Early Bird

How to address issues of academic misconduct

MSU Denver’s improved Academic Integrity website offers new information for faculty, students and staff and an easier-to-navigate format.

By Elise Krumholz

September 30, 2020

The Metropolitan State University of Denver Dean of Students Office, along with the Academic Misconduct Advisory Board, has created additional resources for faculty and the campus community to help address and prevent academic-integrity problems in the classroom. As these situations can be difficult and stressful to address, resources include:

• Tips for having difficult conversations about academic integrity
• FAQs for students and for faculty/staff
• Two new videos on how to address cheating and plagiarism

The Academic Misconduct Advisory Board, made up of faculty and Dean of Students Office representatives, started meeting at the beginning of the 2019-20 academic year. The board’s first-year focus included creating resources to help faculty members address academic integrity in the classroom.

MSU Denver’s Academic Integrity website offers new information for faculty, students and staff and an easier-to-navigate format. Please take a look at Faculty FAQs and Student FAQs on the academic-misconduct process. There is also a new visual Overview of the Academic Misconduct Process to help the campus community understand the flow of this process.

In addition, there are several new resources on the Academic Integrity Resources Page for Students, Faculty and Staff. A new video, “Academic Integrity in the Classroom,” provides tips for preparing course materials with academic-integrity info, having a classroom discussion on academic integrity and factors that may contribute to a situation of academic misconduct. The video “Academic Misconduct Process” breaks down the process of referring students to the Dean of Students Office and how to have a one-on-one conversation with a student if an instructor suspects that cheating or plagiarism has occurred.

Here is a quick summary of the academic-misconduct-and-referral process:

• Faculty members determine when a student is responsible for cheating or plagiarism.
• Faculty members refer the student to the Dean of Students Office through the Academic Misconduct Incident Report.
• The Dean of Students Office reaches out to the student to schedule a meeting to discuss the academic-misconduct process, what happened and academic-integrity standards.
• The Dean of Students Office determines with the student and faculty member the best course of action, including resolutions that include referrals to the Writing Center, the Tutoring Center, the Immigrant Services Program, a reflection paper and other options that help the student move forward successfully.

Please contact the Dean of Students Office with any questions, additional information, resources and guidance at 303-615-0220.

Please also refer students to the resources that can support their academic journey and goals. The Academic Misconduct Advisory Board will be working on building resources for students, among other initiatives, this academic year. Stay tuned for more resources.