Note that students have the right to be given notice of allegations of academic dishonesty and to have the opportunity to respond to those allegations, and the HCO is tasked with maintaining a record of all reports of academic misconduct.

Yes. You can enter a W-E grade on the withdrawal form, which means the student was failing at the time of the withdrawal. Please contact the Registrar to make this designation. The HCO will also maintain a record of the academic misconduct and will address the behavior.

As a campus community we are instructed to “encourage others in their commitment to comply with the Honor Code.” We recommend that you let your students know at the beginning of the semester and in your syllabus your expectations for them to follow all aspects of the Honor Code, including Dress and Grooming Standards while in your class. It may be appropriate to remind them of that commitment throughout the semester.

While you are expected to report violations of the Academic Honesty Policy to the Honor Code Office, you do not have the same reporting obligation to report other Honor Code violations. Please discuss with your colleagues how you intend to address Dress and Grooming Standards in your class, so that students experience consistency across the department and/or college. The Honor Code Office staff regularly facilitates conversations with faculty, departments and colleges, and is happy to provide insights into strategies you may find useful.

Additionally, as you communicate expectations around Dress and Grooming standards or other Honor Code principles, and you find that a student is not changing their behavior, you are welcome to make a report to the Honor Code Office.

To make a report online, go to honorcode.byu.edu and click “Make a Report.” There you will provide the student’s name, a description of the incident or behavior, and any supporting documentation. As with any aspect of the Honor Code, we recommend you strive for consistency and keep in mind the ways that gender, race, and other variables may shape your responses and/or evaluation of dress and grooming standard violations. You can also call the Honor Code Office at 801-422-2847 to speak to an administrator or visit the office in person in WSC 4450.

If faculty believe their content has been posted to a 3^rd party site, they can reach out to the Honor Code Office for guidance. Each website has its own process for removing content, as well as differing levels of interest in addressing the issues related to students uploading copyrighted or graded content. Some of these sites, like Chegg, require the Honor Code Office to send a letter to remove content. Other websites require the faculty member to reach out. If you come across content for your class online and aren’t sure how to have it removed, please reach out to the Honor Code Office at hco@byu.edu or 801.422.2847 for assistance. Here is a list of websites we often see proprietary course materials: chegg, coursehero, studocu, and quizlet.