Making An Allegation
Staff member with the suspicion
Allegations of suspected academic misconduct are made by the staff member who believes that the student may have breached the Academic Integrity Policy and who has collected the evidence needed for the Academic Integrity Officer (AIO) to initiate an investigation.
Casual tutors and markers should refer their concerns to the Course Coordinator and should make the Course Coordinator aware of any matters that might be helpful in determining the outcome.
Students (including PASS leaders) who are concerned about a possible breach should discuss their concerns with the Course Coordinator or the relevant AIO.
Other staff, such as Writing Centre, Maths Learning Centre or Library staff, who have a suspicion should refer the matter to the Course Coordinator or relevant AIO.
Course Coordinator
The Course Coordinator is responsible for the integrity of the assessment scheme for their course and may have access to additional information about the student’s circumstances that would be relevant to the investigation.
Factors that may be relevant are set out in the Policy (1.5) and include:
- the level/year of the program (including non-award and cross-institutional study) or course the student is enrolled in
- any medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances that may have affected the student
- specific academic conventions within the relevant discipline
- any specific information provided to the student about Academic Integrity as part of their program or course
Academic Integrity Officer
It is not the job of the person making the allegation to judge how these factors should be weighed in the investigation. That is properly the role of the AIO or the Academic Integrity Review Committee (AIRC). The task of the staff member making the allegation is to provide the information that the decision-maker will need.
Similarly the person making the allegation should not attempt to predetermine whether the evidence that they have collected is sufficient to substantiate the claim. This will be done by the AIO or Committee as part of their inquiry.
How to make the allegation
The Course Coordinator or staff member making the allegation should lodge their report via the red 'Make a Report' button on our website.
Attach all of the relevant evidence collected and any additional contextual information and the report will be automatically sent to the AIO for the School which coordinates the course in which the student is enrolled.
A staff member making an allegation can contact the AIO in the relevant School to informally discuss the case before submitting the form.
As the inquiry progresses the AIO may speak to the staff member who made the allegation to gather additional information.
Exams
For suspected breaches of academic integrity in online exams, including online proctored exams, the reporting process is the same as above.
For suspected breaches of academic integrity during in-person exams, invigilators will complete the Exam Incident Form (only available to invigilators) and forward it to the Course Coordinator, copying in the Academic Integrity team (acintegrity@adelaide.edu.au) for their information.
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Recordkeeping and documentation
The PSO will create records and manage all of the recordkeeping and correspondence required at every step of the investigation.
The PSO will ensure that if a breach has been found it is added to the Academic Integrity Register.
To support accurate recordkeeping by the PSO AIOs should ensure that they make good records of the investigation related to:
- details about the student, the Program, the course and the assessment task
- the factors taken into consideration
- the information on which the decision is based
- the outcome and reasons for the outcome
The PSO will ensure that the records relating to each case are managed according to the required records management processes.
Operational procedures for PSOs undertaking these tasks is contained in the Academic Integrity Record-keeping Process.