Overview of the HEC Process

The following actions may be alleged against undergraduate students in the College and the School of Business. The brief description provided for each violation is meant to broadly define the types of behavior prohibited in all academic contexts; they are not intended to be comprehensive or exhaustive. 

Cheating: Providing or receiving unauthorized assistance to complete coursework 

Plagiarism: Submitting work completed by another person or entity as one’s own

Deception: Submitting or providing false information that prevents informed decision-making

Stealing: Taking or receiving another’s material or intellectual property without their consent

Contempt: Obstructing or hindering the HEC process 

• Reporting Instructor submits the reporting form for the Judicial Liaison (JL) to review
• Judicial Liaison determines if the allegation is reasonably supported by the available information, such that a hearing is warranted.
  • The JL may choose to collect additional information and materials as appropriate.
• Judicial Liaison submits the report of alleged academic misconduct to the Academic Student Conduct Coordinator (ASCC)
• Academic Student Conduct Coordinator provides the student with the following information:
  • Notification that the case has been brought forward
  • Information about the steps of the Academic Honor Code process
  • Information about support from staff (ASCC) and option for a support person
  • Instructions and a deadline for completing the Student Statement
  • Instructions and a deadline for requesting either an “Expedited” or a “Regular” hearing
• Academic Student Conduct Coordinator compiles all of the case materials and makes them available to the appropriate parties
• Academic Student Conduct Coordinator schedules hearing
  • Student requests regarding the type of hearing (“Expedited” or “Regular”) will be granted to the extent that they are reasonable and feasible, but the HEC Co-Chairs make the final decision in unusual circumstances.
• Co-Chair, acting as the Hearing Chair, convenes the hearing and then facilitates the panel’s deliberations to determine the student’s responsibility and to assign sanctions when warranted
• Student is informed of the Outcome (the finding of “Responsible” or “Not Responsible” and any accompanying sanctions) and the process for appealing the HEC decision via a formal letter delivered to the student’s registered Wake Forest email address.
  • In most cases, the student will be invited to wait until deliberations are concluded when they may receive the Outcome in person as well. Waiting is not required.
• Instructor is notified of the Outcome. In cases where the finding is “Not Responsible,” the instructor then submits the student’s earned grade for the course (according to the University Registrar’s procedures). If the finding is “Responsible,” HEC will report the sanction to the University Registrar.

Honor Code Sanctions: When a hearing panel has determined that it is more likely than not that a student has engaged in academic misconduct, the following sanctions may be assigned. Each case is considered on its own merits. An Irreplaceable F stands as the presumptive sanction for academic misconduct.

Replaceable F

A grade of F will be assigned and registered for the course in which the student has been found responsible for academic misconduct. The student may choose to retake the course and earn a replacement grade in keeping with the policy outlined in the Undergraduate Bulletin. If the student repeats the course and obtains a grade for the repeated course, both the sanctioned F and the grade in the repeated course will remain on the transcript, but only the grade in for the repeated course will be used in the calculation of the student’s GPA. 

Irreplaceable F

A grade of F will be assigned and registered for the course in which the student has been found responsible for academic misconduct. The student may retake the course and earn a new grade, but the sanctioned F will remain on the transcript and be included in the calculation of the student’s GPA. 

Suspension

For a specified period of time, typically (though not exclusively) a semester, a student found responsible for academic misconduct will not be allowed to remain enrolled as a Wake Forest student. During this period, the student will not earn academic credit for any courses, whether at Wake Forest or another institution, to meet the Wake Forest graduation requirements. Students may also face additional requirements for re-enrollment. In such cases, the terms are to be set by the Hearing Panel and included in the written notice of the student’s suspended status. The student will be eligible for re-enrollment at the conclusion of the suspension period and satisfactory completion of any additional terms. An Irreplaceable F in the course will be assigned in addition to the Suspension sanction. 

Expulsion

The permanent removal of a student from Wake Forest. Expelled students are not allowed to return to educational activities on any of Wake Forest’s campuses. An Irreplaceable F in the course will be assigned in addition to the Expulsion sanction.