Procedural Summary for Academic Integrity Violations
The procedures outlined below summarize the basic steps taken in cases of academic integrity violations by graduate students. Please note that the university’s full policy and related procedures should be read on the Provost website.
1. The professor of the course completes the academic integrity violation form and supplies supporting documentation to report the incident to the Graduate Dean's Office.
2. The Dean of Graduate Studies reviews the violation and shares the report of the alleged violation with the Department Chair and the Graduate Program Director.
3. If the grade in the course has brought the student’s overall GPA to below a 3.0, then the student will be placed on academic probation. The academic integrity violation and academic probation will be dealt with as separate matters.
4. When the Graduate Dean’s office receives the report of a violation from the department, the Dean issues a letter to the student informing him/her of the alleged academic integrity violation and confirms whether it is a Class I or Class II violation. In the letter, the student is given two options: 1) to accept responsibility for the violation or 2) to appeal. Copies of the letter are also sent to: the faculty member; the faculty member’s chair; the faculty member’s program director (if different); and the chair of the board of academic integrity.
5. The student receives this letter from the Dean and must either return it with a signature admitting responsibility within 5 business days, or notify the Graduate Dean that they plan to appeal. An appeal goes directly from the student to the University’s Academic Integrity Officer.
6. If the Dean’s office receives the signed copy of the letter (i.e. the student accepts responsibility) or if the student does not reply within 5 business days, responsibility is assumed, and the Dean will send the student a letter specifying the steps to be followed, which typically are:
a) The student should visit the Academic Integrity Gateway in order to read the policies there and complete a quiz.
b) The student will submit a letter of apology by email (copying GSDean@villanova.edu) to the faculty member.
c) The student will submit a letter of apology by email (copying GSDean@villanova.edu) to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
The Dean will send copies of the student's letter to all of the parties indicated above.
If the student admits the violation, but wishes to appeal the severity of the grade penalty, then the grade appeal procedure should be followed within the department.