About Student Conduct and Accountability
The Student Conduct and Accountability (SCA) office has three primary functions: making decisions on complaints, educating and training the university community, and advising campus partners on student conduct matters.
As part of our commitment to transparency and fairness, we publish an annual report for the U of A community. This report covers the functions of the office, current statistics and trends.
DECISION-MAKING
Decision-making in student misconduct cases involves two key determinations: first, whether a student violated either the Student Academic Integrity Policy (SAIP) or the Student Conduct Policy (SCP), and second, if a violation occurred, what appropriate sanctions and conduct conditions should be imposed.
Decision-makers are individuals at the university who have been delegated the authority to make decisions on cases of student misconduct.
Student Academic Misconduct
Most cases of academic misconduct are resolved at the faculty level. Student Conduct Officers have the authority to apply sanctions such as suspension, expulsion, suspension of a degree and rescission of a degree. When a Faculty Decision-Maker seeks to impose any of these specific sanctions, they will refer the case to SCA.
Student Non-Academic Misconduct
Those impacted by a student's non-academic misconduct have several support and response options. The Dean of Students is responsible for accepting complaints under the Student Conduct Policy. Once these complaints have been investigated, a report of the facts related to the case is sent to SCA. We base our decisions on the information in the report and our hearings with the complainant and respondent.
Student Conduct Officers
Student Conduct Officers make decisions on complaints of alleged student academic and non-academic misconduct. Student Conduct Officers make decisions on two matters:
- whether the alleged activity was a violation of a policy, and
- if we find that it was, what the appropriate sanction(s) would be.
The policies that apply include the Student Academic Integrity Policy and the Student Conduct Policy. We follow these policies while balancing three key considerations: the rights of the accused student, fairness for those affected by the alleged violation and the safety and integrity of the campus community.
We also make decisions on specific types of appeals: appeals of Student Misconduct Tickets and appeals of the Dean of Students’ decision not to proceed with a complaint under the Student Conduct Policy.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Student Integrity Education Officer
The Student Integrity Education Officer educates students about appropriate academic and non-academic behavior within the university community. The goal is to help students understand appropriate behaviour and recognize how inappropriate actions affect others, ultimately preventing misconduct before it occurs.
Educational Program Designer
The Educational Program Designer supports the SCA team with the development of educational resources necessary for the promotion of positive student conduct, as well as training materials for faculty and staff across the university.
ADVISING AND STUDENT CONDUCT SUPPORT
Student Conduct and Accountability acts as a repository of knowledge and experience on addressing student conduct, providing support and advice to other offices engaged in addressing or supporting conduct processes.
If you are a respondent or complainant participating in a complaint process and need advice or support, you can reach out to: