Frequently Asked Questions

The Student Disciplinary Policy applies to behavior on and off-campus by students and/or registered student organizations. The Office of the Dean of Students may address behaviors in connection with any required educational activity or co-curricular experience (e.g., a professional practice assignment, internship, field trip, student teaching assignment, research, student leadership conference, social event, or event sponsored, conducted, or authorized by the University).

All persons including students, faculty members, staff members, and community members can file a report against a UIC student via our Academic Integrity or Behavioral Incident reporting forms.

Yes, reports can be submitted anonymously. When filing the report, individuals can write Anonymous in the name field. However, the options may be limited when responding to anonymous reports.

The Office of the Dean of Students takes the retaliation of individuals involved in the student conduct process very seriously. If any student or any non-student is concerned that they are being retaliated against for participating in the Community standards process, they should contact the Office of the Dean of Students.

The Office of the Dean of Students has a responsibility to inform students of any disciplinary complaints made against them. The letter you have received is a notice of a complaint. If you have any questions regarding the content of the letter and next steps, feel free to contact our office at Dos@uic.edu.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Except in specific circumstances described in the FERPA regulations and the UIC Student Records Policy, student records may only be disclosed with said student’s written consent. We encourage students to speak with their parents and believe that, as adults, they should take responsibility for initiating that conversation.

While you are not required to participate in the community standards process, we encourage students to participate fully in the community standards process. If you choose not to participate in the process, a decision can be rendered without your input.

The Office of the Dean of Students schedules meetings based on your documented class schedule. If you are unable to attend the scheduled meeting due to extenuating circumstances, please reach out to our office to reschedule.

The Academic Liaison Process provides support to faculty in handling violations of academic integrity. The Academic Liaison Process allows faculty members and students an opportunity to resolve the matter through the Office of the Dean of Students and without a hearing. A faculty Complainant or college representative for a faculty member may request resolution through the Academic Liaison Process, though this is not required. Academic Liaisons are only offered for first-time offenses and with approval of the complaining faculty member. If a student receives an academic liaison, students have an option to accept or reject it. If the student accepts the Academic Liaison, the case will be closed and the proposed resolution will stand. If students reject the Academic Liaison, the case will go through the Student Conduct Committee.

If you decide to withdraw from the course, the community standards process will continue to proceed as planned. While a student may have withdrawn from the course, it does not mean the complaint has been withdrawn and a decision rendered through the process could still impact the student’s student disciplinary record.

Yes, students can have an advisor/support person attend their meeting. An advisor/support person may be a friend, family member, spouse, advocate, or any other person who is not a witness in the hearing. An advisor/support person advises the Complainant or respondent only and shall not be permitted to participate in any conference or hearing. Respondents or Complainants who wish to have an attorney attend the conference or hearing as their advisor/support person shall notify the Dean of Students of their intent to have the attorney present and shall provide the attorney’s name and contact information at least five (5) days prior to the conference or hearing. In those circumstances, the University may have an attorney from the Office of University Counsel present. An advisor/support person may not appear in lieu of a Respondent or Complainant.

The Office of the Dean of Students office is charged with monitoring a student’s compliance with any sanction that is imposed by a hearing officer and/or Student Conduct Committee. The Office of the Dean of Students may place a hold on a student’s account for not completing a sanction and/or impose additional sanctions if the student does not successfully complete the sanctions issued through previous conduct proceedings.

Yes, students can appeal a hearing decision using our Appeal Form. Respondent students can request an appeal no later than five (5) days after the receipt of the outcome of the hearing where the student was found responsible. For cases involving allegation of sex discrimination, either party may file a request for appeal, regardless of the hearing outcome, no later than five (5) days after receipt of the outcome of a hearing. Students can appeal for the following reasons:

1. Procedural Error: A procedural error occurred in the handling of the complaint that  change the outcome of the hearing.
2. New Evidence: New evidence exists, sufficient to alter a decision, which was not reasonably available at the time of the original hearing. Information will not be considered “new evidence” if the respondent or Complainant did not attend the original hearing or voluntarily withheld information during the original hearing.
3. Sanction(s) Disproportionate with Violation(s): The sanction(s) imposed are substantially disproportionate to the severity of the violation(s) of the UIC Standards of Conduct for which the student was found responsible.

1. Procedural Error: A procedural error occurred in the handling of the complaint that  change the outcome of the hearing.
2.  New Evidence: New evidence exists, sufficient to alter a decision, which was not reasonably available at the time of the original hearing. Information will not be considered “new evidence” if the respondent or Complainant did not attend the original hearing or voluntarily withheld information during the original hearing.
3. Sanction(s) Disproportionate with Violation(s): The sanction(s) imposed are substantially disproportionate to the severity of the violation(s) of the UIC Standards of Conduct for which the student was found responsible.

The Student Disciplinary Policy can be found here.

If your student received a letter, this means that your student may or may have not been involved in an incident and the Office of the Dean of Students is requesting the meeting to learn more about your student’s involvement.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Except in certain limited circumstances, student records may only be disclosed with said student’s written consent. We encourage students to speak with their family member or guardian and believe that, as adults, they should take responsibility for initiating that conversation.

Yes, if they so choose, students can have an advisor/support person attend their meeting, who may be a friend or family member. An advisor/support person advises the Complainant or respondent only and shall not be permitted to participate in any conference or hearing.

After you submit an incident report, the Office of the Dean of Students may reach out for more information regarding the incident. A member of the Office of the Dean of Students will then reach out to the student(s) involved and initiate our process. You may be asked to attend a Student Conduct Committee to serve as the complainant for the case to discuss what occurred. For a more detailed description, you can refer to sections III and VI of the Student Disciplinary Policy.

Should you have questions about the process or just wish to consult, don’t hesitate to contact us at 312-996-4857.

If this is a new allegation and it is different from the allegation that was reported, you will need to complete another Academic Integrity Incident Report. This ensures that we address both these incidents individually with the student. In most cases, both incidents may be treated as one case.

When submitting complaints alleging violations of Academic Integrity, you should include the following, but not limited to:

• A copy of the course syllabus with any statements regarding academic integrity highlighted.
• A description of the information giving rise to the allegations, including copies of written assignment instructions (if not contained in the syllabus) or a summary of any oral instructions the faculty/Teaching Assistant (TA) provided.
• In cases where allegations of cheating are made, faculty should provide copies of the assignments/exams in which the faculty member suspects the student has cheated. The student’s assignment/exam should have alleged or in question passages highlighted. (Please note that the student may have full access to these assignments/exams and any answer keys provided.).
• The intended grade sanction in the course if the student is found responsible and the student’s current average in the course (prior to referral).
• A short statement regarding your perception of the impact of the student’s academic integrity misconduct on their academic record, their class, and the larger community within the department.
• If you have any witnesses, individuals who are directly involved or observed the incident in question, whose perspective you would like contributed for consideration, please direct them to complete the Witness Statement Form .

An advisor/support person advises the student only and may attend but shall not be permitted to directly participate in any meeting or hearing. As an advisor/support person, you can make sure the student is comfortable, provide advice or counsel directly to the student, or check if they need a break.

Please send an e-mail to dos@uic.edu. In your e-mail, please include all the links to your assignments (can be in an excel spreadsheet, if needed), a copy of your syllabus and/or any statement you share with students about your expectations for academic integrity. We will contact each website directly per their Honor Code policy and investigation procedures. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that your assignments will be removed from their websites, but we will do our best to get them removed.

If you are interested in having someone from our office present to either your department or class you teach, please complete the DOS presentation request form here. You can also email us at dos@uic.edu to request the type of presentation and the date you would like for the presentation to occur.

The Office of the Dean of Students encourages faculty members to discuss the allegation(s) with the student prior to submitting an Academic Misconduct report. This can be done either by in-person, virtual, or email communication.

Faculty members are highly encouraged to attend/participate in the Student Conduct Committee process. For all other meetings with the student, the faculty member does not need to attend.

In most instances, conduct sanctions do not appear on academic transcripts. The only sanctions that may appear on a student’s transcript are suspension, dismissal, or expulsion.  If a student is suspended from the University, there will be a notation of the sanction on the student’s transcript during the period of suspension. If a student is either dismissed or expelled from the university, there will be a permanent notation of the dismissal or expulsion on the student’s transcript.