Whenever a violation of the Code of Conduct is identified, the university will take prompt and appropriate corrective action consistent with its policy. There shall be no retaliation against any member of the university community who expresses a concern under this policy, and confidentiality, to the extent possible, will be maintained. Intentionally false accusations may result in appropriate corrective action by the university. Note: This process applies to all Code of Conduct issues, except for violations of the academic integrity policy. Review procedures specific to academic integrity violations are outlined in the next section.

1. Obligation to Report. Any member of the Walden community who suspects that a violation of the Code of Conduct has occurred is required to submit electronically to the associate dean or the associate dean’s designee with the following information for the purposes of administrative review and resolution: 
   • Date of the alleged incident.
   • Documentation available to support the allegation.
   • Name and contact information of the person making the notification.
   
   
   The associate dean or associate dean's designee will provide written notification to the person who is suspected of having committed the violation.
   
   
2. Investigation Process. The associate  dean or designee will conduct an appropriate investigation that will include the opportunity for the student to respond to the alleged violation, either in writing or orally. In all cases, informal attempts will be made to resolve the issue. During the investigation, the associate dean or designee may convene a small panel to review the alleged violation. Following the investigation, the associate dean or designee will make a decision and notify the student in writing of the decision and any sanctions resulting from the findings.
   
   
3. Appeals. A student may appeal the decision of the associate dean or associate dean’s designee in cases of Code of Conduct violations, other than academic integrity violations. (See the section on the Appeals Process.)

Process for Academic Integrity Violations

1. Investigation Process. Should a instructor suspect that a student has violated the academic integrity policy in the Code of Conduct, the instructor will conduct an appropriate investigation, which may include use of a plagiarism detection service and a request that the student provide complete copies of all sources used in the research under question. If the instructor finds that the student has violated the academic integrity policy, he or she will provide written evidence of the violation to the student and give the student an opportunity to respond to this evidence in writing.
   
   If, after reviewing the student’s response, the instructor determines that the student has violated the academic integrity policy, he or she will inform the dean or the dean’s designee, and together they will determine which sanction to impose. Possible sanctions include one or more of the following: a requirement to redo work, a reduction in grade for the work, award of a failing assignment grade, award of a failing course or KAM demonstration grade, enrollement in a course on academic integrity, academic suspension, or permanent dismissal from the university. All violations are tracked by the Office of the Registrar. Multiple violations will request in more severe sanctions. The dean must approve all suspensions or dismissals from the university and will notify students in writing of such action.
   
   The university believes that upholding academic integrity is among its highest callings and to that end provides educational opportunities for students to explore both the ethical necessity and the technical methods of conducting research that meets the highest standards laid out in the Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity statement. Students who are found to have violated the academic integrity policy but are not dismissed from the university will be required to take and successfully complete with a grade of B or better a course on academic integrity to build their understanding and skills in upholding academic integrity. This course must be taken in the term immediately following the finding of academic integrity violation.
   
   Suspected violations of academic integrity that are reported to the university by students or other community members will be investigated by the dean or designee, and a disposition will be provided to the student in the same manner.
   
   
2. Sanctions and Records. The university takes all violations of the Code of Conduct very seriously and takes actions that are appropriate to the violation.
   
   In addition to instructor-imposed sanctions, the university can impose additional sanctions upon a student whose violation of the Code of Conduct is severe or follows a prior history. These sanctions include award of a failing course or KAM demonstration grade, including retroactive application of failing grades to past courses or KAM demonstrations; placement on a status of academic warning; revocation of proposal or dissertation approval; academic suspension; and permanent dismissal from the university.
   
   All disciplinary actions are recorded in the student’s file, which remains permanently on record. The existence of a prior violation in a student’s file will lead to stronger sanctions for subsequent acts. Students who have been dismissed from the university for violation of the academic integrity policy are not eligible for readmission.
   
   
3. Appeals. The findings of the associate dean or associate dean’s designee in cases of academic integrity violations are final and are not subject to appeal.