3.5 FAQs

If the instructor determines the errors made are in breach of the assignment instructions or course policies they may reduce your mark on the question or whole assessment according to their grading rubric. If you feel you have been treated unfairly, you may submit a grade appeal to the Chair of the department offering the course.

The instructor may feel that providing you with details about their suspicions in advance of the meeting will alter how you interact with them. For example, if they are interested in learning more about how you approached a question, they may hold back certain information so that you don't spend hours before the meeting studying the material and preparing canned responses. Protocol requires them to notify you of the purpose of the meeting (which could just be "I'd like to talk to you about Assignment 4"). But they must clearly explain their academic integrity concern by the end of their meeting. If they do not, please do not be afraid to ask them and/or contact them afterward for clarification.

Yes! If by the end of the meeting you're still unsure exactly what your instructor's concerns are, please ask them and/or contact them afterward for clarification. They should tell you which assignment(s) is/are of concern and why. They should also ask if you need assistance with the course material and provide guidance on how to be successful in the class.

Under the Student Academic Integrity Policy, instructors are no longer required to meet with the student prior to reporting their academic integrity concern to the College. They may choose to show some or all of the evidence, but they don't have to. They should, however, assist you in understanding any course material you may be struggling with. It is the Faculty Decision Maker (FDM) that will reasonably disclose the evidence to you and review it with you when you meet with them.

Contact cnasaid@ualberta.ca to request clarification. Instructors attempt to interpret the SAIP and select the most appropriate section(s) that they believe has/have been breached. But sometimes this can be tricky as the infraction may not always be easily related to the language of the policy. Alternatively, the mis-match may be due to the mis-reading or mis-entering of information provided by the instructor on the reporting form. Ultimately, the FDM will determine the section(s) that apply/applies and specifically list them in the decision letter.

You may request a copy of the report, but the instructor may not be able to comply. This could be due to a number of reasons, including but not limited to:

  - it contains personal information of a third party

  - there may be safety concerns

  - it may interfere with an open investigation

  - it contains advice from a university official

  - it contains confidential legal advice

  - it contains personal notes or communication

Not necessarily. Under the Student Academic Integrity Policy, instructors are no longer required to raise the academic integrity concern with the student. Therefore, the first time you may hear about it may be through the notification you receive from the College. 

If you see "IN", meaning "Incomplete", for a course on Bear Tracks or on your transcript (instead of a letter grade), this means the processing of the academic integrity concern is still in progress. Your grade will be updated soon after you receive notification your NDAO has been completed successfully OR you receive your decision letter through a complaint process. If it still hasn't been updated after two weeks from receiving notification, please contact your instructor.

Unfortunately, your case isn't the only one the CNAS academic integrity team is dealing with. Although they try to complete cases as quickly as possible, sometimes their caseload is too heavy or their schedule is too busy, causing delays in the processing of your case. If there are special circumstances requiring your case to be processed quicker (e.g. the deadline for convocation is quickly approaching) contact cnasaid@ualberta.ca to explain the situation. The Dean's Delegate or Faculty Decision Maker will do their best to expedite the process.

Consulting with an Ombuds Advisor is entirely optional. However, we highly recommend that you retain their services. Even if it's just to get some advice. They will catch things you may have missed. Or ask you prompting questions about things you may not have thought of. You "pay" for this free service through your tuition and fees, so it's best to take advantage of it! Plus, all of the Ombuds Advisors are terrific people that will help you get through this potentially trying time.

You are allowed to bring one advisor. Typically, this is your Ombuds Advisor. However, you may be able to make the case that a friend, parent or colleague is more appropriate. Contact the Faculty Decision Maker (via cnasaid@ualberta.ca) to explain your reasoning and ask for permission. They have the right to deny your request if your reasoning is not compelling/appropriate.

The consequences for behaving academically inappropriately do not go away just because you dropped the course. If you are offered an NDAO agreement, or if you are found responsible of violating the policy through a complaint process, consequences or sanctions that are not grade-related can be imposed. For example, actions like writing an apology letter or taking a workshop, or sanctions like a reprimand or academic integrity conditions, which may include conditions such as a transcript notation.

The Dean's Delegate or Faculty Decision Maker may include a transcript notation as one of the actions/sanctions. The "8" (or "9" for graduate students that have received a failing grade) indicates "inappropriate academic behaviour". The back of your official transcript explains all possible codes that may appear. The "8" (or "9") is automatically removed two years from the end of the semester in which the course was completed.

The record of any NDAOs that you are involved in are kept by the Faculty/College for until you graduate. These records are not considered official entries on your disciplinary file. For violations of the SAIP resulting from a complaint process, the decision letter and all associated files in your misconduct folder are deleted after seven years. Negative service markers or database entries may persist longer depending on the offence/sanctions imposed.

NDAO records are for internal use only; they are not shared externally in any way. Your academic misconduct record is typically considered an internal matter. The University will not typically divulge this information without your permission. However, there may be certain situations where this information is shared upon request. It's best to contact the Student Services office of your home Faculty and/or the Office of the Registrar for clarification of their disclosure practices. You may also contact the Office of Student Conduct and Accountability (conduct@ualberta.ca) for advice.