The Academic Integrity Policy defines our collective responsibility as a university community to uphold and maintain academic integrity. The Faculty Senate, the representative body responsible for faculty and librarians in university planning and governance, creates and maintains the Academic Integrity policy. This policy was adopted by the faculty senate in the 2024-2025 academic year, with an effective date of September 2, 2025.
The Academic Integrity policy provides a campus-wide standard for academic integrity. But specific guidelines for what is permitted may vary from class to class and even assignment to assignment. For example, collaboration on homework assignments may be permitted in one computer science course, but not in another. It is crucial that instructors communicate academic integrity standards for their courses clearly with students both in class and on their course syllabi, and that students ensure their understanding of academic integrity standards for each course they take.
The policy prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty and is applicable to all students (undergraduate, graduate, non-degree, visiting, etc.) and instructors participating in academic classes, programs, and research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Matters of dishonesty related to paid research completed under a Principal Investigator employed at UMass fall under the UMass Amherst Research Misconduct Procedures.
Procedures
The Academic Integrity process begins when an instructor suspects academic dishonesty has occurred. Any suspicion of academic dishonesty from other parties (i.e., other students, instructors, staff, etc.) may be reported to the instructor of record to initiate the process.
The Academic Integrity policy requires that instructors who suspect academic dishonesty first notify the student and request a meeting to provide an opportunity to understand and respond to the allegation(s).
- The student must be contacted within 10 business days
- The student must be contacted through their UMass email address
- The instructor must request a meeting with the student (phone, Zoom, in person) to discuss the situation
- The student is allowed at least 5 business days from the initial outreach to respond
- The instructor should specify deadline for response (at least 5 business days)
After the initial outreach, there are three outcomes, pictured below:
No instructor may impose a penalty based solely on suspicion, without communicating with the student. If an instructor wishes to impose a grade penalty or other sanction for suspected academic dishonesty, they must do so through one of the documented policy processes (informal resolution, formal charge, or non-communication process).
Multiple Instances of Academic Dishonesty
The Academic Integrity Office keeps records of any informal resolutions, non-communication forms, and upheld formal charges a student acquires during their time at UMass Amherst. If a student has accumulated three or more academic honesty resolutions, the Academic Integrity Office is required to schedule a hearing to address the matter.
Hearings that address three or more findings of academic dishonesty are known as University Sanction Hearings. Unlike typical Formal Charge hearings, which are designed to address whether an act of dishonesty occurred and a reasonable consequence, University Sanction Hearings are to address a pattern of confirmed cases of academic dishonesty. In this process, students face additional sanctions, ranging up to suspension.
The student will be invited to the University Sanction Hearing and granted an opportunity to present their case to a representative of either the Dean of Students Office (undergraduate students) or the Graduate School (graduate students) and a panel of Academic Integrity Board members. The outcome of a University Sanction Hearing becomes part of the student’s conduct record.
For more information about the University Sanction Hearing process, please contact @email