Biomedical Sciences Graduate Student Handbook
4. to choose not to answer any question that might be incriminating.
5. to contest the sanctions of a first-level agreement and to appeal both the decision and sanctions of an
Academic Honor Hearing.
The student has the right to continue in the course in question during the entire process. Once a student has
received notice that he/she is being charged with an alleged violation of the Academic Honor Policy, the student
is not permitted to withdraw or drop the course unless the final outcome of the process dictates that no academic
penalty will be imposed. Should no final determination be made before the end of the term, the grade of
‘‘Incomplete’’ will be assigned until a decision is made. Students should contact the Dean of Students
Department for further information regarding their rights.
Procedures for Resolving Cases
Step 1. Throughout the Step 1 process, the instructor has the responsibility to address academic honor
allegations in a timely manner, and the student has the responsibility to respond to those allegations in a timely
manner. For assistance students and faculty should consult contacts listed on the University Academic Honor
Policy web site
https://fda.fsu.edu/academic-resources/academic-integrity-and-grievances/academic-honor-
policy
If a student observes a violation of the Academic Honor Policy, he or she should report the incident to the
instructor of the course. When an instructor believes that a student has violated the Academic Honor Policy in
one of the instructor’s classes, the instructor must first contact the Academic Affairs Administrator
(https://fda.fsu.edu/academic-resources/academic-integrity-and-grievances/academic-honor-policy
) to discover
whether the student has a prior record of academic dishonesty in order to determine whether to proceed with a
Step 1 agreement. The instructor must also inform the department chair or dean. (Teaching assistants must seek
guidance from their supervising faculty member and adjunct instructors must seek guidance from their
department chair.) However, faculty members or others who do not have administrative authority for enforcing
the Academic Honor Policy should not be informed of the allegation, unless they have established a legitimate
need to know. If pursuing a Step 1 agreement is determined to be possible, the instructor shall discuss the
evidence of academic dishonesty with the student and explore the possibility of a Step 1 agreement. Four
possible outcomes of this discussion may occur:
1. If the charge appears unsubstantiated, the instructor will drop the charge, and no record of
academic dishonesty will be created. The instructor should make this decision using the
“preponderance of the evidence” standard.
2. The student may accept responsibility for the violation and accept the academic sanction proposed
by the instructor. In this case, any agreement involving an academic penalty must be put in writing
and signed by both parties on the ‘‘Academic Honor Policy Step 1 Agreement’’ form, which must
then be sent to the Dean of Students Department. This agreement becomes a confidential student
record of academic dishonesty and will be removed from the student’s file five years from the date
of the final decision in the case. Any grade imposed as the result of an academic sanction will
remain on the student’s transcript indefinitely and will not be subject to course drop or withdrawal.
3. The student may accept the responsibility for the violation, but contest the proposed academic
sanction. In this circumstance, the student must submit the “Academic Honor Policy Referral to
Contest Sanction” form along with supporting documentation to the Office of the Dean of the
Faculties. The Dean of the Faculties (or designee) will review the submitted documentation to
determine whether the instructor has imposed a sanction that is disproportionate to the offense.
The Dean of the Faculties may affirm or modify the sanction as appropriate. The decision that
results from this review is final.
The student may deny responsibility. In this circumstance, the instructor submits the ‘‘Academic Honor Policy
Hearing Referral’’ form along with supporting documentation to the Dean of the Faculties Office for an
Academic Honor Policy Hearing. The student is issued a letter detailing the charges within ten class days of the
receipt of the referral, and the schedule for the hearing will be set as soon as possible and within 90 days from
the date of the letter. These timelines may be modified in unusual circumstances. Unless all parties agree, the