Graduate students are expected to abide by Northeastern University's Academic Integrity Policy.
A faculty member who suspects that a graduate student has violated the university’s Academic Integrity Policy must offer to meet with the student to discuss the suspected violation. The faculty member may ask the student to provide supporting documentation and may gather information from other students involved in the incident.
If the faculty member finds that the student has violated the Academic Integrity Policy, the faculty member may take action as the faculty member considers appropriate and can include adjusting the student's grade, requiring additional academic work, forfeiture of co-op opportunity, and/or failing the qualifying examination. In this case, the faculty member is encouraged to submit an information-only report about the incident to the university Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, which handles suspected violations of the Academic Integrity Policy. Any penalties must be imposed by the faculty member within three weeks of the suspected violation.
If the student is not satisfied with the faculty member’s decision, the student may appeal to the department by contacting the department head (or designee) who should apply the department’s procedures to review the case. If the suspected violation took place in a department or if it involved cooperative education, the appeal should be submitted to that unit. Otherwise, the appeal should be submitted directly to the college. The student should appeal within one week of the imposition of penalties.
The department will either affirm the faculty member's decision or substitute an alternative decision. The department’s decision should be made within two weeks of receiving the appeal.
The student may appeal the department decision using the college's academic appeal process. The college will either affirm the department’s decision or substitute an alternative decision.
The student may appeal the college decision using the university's academic appeal process.
The faculty member may appeal the department or college decision by submitting a complaint to OSCCR, which will determine whether the student is responsible for the suspected violation. OSCCR will make a recommendation to the senior vice provost for student affairs who will make a final decision.
If the student is found to be responsible for a violation by OSCCR, the faculty member may take action as appropriate. If the student is found to be not responsible for a violation, the faculty member cannot take action and if action was previously taken, the action must be reversed.
The dean (or designee) of the involved college shall take whatever action is necessary to implement the resolution of the case, including reporting a change of grade to the Office of the University Registrar.