Addressing Suspected Academic Misconduct

If you suspect a student/s has engaged in academic or research misconduct, follow the steps listed below:

  1. Contact the student(s) to share your suspicions (students may wish to meet, discuss by phone, or interact via email).
  2. Allow the student to respond by asking if they admit or deny responsibility for the misconduct.
    • For steps 1 and 2, the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) offers sample language you may use when emailing or discussing the allegation with a student.
  3. If they deny responsibility, do not assign a grade until OSC has completed its review and process (leave grade as N for grade processing).
  4. If they admit the misconduct, you may assign a grade consistent with your syllabus and discretion.
  5. Submit the case and information to OSC using the report form, including related materials such as comparable work, plagiarism reports, emails, and websites. Be sure to include any communication with the student.
  6. When an outcome is determined by OSC, you will be notified along with the student, and may assign a grade if one was pending.

To submit a referral for an allegation of academic misconduct, use the academic misconduct reporting form button at the bottom of this page. Please include all documentation.

Timeliness of Referrals

Timely referrals are critical to ensuring due process, fairness, and educational impact. Cases referred long after coursework is completed are harder to address fairly, and outcomes lose their connection to the original behavior.

As a guideline, referrals submitted more than six weeks after the due date (excluding exams and final projects) are unlikely to result in formal charges, though informal or educational options may still be possible. Please call OSC at 515-294-1020 if you have questions about a delayed referral. 

Use of AI Detection in Academic Misconduct Cases

AI detection tools are not a definitive measure of misconduct. AI detection programs generate probabilistic assessments rather than factual determinations about whether artificial intelligence was used in the creation of a submission. Independent research has found that AI detection tools can produce different results when evaluating the same work (including both false positives and false negatives), and results may vary based on writing style, editing, discipline, document length, and other factors.

For this reason, the Office of Student Conduct will not accept AI detection reports (such as Turnitin’s AI scores, highlighted passages, or reports from other AI detection programs) as a stand-alone basis for referral. 

What this means for faculty:

  • An AI detection report alone is not sufficient to initiate a conduct case. Concerns about unauthorized AI use must be supported by additional information or evidence.
  • AI detection scores do not establish that misconduct occurred. Detection reports may identify concerns that warrant further review, but they are not proof that AI was used.
  • Faculty should be prepared to articulate the specific behaviors, inconsistencies, observations, or evidence that raised concern independent of any AI detection score or report.
  • Faculty are encouraged to consider drafts, revision history, assignment development, source materials, and conversations with the student when evaluating potential unauthorized AI use.
  • This approach helps ensure fairness, as AI detection scores cannot be independently verified and may incorrectly identify human-authored work as AI-generated.

Examples of Relevant Supporting Information

When concerns about unauthorized AI use exist, useful supporting information may include:

  • Fabricated, nonexistent, or inaccurate citations or references.
  • Significant unexplained differences from a student's prior work.
  • Assignment drafts or version histories showing abrupt changes in writing style, content, or quality.
  • Student statements regarding how the work was completed.
  • Inability to explain, discuss, or reproduce submitted work.
  • Evidence that the submission conflicts with stated assignment requirements regarding AI use.