Academic Integrity Claim Submission and Committee Review Process

The following is the typical process for review of an academic integrity case in the College of Engineering. 

  • The instructor believes they have evidence that an academic integrity violation has occurred. 
  • The student is notified of the allegation. This may initially be through direct communication with the instructor (email, or in person) or via the email generated through the University Academic Integrity Portal.  There are other implications, such as the student not being able to late drop or withdraw the course if there is an active claim, so the claim may be filed right away or if there is no response from the student. These are important outcomes to be aware of throughout this process.
    • If a student receives an academic sanction, they cannot drop or withdraw from the course at any time—any such action will be reversed. If the student drops the course after being informed of the allegation but before the process begins, they will be re-enrolled, and the process will continue.
    • Grade forgiveness cannot be applied to a course in which a student was found responsible for an academic integrity violation.
  • Once the claim is filed, the student has 5 business days to respond.
    • The student can either accept or contest the claim as well as the proposed sanction.  If no action is taken by the student, the claim will be automatically accepted.
      • If the student contests, they will have the opportunity to provide their response and evidence towards the claim in the University Academic Integrity Portal.  The instructor is then given the opportunity to provide additional detail to support the claim, and the student will then have a final opportunity to respond.  Both the student and the faculty member have access to any information provided in the process. The case then goes on to the College Academic Integrity Committee which meets in a closed session and consists of a faculty member chair, another faculty member, at least one student, and a non-voting facilitator for review. It is not the committee’s job to investigate. If the committee believes they have a clear indication of both sides of the situation from the documentation provided, they will proceed with the review and decision based only on the written statements and documentation.
        • The committee must make a determination based on the information provided to them in the University Academic Integrity Portal. The decision of the committee is final.
          • If the committee does not find the student responsible for the violation, the claim is withdrawn and the student and faculty member are notified of the outcome. The sanction will not be applied in this case and there is no permanent record of the claim.
          • If the committee finds the student responsible for the violation, and it is the student’s first violation, the student and faculty member are notified, and the sanction will be applied. The case is also filed with the Office of Student Accountability and Conduct Response (OSACR).
      • If the student accepts or doesn’t respond to the claim, and it is the student’s first violation, the student and faculty member are notified, and the sanction will be applied. The case is also filed with the Office of Student Accountability and Conduct Response.
    • If the student has a prior violation, the case goes on to a co-Chair review in the College of Engineering and additional sanctions/disciplinary outcomes (such as completing an AI module or being put on warning, probation, suspension, or dismissal from the program) will be recommended, depending on the severity of the past and current violation(s), before being filed with OSACR.

Additional Penn State academic integrity resources including Frequently Asked Questions can be found at integrity.psu.edu/academic-integrity.

For more information about academic integrity in the College of Engineering, contact the Office of Academic Support at academic-integrity@engr.psu.edu or 814-865-6674.