Student Rights & FAQ

You can report violations to a variety of campus offices such as:

Office of Academic Integrity & Student Conduct: For violations of university policy related to academic integrity and student conduct.

UCI Police Department: For violations of the law involving members of the campus community.

Campus Assault Resources & Education: For information, support, and resources regarding instances of sexual assault.

The letter you received means the Office of Academic Integrity & Student Conduct received a report regarding a possible violation of the Academic Integrity Policy or the Code of Student Conduct. An Academic Integrity & Student Conduct Specialist is giving you an opportunity to discuss this incident and allegations of the policy violation with them.

In accordance with §103.10.C – Administrative Holds, no student shall be awarded a degree while an allegation of a policy violation is pending against that student or until any assigned Administrative Sanctions or student disciplinary conditions have been fully resolved. As such, an Administrative Hold (Graduation Hold) has been placed on your student records to prevent your graduation or conferral of a diploma or degree while this matter is pending. When the pending disciplinary matters have been resolved, this will be removed. A student may submit a written request articulating the reasons supporting removing this hold to the Office of Academic Integrity & Student Conduct (OAISC). The Director of OAISC, or their designee, shall decide whether to grant, grant in part, or deny a written request to remove a hold and their decision shall be final. The request may be submitted to conduct@uci.edu. 

Please Note: A Graduation Hold does not impact your enrollment in classes nor does it result in your classes being dropped at the Fee Payment Deadline.

If you have disability-related needs and wish to request reasonable accommodations to ensure your full participation in this process, please let our office know, and we will connect you to the Disability Services Center (DSC). For more information about their services, you may also reach out to the DSC by phone (949) 824-7494 or visit the DSC website.

At the Administrative Meeting, the Academic Integrity & Student Conduct Specialist will:

• Inform you of the specific allegations made against you;
• Indicate the applicable University policy(ies) or campus regulations alleged to have been violated;
• Share information regarding the related incident;
• Make a reasonable effort, as permissible under federal and state law, to comply with your requests for access of documents relevant to the case, and;
• Give you the opportunity to respond to the allegations and evidence against you.

For alleged violations of the UCI Academic Senate Policy on Academic Integrity, you do not need to attend your meeting, but it is in your best interest to attend. If you choose not to attend, your case will be adjudicated without your input. If you are found responsible, sanctions will be imposed.

For Code of Student Conduct policy violations, your attendance at an Administrative Meeting is required. If you do not attend, an academic hold will be placed on your student account, which will prohibit you from accessing University services. Additionally, your case may be adjudicated without your input.

Ignorance of the policy(ies) does not excuse violation of said policy(ies). Every student is responsible for knowing the rules and regulations of the University found in the University of California Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations, and Students and the UCI Academic Senate Policy on Academic Integrity.

Students may have a support person/advisor of their choice as long as the individual they choose is not otherwise connected to the case. A support person/advisor can be an attorney, parent, friend, etc. You are not required to have an attorney present at your meeting or hearing; in fact, most students do not. If a student chooses to have an attorney as their advisor, the student shall pay all fees, costs, and expenses for the retention of that attorney.

For more information about the support person/advisor role, see our Support Person/Advisor Guidelines.

No. Double jeopardy applies only to criminal proceedings. You (the accused student) are not being charged with violating a law or committing a crime; rather, you are being accused of violating a student conduct code or academic integrity policy. Our process is an administrative, education-based process that is independent of the criminal justice system; therefore, double jeopardy does not apply because the domains are separate, and the intentions different.

No. As previously mentioned, this process is separate from the criminal court processes. The University utilizes the Code of Student Conduct and the Academic Integrity Policy, and your case will be processed regardless of what happens with your criminal proceedings.

The “Preponderance of Evidence” is the standard used to determine if a student is responsible for the allegations of policy violations. A student or student organization is not responsible for violating the Code of Student Conduct or the Academic Integrity Policy unless evidence suggests that it is was more than 50% likely that a policy was violated. Another way of stating it is: “Is it more likely than not that a policy was violated?”

Sanctions depend on various things such as the severity of the offense, whether the student takes responsibility for their actions, prior sanctions received by the student, level of intent, etc. Suspension and dismissal are not frequently used sanctions in our office.

Sanctions are imposed only if a student has been found responsible for a violation. The primary goals of sanctions are to protect the safety and integrity of the University community, to educate students about the concerns related to the inappropriateness of their conduct, and to provide opportunities for students to learn new behaviors. Sanctions are designed to reflect the actions of the individual student and the impact of the violation(s) on the community. Possible sanctions for student conduct cases include: written warning, disciplinary probation, restitution, restriction from areas of campus, attending classes or workshops, educational projects, community service, relocation or removal from housing in accordance with the housing contract, removal from specific courses or activities, no contact provisions, suspension, dismissal, or (in very rare cases) revocation of degree. Possible sanctions for academic integrity cases include: written warning, educational projects, disciplinary probation, suspension, dismissal, or (in very rare cases) revocation of degree.

The only sanctions that appear on transcripts are Suspension (during the duration of the Suspension) and Dismissal. Disciplinary probation, educational sanctions, and other outcomes do not appear. Although these sanctions do not appear on your transcript, all sanctions will be noted in your educational record. Anyone for whom you give the Office of Academic Integrity & Student Conduct permission to disclose information regarding your educational record may be notified that you have a conduct or academic integrity record.

Possibly. Instances of misappropriation of financial aid or drug/controlled substance violations may affect your eligibility for federal student loans, grants, and scholarships. Most policy violations will not affect scholarships, but a student should review the conditions of their continued scholarship award eligibility. For more information, contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.

In accordance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), the University cannot contact or share information about your academic integrity and student conduct record without your written permission.

The Office of Academic Integrity & Student Conduct maintains the confidentiality of student records in accordance with FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). In cases involving acts of violence, the Complainant may be notified of the outcome of the proceedings when appropriate. Otherwise, no information will be released without the written consent of the student who is alleged to have violated policy or by court order or subpoena.

Copies of conduct records are not provided by the Office of Academic Integrity & Student Conduct. If you would like to request copies of documents related to your conduct record, please contact the Public Records Office. 

Academic Integrity:

Academic Integrity records are confidential and, in most cases, are maintained for seven (7) years from the date that the incident was reported, unless the Office of Academic Integrity & Student Conduct determines in any particular case that there is a good reason to extend the period of retention. Minor (refers to anything below a suspension) and non-recurring infractions will be expunged upon reward of degree. Cases resulting in an outcome of dismissal or revocation of degree are maintained for fifty (50) years.

Student Conduct:

Student Conduct records are confidential and, in most cases, are maintained for five (5) years from the date that the incident was reported. At the end of five years, records concerning most cases are purged. Cases resulting in an outcome of dismissal or revocation of degree are maintained for fifty (50) years.

Your disciplinary record may or may not affect your ability to attend graduate and/or professional school. Sanctions of suspension or dismissal will be noted on your academic transcript (suspensions will be noted only for the duration of your suspension). Student Conduct disciplinary records are kept for a minimum of five (5) years. Academic Integrity disciplinary records are kept for a minimum of seven (7) years except in cases of minor and non-recurring academic integrity infractions, which are expunged upon reward of degree. Any schools or companies to which you give permission to inquire about your academic records will be notified that you have a conduct record. Many graduate schools request your academic records, as do many government agencies (FBI, etc.) if they are considering hiring someone.

Honesty is the best policy. You should be open and honest about any discipline issues you have faced. As part of the application process, you should be given the opportunity to explain your behavior and indicate what you learned from the experience. Failing to disclose this information can be worse than if you did not initially report the incident, especially if you don’t disclose it, and it were to come up as part of the background check.