It means you agree to accept the penalty and to attend a workshop about Academic Integrity. It also means that you are not found in violation of the Code of Academic Integrity for the event.

No, your instructor does not have to offer you a choice to accept responsibility. If your instructor has chosen to use the primary hearing process, then that is what must happen. Note that this is the same right you have: if you decline to accept responsibility and wish to proceed with a primary hearing process, your instructor would have to respect that choice and could not use the Accepting Responsibility process.

You are free to provide additional information to your instructor. If that exonerates you, your instructor can retract the charge without impacting your future eligibility for the Accepting Responsibility process. If your instructor does not choose to retract the charge, you may wish to opt for the primary hearing process instead. That way you have the opportunity to make your case at a primary hearing and, if needed, an Academic Integrity Hearing Board appeal. Throughout all of these choices, you have the right to consult with a Respondents’ Code Counselor. You can also contact your academic advisor or your college’s Student Services office for advice.

By accepting responsibility, you work toward restoring trust and your own credibility. The workshop will be an opportunity for you to grow and to improve. Remember that you have the right to consult with a Respondents’ Code Counselor. You can also contact your academic advisor or your college’s Student Services office for advice.

You are free to ask your instructor questions about the Accepting Responsibility process and the charge they have alleged. You can also review policies about plagiarism and collaboration that are stated in the Code, the course syllabus, assignment handouts, and so forth. If you cannot reach a conclusion, you may wish to opt for the Primary Hearing process. That way you have the opportunity to make your case at a primary hearing and, if needed, an appeal hearing. Throughout all of these choices, you have the right to consult with a Respondents’ Code Counselor. You can also contact your academic advisor or your college’s Student Services office for advice.

The penalty is limited to the course work involved. For example, it might be a zero or a reduction in score on a paper or project.

No, you are ineligible to accept responsibility if you have already done so before.

You are eligible if you have never been found in violation of the Code and have never participated in Accepting Responsibility before. You are ineligible if you have been found in violation of the Code or if you have already participated in Accepting Responsibility before.

You are ineligible for Accepting Responsibility. You should opt for the Primary Hearing process. If you do attempt to participate in Accepting Responsibility again, your participation will be denied.

Your home college has an Academic Integrity Hearing Board, which has a recorder who is identified on the Hearing Board page. Contact that recorder. If there is no recorder identified, contact the board chair.

No, even if you were exonerated, you may not go through the Accepting Responsibility process more than once. Repeating the workshop is not an option.

It depends on what they ask — for example, whether you were merely accused, or have a finding of violation on your record. Accepting Responsibility does not result in a finding of violation of the Code of Academic Integrity. This means that although your instructor found that the evidence met the clear and convincing level, they did not hold a hearing and issue a finding. The matter did not go through a primary hearing process, and you have not been found in violation of the Code of Academic Integrity.

You complete some written pre-work, then you meet with a small group of other students and a trained facilitator. You talk about values, situations, habits, and skills. Afterwards you complete another written assignment. You will be asked to sign a workshop agreement that includes privacy expectations for everyone involved.

If you fail to complete the workshop, you will be in default of your accepting responsibility agreement, and a primary hearing process will begin.

No, it is a small-group workshop in which you will discuss issues with other students. Each participant agrees to hold the discussion and participant names confidential. You will be asked to sign an agreement that includes privacy expectations.

Yes, you will have a Canvas course assignment that enrolls you in the workshop and gives you the pre-workshop assignment.

Yes, you will have to respond to a short reflection prompt. After you complete that response, your instructor will be notified that you have satisfied the workshop requirement and may be given a grade on the assignment and in the course.

No. After you have completed the workshop and the response, your instructor will be notified. You don’t have to do anything else.

You cannot get a grade in the course if you do not attend a workshop. If you are not planning to graduate at the end of the current semester, you will attend a scheduled workshop when you return to campus next semester. If you are graduating, then you must attend a workshop that will focus on workplace ethics.

You are in default of your agreement to accept responsibility, and a primary hearing process will begin. If there are extenuating circumstances you should contact the Accepting Responsibility office at acceptingresponsibility@cornell.edu.

The record of your participation is retained for eligibility purposes only. It will be removed from Cornell’s records after you graduate.

If you have questions about the hearing, by all means contact your instructor. In any case, if you are bringing people (an advisor or witnesses) to the hearing, common courtesy would be to tell your instructor beforehand.

These parties will attend the primary hearing: you, your instructor, and an “independent witness” (a student, faculty member, or staff member, who is there to observe the proceedings impartially). Later, if you appeal the primary hearing outcome to the Academic Integrity Hearing Board (AIHB), this independent witness will probably attend the AIHB hearing to report on what went on at the primary hearing.

Your instructor may ask other people who were involved in uncovering the alleged violation to be present, for example, a teaching assistant in the course.

Your instructor may also include other students if their involvement is suspected.

You can also ask others to attend to support you, including witnesses who can testify on your behalf as well as an advisor (usually a faculty member, a Respondents’ Codes Counselor, or another member of the Cornell community).

Because a primary hearing is intended to be a conversation between an instructor and a student, we would not recommend that parents or an attorney attend. Nevertheless, in extremely rare cases, students have asked whether their attorney or even a parent may attend. Your instructor may or may not grant such a request. An advisor who accompanies you will act only as an observer or advisor. At the primary hearing, the discussion is between you and your instructor with your instructor asking others to speak as appropriate.

Prepare carefully and thoughtfully and thoroughly:

• Finish reading all of these guidelines.
• Read Cornell’s Code of Academic Integrity.
• Review anything in the course material that touches on academic integrity (e.g. the course webpage or the instructions for the assignment in which the alleged violation took place).
• Consider discussing the matter with others. For example, talk to your academic advisor about what this is all about, what primary hearings are like, what penalty might be imposed if you are found guilty, and so forth. If you feel your academic advisor’s presence at the primary hearing would be worthwhile, ask your advisor to attend.
• Consider seeking advice from a Respondents’ Codes Counselor.

At the primary hearing, your instructor will introduce all those attending and then present the evidence that prompted the call for a primary hearing. You will then be asked to respond to the allegations. A discussion may ensue. After the discussion, your instructor may communicate a decision, but more likely you will be informed about it later.

Your instructor will decide if you are guilty or not and in the case of the former determine a penalty.

The primary hearing is intended to be a discussion between you (and other students that may have been charged) and your instructor. Witnesses on either side will speak when asked. The independent witness is there to observe, and any adviser you may bring is there to advise you, not to represent you. That is, you will be speaking for yourself.

Of course, your advisor can help by whispering advice or otherwise providing private assistance, and your instructor may let the advisor provide an argument, or even a summation at the end of the hearing, but this is at your instructor’s discretion. For the most part, you will be speaking for yourself.

The primary hearing is not a legal proceeding; it is part of the academic and educational process, an opportunity for members of the academic community to investigate and deliberate. Simply put, you and your instructor are having a discussion, with others there to advise you or to provide relevant information that might help influence your instructor’s decision.

Cornell has a Respondents’ Codes Counselor office, which is staffed by students from the Cornell Law School. Counselors can advise you on the Code of Academic Integrity, can help you understand how the academic integrity system works at Cornell, and can help you prepare for your hearing. They may also attend your primary hearing—but only to serve as your advisor, not to act as your lawyer or to respond to the charges on your behalf.

You and your instructor should try to have all witnesses available during a hearing, so that they can present their accounts and you and your instructor can respond. However, neither you nor the instructor has subpoena power, so attendance cannot be compelled.

When asking someone to attend as a witness, explain why their presence is important. If you are unsuccessful in eliciting attendance, try to get a written statement.

Your instructor should allow you to introduce evidence from a witness who is unable or unwilling to be present. If you can’t get a written statement, you may summarize what you know of the witness. Similarly, your instructor may have evidence from someone who is not present.

Evidence from an anonymous witness is allowed only in extraordinary circumstances.

Your instructor can impose only penalties that affect your grade. The lowest penalty available is no penalty. The highest penalty available is an F in the course.

Many instructors impose penalties somewhere in between, depending on the severity of the offense.

The penalty may involve the assignment or exam in question, the final course grade, or both. For example,

• As a grade-related penalty involving an assignment, Professor X may assign to you no credit for the assignment, partial credit, or a reduction in the grade for the
• As a grade-related penalty involving your course grade, Professor X may assign to you an F in the course or reduce your grade (e.g. A to A-, A to B, A to C).

Your instructor might believe that your alleged offense is so egregious that a grade-related penalty is insufficient and that a more severe penalty is warranted (e.g. a note on your transcript, suspension for one or more semesters, or withdrawal from Cornell). If your instructor seeks a penalty that is not grade-related, then the college’s AIHB chair is contacted who in turn asks the Board to consider the case.

Your instructor may refer the case to the AIHB in place of a primary hearing. Your instructor can also contact the AIHB after a primary hearing to consult about possible penalties should you be found guilty.

If you are guilty, then the decision is communicated to you the academic integrity registry. The penalty and your right to appeal is also shared.

If you appeal, the Code says that you must file your appeal within ten working days from the time that your instructor communicates his decision to you in writing.

The notice that informs you of the guilty decision and penalty should contain contact information for the AIHB.

If you do appeal, any penalty assigned by your instructor should not be permanently recorded until the appeal has concluded. The grade of INC is assigned if the case is not resolved by the end of the term.

While you are at Cornell it may preclude you from some jobs or positions. You may need to report it to future educational programs such as law school, medical school, and other professional programs. Some employers also require disclosure of violations during college. Typically disclosure forms offer an opportunity to explain the situation.

The Code says that your instructor has the right to hold the primary hearing in your absence if you fail to attend without a compelling excuse.

If you don’t reply to your instructor, or if you agree to be at the primary hearing but then don’t show up without an explanation then the primary hearing can be held anyway. It is in your best interest to show up.

 If your chosen RCC can’t attend the primary hearing, feel free to ask your instructor to reschedule the hearing. However, as a resource, the RCC is not guaranteed to be available for any particular hearing. In considering your request, Your instructor has to consider the availability of all parties and witnesses as well as the timeliness of the hearing. And it may not be possible for your instructor to grant your request.

You can, of course, bring another advisor to the hearing if the RCC is not available.

The Code of Academic Integrity is silent on this issue. Your instructor might want all suspected students in a single hearing because a general discussion by all parties may provide the best chance of uncovering the truth. However, you can certainly ask to hold a primary hearing for you alone, explaining your reasons. Your instructor may or may not agree.

If your instructor suspects you of an academic integrity violation late in the semester, there may not be time to schedule the primary hearing with the required notice of 7 days. You can tell your instructor that you want 7 days’ notice, but then your hearing will most likely be put off until the next semester.

It may be in your best interest to settle the case before you leave campus, even if that means waiving the 7-day notice requirement. So, work with your instructor to schedule the hearing as soon as possible. You may need to stay longer than you had planned or even return to campus for your primary hearing. Or your instructor may schedule the hearing at the beginning of the following semester.

If your instructor needs to assign a final grade before your hearing is held then an Incomplete is given which will be resolved after your academic integrity proceedings conclude.

If you are charged with an academic violation, then you may not drop the course without the professor’s consent. The Code says, “A student charged with violating the Code of Academic Integrity in a course may not drop that course without the consent of the instructor unless the student has subsequently been cleared of the charges.”

You cannot change the grading option for the course while academic integrity matters are pending. For example, if you are registered for a letter grade that cannot be changed to S/U until after the matter is completely resolved.

If you do drop the course or change the grading option, those changes will be reversed until the academic integrity process is completed.