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If you suspect that a student has committed academic misconduct, as defined by the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Part IV, B (on file in the Undergraduate Office), you should take the following steps:
The student then has the right to appeal the sanction you have imposed. To do so, the student must notify the Office of Student Ethics within seven calendar days. Thus, both faculty and students must deal with the matter expeditiously. The Dean of Students then meets with the student and explains the rationale of the appeal to the instructor. If all parties wish to continue, a hearing of the Academic Fairness Committee is convened. Three outcomes are possible:
All grade changes must be initiated by the instructor (or by the chair in the absence of the instructor). The chair must approve requests for grade changes. The College can then approve or deny the request.
Grade changes are readily granted in case of instructor error. However, the College will not allow a grade change for submission of extra work after the course has ended (removal of an incomplete does not count as a grade change). This is a useful policy to pass along when students ask if they can complete additional work to get their grade changed! In addition, no grade (F or otherwise) may be changed to a W if the student has completed the work in the course (taken the final exam, handed in the final project, etc.). Granting a grade of a W is appropriate only if documented circumstances beyond the student's control make it impossible for the student to finish the course. Similarly, a grade of Incomplete (I) should only be given in extraordinary, documented circumstances, and only if the student has completed, with a passing grade, the work in the course prior to the unusual circumstances.
The department must keep record of its courses each semester. If you have not posted your syllabus and your exams on your course website, please send a copy of these to the Undergraduate Office by the end of the semester. In addition, the College has recommended that the department keep a copy of the grading records in each course. Please send a complete grade spreadsheet to the Undergraduate Office at the end of the semester. Spreadsheets should be emailed to the undergraduate main email address chemound@indiana.edu.
If the faculty member concludes that the student did commit the act of misconduct as alleged, the faculty member is authorized to impose an appropriate academic sanction related to the particular course involved.
1. An appropriate academic sanction for each misconduct may include, but is not limited to, any one or a combination of the following:
2. The penalty for a serious act of misconduct should ordinarily involve the recording of a failing grade for the course.
3. An incomplete may be given in the course in the event that the matter cannot be resolved before final grades are due in the Office of the Registrar.
4. If the penalty includes a failing grade for the course, the Registrar will be notified that the grade was given because of academic misconduct. The Registrar will record the grade "F" on the student's permanent academic transcript without any notation concerning the reason of the grade. The Registrar must, however, follow procedures to ensure that the grade of the "F" will not thereafter be removed from the transcript in accordance with other academic policies or procedures such as "F/X" policy. A grade of "F" given because of academic misconduct must be calculated in a determination of the student's grade point average, but the grade will not prevent the student from repeating the same course for credit.
If a student should ask to receive an Incomplete for your course, please follow the steps below:
1. Please evaluate the student's work to determine if the following criteria set by the University are met. University policy as described in the COAS Bulletin dictates that a student may only be given the grade of I (incomplete) only when "the work of the course is substantially completed and when the student's work is of passing quality."
2. Carefully consider the student's reason for the request for the Incomplete. In the most current Academic Handbook, the following guideline is given; "Instructors may award the grade of incomplete upon a showing of such hardship to a student as would render it unjust to hold the student to the time limits previously fixed for the completion of his/her work."
3. If the student only missed the final exam, a grade of "I" may be given and it is possible to allow the student to remove the "I" by taking the final exam. If you are willing to let the student make up the exam, please attempt to work out something with the student to allow them to take the exam. However, if you and the student are not in agreement, please have the student contact the Committee on Absence of the Division of Student Affairs, which reviews excuses concerning absences from final exams. This committee should inform the instructor of its decision.
4. If you decide to award the grade of incomplete, please fill out a request for an incomplete form with the student. You and the student should both sign the form. The completed form must be submitted to the Undergraduate Office by the professor; we cannot accept the form from the student.. Copies of the submitted form can be made for personal records if requested. Please note that the University policy requires each department to maintain a record of the request, which must include "a statement of reason for recording the "I", an adequate guide for its removal, and suggested final grade in case the instructor should leave campus for extended time."
5. Enter an "I" for that student at the end of the semester when you are entering in your grades. Please make a note somewhere to remind yourself at the end of the term to give the student the "I" as this is often forgotten, especially with large clases taught by multiple professors.
6. Explain to the student the steps he/she must take to complete the course. In step "4" you will have explained to the student what work you will require of them to remove the "I".
7. At the beginning of the term during which the student plans to complete this work, the student must notify the professor of the class in which s/he will be making up the incomplete as well as the Undergraduate Office to make sure a spot is held for the student since they will not enroll in the course to make up the "I"
If you have a student making up an Incomplete in your course, please follow the steps below:
1. Ask the student to meet with you. During this meeting, please fill out the "Intention to remove incomplete form", available in the Undergraduate Office, with the student. Please emphasize to the student to make sure he/she does not register for your class. Also, inform them that if circumstances arise during the term that would make it difficult for them to complete the work. and they decide to re-take the course at a later time, have them contact the Undergraduate Office. Lastly, be sure to let them know that they only have 1 year to complete the work or the "I" will automatically turn to an "F".
2. At the end of the term, go to the Undergraduate Office and fill out the student's grade on the removal of "I" form since the student's name will not appear on your roster. Once this has been completed, the Undergraduate Office will fill out the proper paper work and have the student's new grade sent to the registrar.
If a student needs more than one year to make up an incomplete:
A student who has been given an incomplete will have one year to make up the incomplete. After one year, an incomplete will turn to a grade of F. For example, a student who has an incomplete for a course they took in Spring 2005 would need to make up the incomplete in time for a grade to be submitted at the end of Spring 2006. It is possible for a student to request of the professor who gave the student the incomplete, an extension of the one year time limit. This request must be submitted by you to the College of Arts and Science via the "Request for Extension of TIme For Removal of an Incomplete" form, which is available in the Undergraduate Office and is subject to approval by the Student's dean.
If you have a student that is thinking about doing a total withdrawal from all subjects, you should send them to the Student Advocates Office.
Students who are doing a total withdrawal should let their professors know if they are doing a total withdrawal. The final roster will show a "W" for the student. The Professor should leave the grade as a "W". However, it is the student's responsibility to notify the professor of what is going on and to request that the professor not change the "W" to an "F".
A retroactive add is something that is done for students who take a course without actually registering for the course. In this case, the student must write a letter to Dean Halloran or Dean Lindemann letting them know what course they took, the section number, the semester it was taken, their ID number, and a detailed reason why they did not register for the class (example: Student was unable to pay the tuition for the course at that time). The professor of this class must also write a letter to either Dean Halloran or Dean Lindemann confirming the student did in fact complete the course, let them know what the final grade was, as well as for what course, the section number, and semester the course was taken.
When entering grades, keep this in mind when deciding to use Onestart or Onecourse. Use Onestart when you plan on manually entering each grade one at a time. Use Oncourse when ou will be dumping all of the grades in from a spreadsheet. If you have any problems entering your grades, please contact the registrar at 855-0121.
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