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Procedure for Academic Offences

Step 1: Notification of Academic Incident
When it is suspected that a student has committed an academic incident, the faculty member will investigate. Within three business days, the faculty will notify the student via their Conestoga email (and through an in-person meeting if desired) that an academic offence is pending investigation. 

Once the email is delivered, the student has three business days from when the faculty sent the initial communication to schedule a time to discuss the academic offence further or respond with a sufficient explanation. 

Step 2:
Option 1: Opportunity for Explanation through Email 
If your faculty member requests that you submit a sufficient explanation by email, you have three business days to respond. In your email, provide a clear and chronological explanation. You can provide supporting documentation to help support your case. 
 

Option 2: Opportunity for Discussion 
Before the initial discussion with your faculty, you can schedule a meeting with the Academic Integrity Office to familiarize yourself with academic policies and procedures. 

In the meeting with your faulty, there will be questions asked related to the issue of concern. This meeting is the opportunity to provide evidence and explain any missing information. 

Once the initial discussion has been completed, or once the three business days have expired, the instructor has three business days to file an offence using the employee portal.

Step 3: Decision Outcome 
 A decision is made using the standard of proof known as balance of probabilities (more likely than not). There are two outcomes: 

  • No academic offence occurred; or 
  • An academic offence occurred 

If an academic offence occurs, an outcome for the offence is determined based on its severity and previous offence on record. There are two types of written outcomes:

  • Warning 
  • Offence 

Once an outcome has been decided, the student is notified via automatic email to their Conestoga email.

If a student receives a warning, they must complete a learning module and provide proof of competition of the module to their faculty.

If a student receives an offence, they will also need to complete a learning module and also receive an academic penalty for the offence.  

The student will need to provide proof of completion of the learning module(s) to their faculty.

Student Rights

Students have the right to clear and open communication throughout the process of offence investigations. Students also have the right to appeal a warning/offence or penalty given by a faulty. Students can use the interactive academic appeal walkthrough on the Conestoga Students Inc. website to find out what their next steps in the appeal process would be. 

Review the Student Rights and Responsibilities Procedure and associated Policies and the Guide to Appealing an Academic Integrity Violation for details on this process. If you would like to request a CSI Representative attend a meeting to ensure the process is correctly followed and/or take notes, you can submit a request form on the Conestoga Student Inc. website.