作弊被抓后的后果

Having worked as a senior administrator within U.S. universities, I have had the opportunity to see what actually may happen when a student violates a school’s academic integrity policy. There are multiple things that can happen, and it depends not only on the faculty but also on the school’s Code of Conduct.  There are two ways in which these violations can be managed: the  faculty member manages the situation without bringing in other school officials or the faculty reports the situation to a school Judicial or Conduct office.  

Definition of Academic Dishonesty/Violation of Academic Integrity

Most broadly defined, academic misconduct violates this expectation: “It is expected that all homework assignments, projects, lab reports, papers, theses, and examinations and any other work submitted for academic credit will be the student’s own.“ This is taken from Harvard College’s Student Handbook, in their section on Academic Integrity and Dishonesty.  While schools will vary in how they identify and penalize students for violations,  the core remains the same; at Shoreline Community College: “Any act of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication.”

Faculty Manages on Own

Schools vary in how violations of academic integrity are managed but the faculty member (or her/his teaching assistant) will be the first to notice potential violations.  Some schools fully require faculty to report violations directly to another administrative body (e.g., Student Judicial Affairs Office) whereas others may allow faculty to take disciplinary actions on their own.  Even when schools ‘require’ faculty to report violations to another administrative body, some will still choose to manage the situation on their own for whatever personal reasons they have.  

In such cases, the faculty will typically write to the student with allegations, citing specific areas of concern. The student is then given the opportunity to respond to the faculty directly about their potential violations.

Faculty Reports to Others

Most schools in the U.S. have an office that specifically handles violations of student conduct.  This alleviates faculty of the burden of managing such non-teaching matters, ensures that the process is fair for all students, and ‘repeat offenders’ are sanctioned more heavily and appropriately.   External offices that manage academic integrity violations could be a Judicial Affairs Office, Student Conduct Office, Student Affairs Office or others of similar names.  These offices are typically overseen by school student affairs professionals (not teaching faculty) who then investigate the claims, review the student’s response, and potentially conduct/oversee a ‘hearing’ process.  It is important to note that while students may have to appear at a ‘hearing’ to explain their actions, these are not legal cases and lawyers are not part of the process.  Schools will vary on who might be present at the hearing to support the student; this support person is typically not allowed to speak but rather, is there to offer emotional support during the stressful process.  

How a Student Manages the Situation

Having been in the role of an administrator who attends hearings to support the accused student, the worst mistake a student can make is to not take ownership of their actions.  First, if a student has progressed to a hearing, the likelihood of people on the committee having heard every falsehood is high.  So a student should not go into the hearing continuing to hold onto any falsehoods, thinking they are smarter than the committee. Second, it is important for students to explain in detail what they did wrong, rather than blame others. For example, saying “I did not understand I should not copy materials because the school did not teach me,” is not an appropriate response because students are expected to review school policies and procedures, even if not explicitly taught by the school. Third, students should show understanding of what they did wrong, why it was wrong, and how they plan to ‘do better’ in the future.  

Committees will vary in how they sanction a student. They may consider previous offenses the student has committed, the year of the student (for example, I once saw a freshman receive no sanction for a case that would most certainly have led to a suspension for a senior who should “know better”), intent (did the student really plan to cheat, or did the really misunderstand — though misunderstanding does not absolve the student), and the severity of the transgression. Sanctions could range from failing an assignment, to failing a course, to a suspension…and finally an expulsion for repeated offenses.  In short, regardless of if the student intended to cheat or mistakenly violated academic integrity: honestly show contrition and understanding of what needs to be done to avoid this in the future.