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The Office of Community Standards oversees receiving and dealing with cases that are related to Academic Misconduct or Student Conduct. These cases can include but are not limited to plagiarism, cheating, collusion, illegal possession of alcohol/drugs, physical assault, and stealing or destruction of university property. More information about policies that the office handles can be found at www.utep.edu/hoop

All faculty, staff, and students are welcome to submit reports to the Office of Community Standards. Reports can be submitted to the Office of Community Standards through the Office of Community Standards webpage. The forms are located in the “Referral Forms” tab under the Faculty and Staff dropdown or by going to www.utep.edu/report

A referral to the Office of Community Standards does not always mean that you are in trouble. You may have information about an existing case with our office that you could help us by providing more information.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a law that ensures the protection of the educational record of students who are 18 years old or older; or have entered into education beyond high school. Due to FERPA restrictions, the Office of Community Standards is not allowed to disclose any information or records with parents without written consent from the student.

Meetings scheduled by the Office of Community Standards are used to gain the perspective of the student(s) about the alleged infraction(s) being referred. There will be multiple attempts made to reach out to the accused student(s). If a student fails to appear for their initial meeting, the Office of Community Standards will reach out via phone to attempt to allow student to join the meeting or reschedule for a better time. If that phone effort is unsuccessful, a hold will be place on the student’s account and another meeting will be scheduled. If the student fails to appear at their second meeting, a second phone call attempt will be made to allow the student to join the meeting or reschedule for a better time. If that phone effort is unsuccessful, a decision will be made “In Absentia” – which means in absence of.

When the Office of Community Standards staff member makes a decision “in absentia”, it is a decision that was made without the input from the student after attempting to reach out to the student.

Students who drop courses related to Academic Misconduct cases will not have their cases automatically dismissed because the course in question has been dropped. If students are found responsible for violating the academic misconduct policy, sanctions will still be given regardless of the enrollment status in that course. Sanctions can influence whether a “W” will still appear for that course.

The Office of Community Standards supports the University motto of Access & Excellence, in that regard, we offer students the opportunity to reschedule meetings with the Office of Community Standards. As long as students provide notice 48 hours prior, the meeting can be rescheduled.

A student can bring an advisor to the meeting if the student fills out the online FERPA waiver form issued by the Office of Community Standards. This FERPA waiver form allows the student to give consent to their advisor to be present in the meeting or any meeting after. AN advisor can be a friend, parent, lawyer, professor, or anyone that the student would like to have with them. Please note that the advisor cannot speak for the student, but they can advise the student on what to say. It is possible that student can also bring a translator to the meeting if necessary. Students are only allowed one (1) advisor for student conduct meetings.

There are several possibilities moving forward from an Administrative Disposition.

• Accept the Administrative Disposition and complete the sanctions that accompany the decision of the meeting.
• Accept the Administrative Disposition and appeal the sanctions to the Office of the President
• Request a University Hearing (Only for decisions resulting in Suspension, Expulsion, or Academic sanctions)
• Appeal decision to Director of Office of Community Standards/AVP of Student Support (only for students in Non-Academic cases)
• Suspension of Rights and Privileges

*At the end of each Administrative Disposition an Office of Community Standards staff member will review the rights and options that students have moving forward.

The most common sanctions, depending on the type of violation that has occurred, that are given to a student are the following:

• Virtual Academic Integrity Laboratory
• 0 on assignment/exam (cannot be replaced)
• Reduced Course Grade by One Letter
• F in the course
• Disciplinary Probation (4 months, 6 months, Academic Year, Calendar Year, or Through Graduation)
• Suspension or Expulsion from University
• Suspension of Rights and Privileges

Suspension or expulsion are sanctions that are available when a case is being handled in the Office of Community Standards. Depending on the severity of the case or the frequency of infractions to university policy, a student can be suspended or expelled from the University.

If any property of the University has been damaged or stolen, students can be required to pay for the cost of those damaged or stolen items.

Some findings of responsibility can have an adverse effect on student grades, like receiving an “F” for a course. In that regard, the decline in GPA or academic standing may impact a student’s financial aid eligibility. However, students must take the initiative to speak with a Financial Aid advisor to see if those circumstances would apply to their situation.

Students can appeal sanctions and the decision with both Academic Misconduct and Non-Academic conduct cases.

• Academic Misconduct cases, students can:
  • Appeal to the Office of the President via an online form to dispute only the sanctions after being found responsible; or
  • Request a University hearing during the Administrative Disposition to dispute BOTH the decision and the sanctions.
    • If the student disagrees with the decision and sanctions determined by the University Hearing Officer, then the student can appeal BOTH the decision and sanctions to the Office of the President via the online form.
• Non-Academic cases, students can:
  • Appeal to the Director of Office of Community Standards (or the Associate VP/Dean of Students when the Director of Office of Community Standards handles the cases initially) if the student disagrees with the decision made for their case; or
  • Request a University Hearing ONLY when the decision results in Suspension, Expulsion, or Suspension of Right and Privileges

An opportunity for the student to have another impartial party – a tenured faculty member – to review their case. This option is available if the student disagrees with BOTH the decision of responsibility and if the sanctions result in Suspension, Suspension of Rights and Privileges, Expulsion, OR Academic Sanctions.

If sanctions that were assigned to a student are not completed and turned in by the scheduled due date, a hold is placed on the student’s account until the sanction has been successfully completed and turned in.

When filling out contact information, students commonly use their parent’s information for telephone numbers. When the Office of Community Standards attempts to deliver communication about a case, the contact information that is used is pulled from the existing student information in Goldmine. It is important for students to update their contact information to avoid unwanted parental contact.