Frequently Asked Questions

Contact International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to discuss possible visa implications if you were to be suspended. You may email ISSS at oiss@udel.edu, call 302-831-2115, or visit the office at Elliott Hall, 26 E. Main St., Newark, DE.

Also, be certain to check your University email regularly for information from Community Standards & Conflict Resolution regarding your case and the student conduct process.

Finally, consider contacting a student conduct advisor to assist you in the student conduct process.

You should immediately contact International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to inform them you have been suspended. You may email oiss@udel.edu or call 302-831-2115.

Since a student who is suspended is also banned from campus, an in-person visit is typically not possible. However, if you feel an in-person meeting is essential, please e-mail or call Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR) to request permission to be on campus to visit ISSS. You must receive permission from CSCR before you can meet in-person with ISSS.

Staff in ISSS will explain your options from an immigration standpoint. They will also discuss expectations and deadlines related to your ability to remain in the United States.

Please contact your international student advisor in International Student and Scholar Services for assistance. You may email oiss@udel.edu or call 302-831-2115.

Each student’s case and situation are different. Therefore, we recommend that you contact your international student advisor at International Student and Scholar Services to discuss whether you are eligible for a transfer. You may email oiss@udel.edu or call 302-831-2115.

Per U.S. government regulations, all international students must have a current local address on file with International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). Therefore, if you live on campus and are suspended from the residence halls only (not from the entire University), please update your local address with ISSS once you have moved to a new off-campus location.

The passport is a document issued for travel by your home country. The I-20 is a document issued by International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) in order for a student to apply for an F-1 visa and to maintain legal status while studying in the U.S. The F-1 visa sticker in the passport allows for entry into the U.S. as long as it is valid.

Please contact your international student advisor at ISSS by emailing oiss@udel.edu to discuss your immigration documents and how suspension from the University affects your immigration status.

Decisions regarding re-admitting students are handled by the academic college to which the student is applying for re-admission (usually the college with which the student was affiliated when they were enrolled prior to suspension). Decisions are generally dependent upon the student’s GPA. If a student was in good academic standing at the time of the suspension, the student is likely to be readmitted. For more details about criteria, you should contact the specific college to which you are interested in applying.

1. Submit your re-entry portfolio.
2. Contact the Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR) to have your registration hold removed. View a chart of when you should call CSCR.
3. CSCR will send you details regarding re-applying to the University.
4. Complete the re-application process (with the Registrar’s Office) and a re-entry meeting (with the CSCR).
5. Contact International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to notify them you have started the re-application process.
6. Wait for notification that you have been admitted to the University.
7. Email ISSS at oiss@udel.edu to have new government documents (i.e. visa) issued to you.

Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR) serves as the central reporting location for academic honesty violations. Reporting incidents of dishonesty to CSCR allows for patterns and trends to be identified, whether that be for a particular student or for a certain major or department. Identifying trends might allow for training with specific departments or colleges.

Reporting allows for formal intervention by CSCR with individual students and prevents multiple instances of dishonesty across courses or semesters.

Reporting ensures the student’s due process rights, as required in the Student Guide to University Policies, are observed. Reporting also protects you as the faculty member from a grade grievance.

Reporting an incident includes first contacting Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR) to inquire if the student in question has had any prior academic honesty violations. (If there have been prior academic violations, this would likely influence your next steps.) You would then determine an academic penalty for the case and which resolution option you wish to pursue. One option, as described in the Faculty Handbook would result in an academic penalty only. The other option, as described in the Student Guide to University Policies would result in additional educational and disciplinary sanctions.

You would notify CSCR of the incident and chosen option. Once the incident is reported, CSCR staff will contact the student for appropriate information-sharing and follow up. You as the faculty member will be updated as the case progresses.

If you want to gather more information from the student while you are determining if information warrants reporting to Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR), then you may speak with the student. For example, if you receive two assignments from students that are very similar (or in some instances exactly the same), you might want to talk to the students to determine how the similarity came to be.

Once you submit an incident, it is recommended you inform the student that you have submitted an incident to CSCR. You do not need to go into details or discuss the academic penalty you recommended. Tell the student to expect more detailed information from CSCR. This may be done in person or via email.

Beyond the notification to expect more information, communication about the case should not occur without the assistance of CSCR. If the student wants to talk about other things (regarding the course or perhaps a non-academic concern), you may speak with the student.

For incidents submitted via the Faculty Handbook process, you and the student reached a resolution, so no further options are available.

For incidents submitted via the Student Guide to University Policies process, the student has three options:

1. Accept responsibility for violating the Academic Honesty Policy and accept all recommended sanctions, meaning the case is closed.
2. Accept responsibility for violating the Academic Honesty Policy but reject recommended sanctions, resulting in a written appeal process.
3. Deny responsibility for violating the Academic Honesty Policy, resulting in an in-person case resolution conference and possibly a written appeal.

The timeframe depends on what option the student chooses after meeting with Community Standards & Conflict Resolution staff. If a student accepts responsibility and all recommended sanctions, the case may conclude within a week after reporting it. If a student exercises their right to a case resolution conference or appeal, it may take an additional two to three weeks.

In most instances, yes. It is important that a student be given the opportunity to continue making progress in the course while the case is progressing. The conduct process focuses on an individual incident, rather than the overall performance of the student in the course. Not allowing the student to attend class would negatively impact their final course grade (which is a reflection of overall performance).

For most situations, consequences for violating the Academic Honesty Policy would not affect a student’s ability to remain at the University. Only severe or repeated incidents would result in removal (suspension or expulsion) from the University.

While a student is enrolled at the University, information regarding the student's record can be shared only in limited circumstances and in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. All records maintained by CSCR are removed upon graduation.

The only academic penalty reflected in a transcript is that of an “X” (indicating the student failed a course due to academic dishonesty). The “X” can be removed if the student completes a seminar on academic integrity, which is sponsored by Community Standards & Conflict Resolution. A University status sanction of a Suspension appears on the transcript during the time a student is suspended; it is removed at the conclusion of the suspension period. A disciplinary sanction of Expulsion is permanent. No other sanctions are reflected on the student’s transcript.

You, the faculty member, would choose the academic penalty, which is based on a number of criteria, such as the extent of the dishonesty and the importance to the course grade of the affected work. You may review our Referral Guidelines, which include criteria for various penalties.

All other sanctions (educational, University status and administrative) are determined by Community Standards & Conflict Resolution, to reflect both the severity of the academic penalty and prior cases the student may have.

You may contact Michael Fernbacher at mikefern@udel.edu in Community Standards & Conflict Resolution if you have questions about any aspect of an incident. You may also consult with your supervisor or department chair if you are uncertain about whether or not a student’s behavior would be considered dishonest.

Community Standards & Conflict Resolution processes approximately 2,000 cases each year. This represents less than 10% of the total student population. First-year students make up the largest portion of this total. Our recidivism is very low; only about 15% of the cases constitute a second or third violation.

Sanctions are the consequences applied in a conduct cases. In each incident where a student accepts responsibility or is found responsible for violating the Code of Conduct, that student will receive sanctions for that case. Sanctions are primarily educational, but may also have some disciplinary focus. Multiple violations of University policies may ultimately result in suspension from the University. One significant, serious incident may also result in suspension from the University. A record of all cases resulting in an outcome of responsible remains in a student’s file even after the term of the sanction has expired, and is considered when sanctioning subsequent cases of Code of Conduct violations.

While each case is evaluated individually, sanctions guidelines are used to appropriately assign sanctions related to certain policy violations. For example, a violation of the Alcohol Policy will usually include an educational intervention regarding alcohol use (coordinated by Student Wellness and Health Promotion). Similarly, a violation of the Academic Honesty Policy will result in an academic penalty and an educational intervention regarding academic standards and expectations. In addition, a fee is charged for most cases and notice to the student’s parents or legal guardians may also occur.

Administrative fees help support the efforts of the Community Standards & Conflict Resolution and the University to create and maintain a healthy, safe and academically-focused community. Fees are only applied in cases that result in outcomes of “responsible.” Students facing financial hardship can request the fee be waived.

While there are no absolute sanctions applied in every instance, sanctions are reflective of the nature and severity of an incident. Generally, a sanction "package" will include educational, University status and administrative sanctions. See more in the Sanctions section of the Student Guide to University Policies. Factors taken into consideration when deciding the appropriate sanctions for a specific case include the number of charges applied in an incident, the severity of each policy violation and the impact of the student’s behavior on the University community.

Also taken into consideration are the nature and timing of any prior cases. For example, a student who has had two alcohol violations within the same semester would receive different sanctions for the second case than a student who has two cases (one alcohol-related, one not) two years apart.

Education is the primary goal in all cases. By completing educational sanctions, students will be given the opportunity to reflect upon their past decisions, understand how those decisions affected themselves and others and develop new skills to ensure future actions and decisions do not negatively affect their continued success at the University.

Student conduct records are cumulative over the course of their academic career and are maintained only until they graduate. In the case of an expulsion, the file is kept indefinitely. In certain circumstances, a student with only one conduct case may request that information regarding that incident not be disclosed outside the University of Delaware. For more information, please see the Limited Release of Records policy.

The ending date of a University status sanction indicates the length of the “active” period of that sanction. While a sanction is active, it is most important that a student is aware of all the policies and follows them, as another violation while a current sanction is active will result in more severe sanctions for the subsequent case. However, if a significant amount of time has passed since the ending date of a sanction, that would be taken into consideration when deciding the sanctions for any subsequent violations.

For example, if a student is on active Deferred Suspension from the University and has another case, the student can expect to be suspended. However, if the student’s period of Deferred Suspension has been over for two years when another case happens, the student might be placed back on Deferred Suspension.

Sanction end dates are also important for certain University offices, who consider the student's conduct record and status of sanctions when determining if the student is eligible for employment or participation in programs sponsored by the office.

A suspension is a temporary removal (minimally one semester) from the University. Once the period of suspension is over, the student is eligible to return to the University. An expulsion, on the other hand, is a permanent removal from the University. An expelled student is never eligible to return to the University.

While a student is suspended, they may continue educational pursuits at another college or university. Depending on which courses are taken, they may be transferred to the University of Delaware and be counted towards the student’s graduation total. Before taking any classes at another college or university, the student should consult an academic advisor at UD to be sure these courses will be accepted.

To re-apply to the University after a suspension, the student must contact Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR) and inform us of the intention to re-apply. The CSCR staff will provide the student with information about the re-application process. The student should contact CSCR approximately three weeks before the start of the semester for which the student wishes to re-enroll.

Most conduct records are NOT included on a student’s transcript, with a few exceptions:

1. A serious academic honesty violation which results in a failure in the course will be reflected with a course grade of "X," where "X" notes that failure was due to academic dishonesty. The "X" may be removed from the official transcript (and replaced with a grade of "F") by the student's completion of the Academic Integrity Seminar offered by Community Standards & Conflict Resolution, which must be done prior to the student's graduation.
2. A University status sanction of suspension will be reflected on the transcript with the specific date the suspension is in place. Following the conclusion of the suspension, this notation will be removed.
3. A University status sanction of expulsion (permanent separation from the University) will always remain on the transcript.

Generally speaking, a student conduct record does not affect scholarships, nor is conduct information on every student forwarded to Student Financial Services. However, there may be some scholarships that do include a “conduct clause” which states that students will lose a scholarship if there are any disciplinary infractions. If your student currently has a scholarship or is applying for one, be sure to read all the information carefully. Finally, the academic penalty associated with cases of violation of the Academic Honesty Policy may result in a GPA that falls below the minimum needed to receive or maintain a scholarship.

When a student is suspended or expelled, this information is forwarded to Student Financial Services for their review.

While a student conduct record does not prohibit a student from applying to graduate school, it may be a factor considered when the school is reviewing the student’s application. Most graduate school applications ask about the student’s criminal or disciplinary history. Some schools request more information than others, so students should read each application carefully. Obviously, the student should be honest and accurate about any conduct history. Occasionally, a representative from a graduate school (most often law or medical schools) will contact Community Standards & Conflict Resolution to verify information included on an application or ask for more details. This information can be divulged only if the student has waived their right to privacy. Most applications include this waiver in the “fine print” and by signing the application, the student waives their right to privacy.

When looking at the disciplinary record of a graduate school applicant, the admissions officer will typically consider the type of violation, time of the event and the outcome. A simple alcohol violation during the first two weeks of freshman year would be viewed much differently than an academic honesty violation in a senior-level course. The more competitive the school to which the student is applying, the more likely a conduct record might affect acceptance to that school.

Conduct information is not regularly forwarded to deans, advisors or faculty members (except in cases of academic honesty; in these situations, outcomes will be shared only with the reporting faculty member, so the appropriate academic penalty can be applied.) However, there are times when a dean, advisor or faculty member will contact Community Standards & Conflict Resolution inquiring about a student. When this occurs, information will be shared on a “need-to-know” basis. In most of these cases, the person is concerned about the student health or well-being and is trying to get a complete picture of the student’s behavior and participation on campus so as to best help the student.

Conduct information for varsity athletes is regularly shared with staff in Athletics. Sharing that information is done to ensure support and assistance, as needed, is provided to the athletes. Coaches may take corrective action or restrict athletes’ participation in practice and/or competition if they deem it appropriate.

We believe college is an opportunity for students to grow, not just academically, but personally as well. College gives students the opportunity to begin to learn how to live in “the real world” with all the associated rights and responsibilities. Ideally your student will confide in you when a situation involving conduct violations arises, and perhaps ask you for advice and as they navigate the student conduct process. If, however, your student decides to resolve the case without your assistance, thus increasing their independence and ability to resolve situations, that’s their choice.

As permitted by the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974, in certain cases parents of financially-dependent students will be notified via letter. This letter will include the charge(s) your student was responsible for violating, and a general discussion regarding the sanctions applied. If you have not already spoken to your student about the incident prior to receiving the letter, you can raise the issue with your student and offer support, advice and/or feedback.

Occasionally parents may be contacted before a case is resolved when it is believed the student is a danger to themselves or others. In these rare circumstances, the combined efforts of you, Community Standards & Conflict Resolution staff and other University officials will benefit your student in addressing the situation.

If you have factual information regarding the incident, then you will be permitted to participate as a direct witness. Otherwise, you will not be allowed into the case resolution conference. If you wish to come to campus to offer moral support, you may certainly do so.

The student conduct process is an administrative one, rather than a legal one, so lawyers are generally not permitted. Legal procedures are different from the administrative student conduct process, and advice you receive from your attorney may be unhelpful, inaccurate or not applicable. A student may consult a student conduct advisor if he or she has questions or concerns about the conduct process. A student conduct advisor is a member of the University community (typically a faculty or staff member).

In the rare instance when a student is facing both conduct charges and felony-level criminal charges, an attorney may accompany the student to any meetings regarding the conduct process, but the attorney’s participation will be limited to instructing the student to answer questions or not.

Probation Before Judgment is a program that allows a first-time offender to avoid a permanent record. Provided a student is not arrested again during the period of PBJ, the conviction record may be expunged. Specific questions regarding eligibility for this program and the expunging of the record should be referred to Alderman’s Court #40 or a Delaware attorney. Further information regarding the PBJ program may be found at the website of the Delaware State Court system.

This is not a situation of double jeopardy, which prohibits a person from being tried twice in a court of law for the same crime, for two reasons: 1) an alleged violation of the Violations of Law Policy is not a crime; and 2) the student is being held accountable for their behavior through an administrative University process, not a criminal trial. While both the criminal charges and the Code of Conduct violation both ultimately have stemmed from one incident, the jurisdiction, procedures, and penalties for each are distinct and separate.

If a student accepts responsibility for violating the Code of Conduct during a case intake meeting, the case is closed and no further options are available. If a student is found responsible for violating the Code of Conduct in an case resolution conference, the student may exercise the right of appeal. The appeal process is handled by the Appellate Board, which is comprised of students, faculty and staff.

The most important thing you can do is talk with your student. Be very clear with your student about what you expect regarding learning from the experience of interacting with Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (and the incident itself) and what you hope will happen in the future. It’s also a good idea to check in regularly with your student about all things college-related – classwork, study habits, roommates, social activities. A well-rounded and academically-focused student is less likely to get into trouble. Resist the urge to jump in your car and drive to campus to “fix” every problem that arises. As was stated earlier, college is an opportunity for students to spread their wings, learn about independence and problem-solving and mature into adult citizens. Offer support and suggestions, so your student learns how to solve and resolve situations independently.

In the course of an case resolution conference, you will serve as the “presenting party” or “reporting party,”  the person who observed possible violations of the Code of Conduct and documented the incident. The case resolution conference begins with each charged student entering a choice for each charge.

As the presenting party, you will be asked to give a recollection of the incident. You may read directly from your original incident report, share your recollection from memory, or a combination of the two. It is most helpful to the case resolution manager to get a full understanding of the incident and each student’s involvement. Presenting information in a chronological order and with the facts (not opinions) is best. Once you have finished, the case resolution manager may ask clarifying questions to get more information. The charged student(s) will also have the opportunity to ask you clarifying questions.

The charged student(s) will then give information about the case, after which both the case resolution manager and you will be given the opportunity to ask questions to gain more information. If witnesses are presented, you will be given an opportunity to ask them questions after they have shared information about the incident.

Both you and the charged student(s) will give a closing statement (if you wish) before the case resolution conference concludes. The closing statement is an opportunity to provide a brief summary, indicate how you feel the case resolution manager should decide responsibility, or suggest what possible sanctions to be applied if the student is found responsible.

You should have a copy of your initial report available. If not, speak with your supervisor or contact Community Standards & Conflict Resolution at communitystandards@udel.edu to obtain a copy. All supporting documents or materials submitted as a part of your initial report will be available to share. If you have additional documents or materials, you will be asked to submit them prior to the case resolution conference. These will be shared during the conference via screen sharing. A tech manager will be present and available to assist with the presentation of all submitted documents and materials.

You are expected to be truthful and complete when answering questions and providing information. If you do not recall something, please say so. Writing a thorough report at the time of the incident will be helpful if it becomes necessary to attend a case resolution conference.

The student has the right to ask you questions regarding the incident and your recollection of it. Again, you want to be honest about what you did and said. If the student tries to ask a question which is not relevant to the case, the case resolution manager will intervene.

The case resolution manager will not have knowledge of the case beforehand, nor will the case resolution manager know of any history you may have with the charged student(s). Therefore, the manager may not realize a question is not relevant to the case. If you feel a question is irrelevant, you may ask the charged student to explain the relevance of the question before you answer it.

If a charged student becomes unruly and disruptive, the case resolution manager will dismiss the student from the case resolution conference. In that case, the case resolution conference would continue without the student. If you as the presenting party become disruptive, the case resolution manager will dismiss you, the case resolution conference will end and all charges against the student will be dropped. While both of these scenarios are rare, these guidelines are in place to ensure the case resolution conference is civil and professional.

A charged student has the right not to appear for a case resolution conference. Should this occur, the case resolution conference will be conducted without the student. In this situation, information will be provided only by you as the presenting party and any of your witnesses.

As the presenting party, if you fail to appear for the case resolution conference, the charges against the student may be dropped.

Case resolution conferences take place on regular business days, start between 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m., and are held via Zoom. Typically, case resolution conferences last for about one hour, but may be longer or shorter, depending on the number of participants or complexity of the case.

If you are required at a case resolution conference, you will be notified via email. The case resolution conference notice will include the time, date and location of the conference. It will also include the names of all the charged students who requested a case resolution conference (meaning they denied responsibility for the violation(s) during their case intake meeting). If a student you documented is not listed on the case resolution conference notice, it is most likely the student accepted responsibility during the case intake meeting.

You will be notified at least five business days before the case resolution conference. This will give you adequate time to review the case, organize supporting materials and contact any witnesses you may want to bring. Case resolution conferences are typically scheduled within two to three weeks after the incident date.

When scheduling case resolution conferences, Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR) takes into consideration your schedule (academic commitments for student staff and work schedules for staff and faculty) as well as the academic schedules of the students.

If, after being notified of the case resolution conference, you realize you have a conflict (another work-related commitment) please contact CSCR as soon as possible so the conference can be rescheduled. If the conflict is personal, you would be expected to make alternate arrangements for the personal commitment.

While it is not absolutely necessary, you might consider a witness if that person has important information that will support your recollection of the incident. If, for example, a colleague dealt with some of the students in the case, and you with others, it would be important for that colleague to appear.

It is your responsibility to determine which witnesses are needed and to inform them of the date, time and location of the case resolution conference. If a witness has an academic conflict, that witness can give you a written statement to be read into the record. Ideally, though, all witnesses should attend the case resolution conference in person.

You will be asked to provide the names of your witnesses so the case resolution manager is aware of their participation. Details of how to provide witness names will be included in the formal case resolution conference notice.

When scheduling a case resolution conference, Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR) assumes the person listed as “reported by” on the original incident report will be the presenting party in the conference. It is the responsibility of the reporting party to identify and inform any witnesses of the case resolution conference. If your colleague dealt with some of the charged students and you with others, it would be helpful to the case resolution manager to have you both attend the case resolution conference. In rare situations, there can be two reporting parties. The possibility of two reporting parties should be discussed with CSCR well before the day of the case resolution conference (ideally during the scheduling process.)

Charged students and/or parents may come to you because they are nervous about the case resolution conference or have questions about the process. If you feel comfortable answering general procedural questions, feel free to do so; if not, you can refer them to Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR). Due to privacy rights of the students, you should not share any specific information about the case or charges with parents.

If the charged students or parents contact you to encourage you to drop the case, press you about what you’re going to say in the case resolution conference or try to influence you in any way, you should not speak with them. Again, refer them to CSCR.

You will be notified of the outcome of the case resolution conference via email at the same time as the student. The student does have the right to appeal the decision or sanctions. In that case, you will be contacted by Community Standards & Conflict Resolution and asked to respond to the student’s appeal (in writing; you would not need to participate in person again.) As with the case resolution conference process, you should be truthful and honest when responding to an appeal.

If you have questions about the outcome of a case resolution conference or appeal, you may contact Community Standards & Conflict Resolution for clarification. Case resolution managers may be willing to talk to you about how they came to the decision they did as well as why they applied certain sanctions. This information can be helpful to you, as it can help you when observing, documenting and recalling future incidents.