Top of page

Violations and Sanctions of the Honor System

Violations

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 

Additional Information

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.