GTA Coordinator
Rachel Durso
Office: 202A Townshend
Phone: 614.292.3124
E-Mail: durso.6
Emergency Phone: 614.599.2267
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Academic Misconduct
Dear Sociology Instructors,
Many of you already know this but I want to remind you of the policies and procedures involved in suspected cases of academic misconduct. If you want to take an incident of suspected plagiarism before the committee, you will need to do the following:
- When a student is suspected of academic misconduct, you should make every effort to inform the student of the allegation. The presence of a colleague at this meeting is recommended. Please keep this meeting brief – all you need to say is that you suspect that they violated the code of student conduct and that you are turning your suspicions over to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. You should not interrogate the student. However, if they admit to something you can put it in your report to the committee.
- The instructor should prepare a typed written report on departmental letterhead on the alleged academic misconduct. You must support the letter with the student’s original paper and a copy of all source material you believed the student used. Highlight the material in some ways so that the panel can pick it out easily. Also include a copy of the course syllabus.
- The instructor of record for the course, if different from the person observing the alleged misconduct, must provide a letter acknowledging that charges are being brought forward. You also need to include a cover letter from the department chair indicating that he is aware that you are sending this to the committee.
- The report should be sent to the Coordinator of the Committee on Academic Misconduct, 33 W. 11th Avenue, Room 107. If possible, the report should be hand-carried and marked "Confidential."
- Students suspected of academic misconduct should be allowed to continue in the course without prejudice, pending action by the committee. If the course ends before the committee has acted, you should assign the student an incomplete for the course. The alternate grade for the class should be the grade you would have given them if the violation of student conduct had never taken place. In other words, you will need to grade the student's paper as if there is no plagiarism, and assign them a paper grade accordingly.
- The Committee on Academic Misconduct has a web page devoted to issues of academic misconduct - http://oaa.osu.edu/coam/home.html. The Frequently Asked Questions page details the definition of academic misconduct and the procedures for dealing with it. There is also a section on steps that instructors can take to prevent academic misconduct.
I hope this provides general clarification for you. Please feel free to contact Dr. Curry or myself if you have further questions.
Sincerely,
GTA Coordinator
