A. Academic Integrity-Academic Response

Valdosta State University policy is that a violation of Appendix A, Section I Academic Integrity Violation may and should be handled by the course instructor, the student, and possibly the department head or academic dean concerned with the offense. Penalties for an academic integrity violation should be outlined in the course syllabus.

Any faculty member who has documentation and/or suspects that academic dishonesty has occurred shall (1) gather all pertinent information, and (2) meet with the student or students involved, and (3) inform the student or students of the academic response to an alleged violation of academic integrity, and (4) a faculty member should create a Report of Academic Dishonesty (RAD) to document the resolution of the matter. The faculty member should notify his/her department head and/or dean of these decisions and should submit a Report of Academic Dishonesty (RAD) along with all supporting documentation to the Student Conduct Office. An online Academic Integrity Reporting form can also be found at: https://publicdocs.maxient.com/reportingform.php?ValdostaStateUniv&layout_id=1.

The most severe action that may be administered by any faculty member is a grade of "F" in that particular course. This is an academic response and not a disciplinary recommendation. A student who wishes to appeal an academic response to an alleged violation of academic integrity should follow the grade appeal process (Form available at the Registrar’s site under “Forms” http://www.valdosta.edu/academics/registrar/forms/). Students should remember that they may not exercise the right to withdraw from a class to avoid academic dishonesty penalties.

B. Academic Integrity-Disciplinary Response

To initiate the disciplinary response process for an academic integrity violation, a faculty member should first submit a Report of Academic Dishonesty (RAD), http://www.valdosta.edu/academics/academic-affairs/vp-office/forms/academicdishonesty.pdf, along with all supporting documentation and an online report of Academic Integrity to the Student Conduct Office https://publicdocs.maxient.com/reportingform.php?ValdostaStateUniv&layout_id=1.

 This report shall be made part of the student's disciplinary record and shall remain on file with the Student Conduct Office in accordance with Board of Regents record retention policy. A student's file on academic dishonesty is not intended nor designed to allow access by faculty members seeking historical information concerning a particular student. The purpose of the file is for the Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Office to determine if multiple incidents of academic dishonesty have occurred during a student's academic career at Valdosta State University. If a student is found to have cheated/plagiarized and withdraws from the course prior to the awarding of a grade, the Report of Academic Dishonesty will still be placed on file in the Student Conduct Office. 


After a second (or subsequent) Report of Academic Dishonesty has been submitted to the Student Conduct Office, official charges will be drawn and the disciplinary matter may be referred to the Valdosta State University Conduct Committee. The Valdosta State University Conduct Committee will utilize the disciplinary procedures outlined in Appendix B, Sections II.-V. of the Student Code of Conduct for adjudication. The most severe sanctions such as expulsion or suspension should only result from a Valdosta State University Disciplinary Committee hearing and can be appealed via Appendix B, Section V of the Student Code of Conduct.

Faculty members may request that a particularly serious violation of the Academic Integrity Policy (buying or selling papers, stealing an exam, taking an exam for another student, significant plagiarism at the graduate level, etc.) be referred directly to the Valdosta State University Conduct Committee. The Assistant Dean of Students and the academic dean of the student's major will consult concerning the referral of a particularly serious first offense to the Valdosta State University Conduct Committee.

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