The University of Oregon changed an important rule for academic misconduct cases. There’s no longer a “faculty resolved” option: Oregon’s Student Conduct Code now requires that any academic misconduct concern that could result in a grade penalty be decided by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, known as SCCS. Oregon’s teaching center explains that the change was made so that the protections and rights built into the formal student conduct process apply to students facing a possible grade penalty.
Oregon’s Student Conduct Code and its procedures are revised from time to time, and the version in effect when a case arises applies. This summary follows the current Code and SCCS’s published materials.
How an Oregon Case Starts
Oregon’s Code requires faculty and other university officials to file a written report of any academic misconduct with SCCS, regardless of how the matter is resolved. Faculty can still resolve concerns informally, but if a grade penalty may result, the case goes to SCCS. While SCCS’s process is underway, Oregon’s guidance tells instructors to enter a grade as if the work were the student’s own.
Cases can come from many sources, including online exams, as covered in accused of cheating on an online exam?, and shared work, discussed in accused of sharing assignments.
The Administrative Conference
A student can request an administrative conference to have the case decided. Oregon’s Code notes that a student who agrees to resolve violations without an administrative conference may waive the right to appeal. Under SCCS’s procedures, cases that could lead to suspension, expulsion, or a negative transcript notation generally require an administrative conference.
Two Separate Appeals
Oregon separates the conduct finding from the grade. A student can appeal an administrative conference decision to the designated University Appellate Body within a short window. Oregon’s Code also allows the faculty member who reported the case, or the instructor of record, to appeal an academic misconduct finding, though SCCS’s faculty guide notes that faculty can’t appeal the student’s action plan.
The academic sanction, meaning the grade consequence, is appealed separately. Oregon’s materials state that the academic sanction can’t be appealed through the conduct appeal process; instead, the student appeals it to the designated university official in the department, college, or school where the sanction originated. For more on how appeals work generally, see appealing an academic misconduct decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a University of Oregon professor give a grade penalty for cheating without SCCS?
No. Oregon’s Code now requires that academic misconduct concerns that could result in a grade penalty be decided by SCCS.
What is an administrative conference at the University of Oregon?
A meeting through which SCCS decides an academic misconduct case. A student who resolves a case without one may waive the right to appeal.
Can my professor appeal a University of Oregon conduct decision?
Yes. Oregon’s Code allows the reporting faculty member or instructor of record to appeal an academic misconduct finding.
How do I appeal a grade penalty for academic misconduct at Oregon?
Through the designated university official in the department, college, or school where the sanction originated, not through the conduct appeal process.
Getting Help With a University of Oregon Case
Richard Asselta, a student defense attorney who advises students in university academic integrity processes nationwide, helps Oregon students decide whether to request an administrative conference, prepare for it, organize their evidence, and handle both the conduct appeal and any separate academic sanction appeal. Call 855-338-5299 or learn more about Richard Asselta.