Can you get kicked out of college for cheating? (2024)
What happens if I get caught cheating in college?
Colleges and universities could expel you from their school if you cheat. But there are more factors to consider. Was it your first offense? How bad was the incident? Are you at a public or private college? And it might be possible for you to appeal the decision. Colleges have a lot of different consequences for cheating that range from an integrity course to being kicked out.
But there are other reasons a college can kick you out other than cheating.
As a professor, I try and explain the importance of maintaining academic integrity to all college students.
While you might have gotten by in high school with some cheating, copying another person’s work, or buying essays online, college has way more tools at their disposal to catch you.
It really doesn’t serve you well to cheat.
I have seen students cheat, completely copy an online essay and pretend it was theirs. And I’ve had students use phones during my exams to look up answers. It happens.
You might find yourself in a similar circumstance. Maybe you just didn’t plan enough time to study or write those research papers, so you found yourself cheating or plagiarizing to get by.
Or maybe you are engaging in academic dishonesty because you want good grades without the academic effort required.
Either way, it is unethical. But now you are here wondering what’s going to happen.
I will teach you what cheating is, what colleges do about it, and how to handle it.
The outcomes vary greatly. There is not one straight answer here. Remember, these are general standards, and may differ between universities, but some things are universal. Such as the right to constitutional due process. But only at public universities.
And if you are in graduate school, you may see more severe consequences for student misconduct.
Why can you get kicked out of college?
Here are some common acts that can be defined as academic dishonesty and could get you kicked out of college.
Cheating
Multiple submissions
Complicity
This is not an exhaustive list of all the things that could be considered academic dishonesty. But let’s talk about some of these common ones a little more.
You might take another person’s essay and pretend it is yours. Or maybe you copy and paste a few paragraphs here and there in your assignment. And you do this without giving proper credit to the author.
This can go even further, like mosaic plagiarism where you change a few words out from someone else’s work to slightly alter the information but don’t exactly summarize it in your own words. This is still a form of plagiarism, even though it seems innocent.
Cheating
You copy someone else’s work, use tools for an exam when they aren’t permitted (calculator), look at another person’s exam and use their answers, or check a phone for material during an exam.
Maybe you created a cheat sheet and kept it under your desk and referenced it. Or went to the bathroom and reviewed it during the exam.
This could be expanded depending on your college and their definition.
Multiple submissions
You use a previous assignment from a past or current course, and submit it to another professor or another class without consent. Sometimes colleges or universities won’t consider this academic dishonesty, so it’s important to read your student handbook and the college’s policies.
Complicity
You help someone else commit academic dishonesty like giving them your assignment to submit or helping them complete their homework when collaboration wasn’t approved or allowed.
Why you shouldn’t cheat in college
You are paying to learn from your college professor. For every course you take, you want to use that information to improve.
Don’t waste your money by not putting forth the effort to learn the material. The assignments given by your professor are meant to help teach you the material.
The information on exams and the assignments you complete could be necessary for your future career. So it’s important to do the assignments to learn the material.
The skills necessary to complete these assignments or the information learned from studying for an exam are important things to learn. Your professor required these assignments for a reason.
Academic dishonesty won’t help you get a letter of recommendation or reference when you need one.
Can you be expelled from a college for cheating?
This depends on several factors. Are you in an elite college or program?
Sometimes students are enrolled in highly competitive programs and that department could kick you out. Other students may be enrolled in a private university, and they may have varying procedures compared to public universities.
A college can expel you for cheating but this does not usually happen. What typically happens is that they try and remedy the issue first with informal hearings and sanctions. And they normally have to follow certain procedures.
Let me give you an example because there isn’t just a one answer fits all circumstances. It’s complicated.
When a student is caught committing academic dishonesty, they'll get due process. The student is also entitled to know the evidence used against them. And you are given the opportunity to have a hearing and appeal the decision.
What happens if you are caught cheating in college?
Step 1 - Student commits academic dishonesty
The professor catches a student cheating. Or finds out that they completely copied an essay from an online website. A professor may confront the student first before engaging in formal action. Either way, the alleged incident occurred.
Step 2 - Professor gathers evidence
Professor gathers all their evidence, such as a video or a confession from student. Whatever evidence the professor has to support their allegation, they will need to compile it.
If it’s an online class, maybe they have computer records to show potential online cheating. It might be an online proctor, or their learning management system logs. Either way, they will submit that evidence too.
Sometimes the evidence is from a plagiarism checker and they print the report from that tool.
The more evidence they have, the more likely you are to be found responsible.
Step 3 - Professor gives information to appropriate office
The professor will likely file an incident report and submit that to a Dean of Student’s Office or another similar office/committee that handles these matters.
They give all their evidence to support the allegation.
The professor will most likely wait to assign a grade for the assignment until the Dean of Student’s Office makes a determination.
The professor isn’t the one making the final determination.
The Dean of Student’s office (or something similar) is an unbiased mediator. Currently it is considered an allegation. It reminds me of a crime reported to the police. And they file charges. It is just an allegation at this point.
Step 4 - Formal due process hearing and decision
They will notify you. And let you know of the allegations against you and the next steps. How they handle it should be outlined in the student handbook or student code of conduct.
You may waive your right to a due process hearing and proceed with an administrative decision.
If you waive your right, the office/committee responsible for handling these matters will review the evidence, talk to the professor, if necessary. And they will determine if you are found responsible or not responsible.
You can have a due process hearing to present information for yourself as you have the right to be heard.
You might have noticed that you aren’t found guilty. They avoid the criminal term, guilty. It is “responsible.”
They use preponderance of the evidence to determine your responsibility.
This means that you are more likely than not to have committed academic dishonesty. Think of it like a scale. They just have to show that the scale is just slightly tipped one way or another.
It’s not the same standard as a criminal trial. It’s less proof than a criminal trial.
Step 5 - Consequences, if any, are given
If the student is found responsible, the student may be given some consequence. I have some students who have been required to take a seminar over academic dishonesty for minor allegations.
Others who were given a written warning.
And some that have received a failing grade.
The office investigating the allegation will review the student’s academic history and if it’s a serious offense, they may get a more severe disciplinary action.
Here are a few things that could happen.
Course failure
Requirement to complete academic integrity seminar
Zero on assignment
Expelled
Suspended
Removed from degree program
Notation on transcript of academic dishonesty
The professor typically has some say in what happens in their course.
I have allowed students to re-do the assignment before.
This should be outlined in your professor’s syllabus on how they handle academic dishonesty. But it might just be a range. Like a professor could say, a penalty could range from a zero on an assignment to an “F'“ in their course. They have a lot of discretion.
If you have previous infractions, the university or college could kick you out completely.
The incident could result in a notation being placed on your academic transcripts, both official and unofficial. Not all colleges do this so make sure you check to find out their policies. This would ensure anyone who requires a transcript for admission to a university or an employer, will see this mark.
This will be outlined in your college’s policies if they allow this practice.
Step 6 - Appeal
You will likely have some reasons why you can appeal the decision, but these can be limited.
If you are enrolled in a private university, your circumstances are different. Your enrollment is more contractual. This means that the university has more authority over their procedures.
And those due process rights I mentioned before, don’t really apply the same way they do at a public university.
This is because they are not operated by the government and are instead a private entity.
If you are entitled to an appeal, make sure you understand any time constraints to file an appeal and do so quickly, if that is your intent.
What to do if you are caught cheating in college?
It’s a good idea to review your student handbook. It will outline the entire process. Then check your professor’s syllabus to see what their potential penalties are. They differ.
One way you can to try and handle this incidence is to talk with your professor directly (before it escalates). Maybe you can handle it informally before it reaches an administrative office.
Sometimes a professor might say that you will fail their class, others will require you to makeup the assignment or test. Usually the faculty member has the discretion to assign a penalty, but the office/committee determining responsibility can have their own penalty.
If you are in a public university, they will have to give you minimal due process rights but may offer more. This usually means that you will be notified of the claims against you. Be given the evidence used against you, and have the right to be heard and appeal the decision.
The courts have allowed colleges and universities to have broad scope in disciplinary actions against you, but if you think you need additional assistance, you might be able to hire a lawyer. That is rare, but it has happened.
Make sure you maintain academic integrity in the future so that you don’t have an allegation of scholastic dishonesty against you again.
I have a lot of students who may not have known they were committing plagiarism and if that’s you too, make sure you use one of the plagiarism checkers before submitting assignments. Check with your college to see if they offer such service.
And remember, a private school will likely have different protocols because they don’t have the same requirements for due process.
You are not alone. A lot of students have dealt with the same situation as you, and you’ll get through it.
READ NEXT
