Consultative Resolution Meeting Guidelines

Although academic dishonesty can feel like a personal affront to instructors, it typically is not. There are several common reasons students cheat, including stress, poor time management and fear of failure. Do your best not to take it personally and to truly engage in a conversation with the student. 

1. Ask the student by email to meet with you either in person or via Zoom, WebEx, Skype, etc. (Meetings can be remote but must be face-to-face.) Note: You must contact the student within 10 academic days of discovering the suspected dishonesty.
2. State in your email that you suspect they have committed an act of academic dishonesty and that you’d like to discuss it. Include a link to the academic integrity policy.
3. Offer the student an opportunity to have a department note-taker (this may be faculty or staff, but may not be a teaching assistant) present or to record the meeting. You, as the faculty member, also have the option to have a department note-taker present (same restrictions apply).    

1. Share as clearly as possible what it is you’ve found and why you think the student has violated the academic integrity policy. 
2. Allow the student a chance to respond. Give them some time to process.
3. If the student has questions about the violation, they have a right to know what it is you’ve found, otherwise they can’t respond to it appropriately. 
4. You do not need to inform the student of your decision prior to ending the meeting. State that you will review the case, make a decision, and email them an official letter with your decision and your sanction.
5. Should the case involve a group of students, consider meeting with each student individually. Group meetings can intimidate students from speaking honestly about the violation in front of their peers.

UB’s procedures are based on a standard of “preponderance,” meaning “more likely than not.” Instructors do not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that dishonesty has occurred, just that it is more likely than not. 

Within 10 academic days of the meeting, send a letter (through UB email) to the student that details the charge and the sanction. The letter should also refer them to the academic integrity policy and note their right to appeal. Be sure to review our template sanction letters for guidance.