Unlike the great judicial deference afforded the highly subjective process of evaluating the quality of a student's performance on assignments, an allegation of academic dishonesty is an assertion that a person has violated a rule. Whether or not such an assertion is true is a fact to be established, not assumed, even when such an assumption seems quite reasonable. Confronting impermissible behavior and stopping it is certainly appropriate. Occasionally, however, one encounters students who are amazingly contentious, despite compelling evidence against them. In such a case, that person may wish to shift the focus from the evidence against him or her to any possible missteps by the University in dealing with the matter.
Courts are insistent that colleges and universities, at a minimum, follow their own procedures.
For The University of Texas at Dallas, these procedures have been designed to protect the interests of students, The University, administrators, and faculty. Fortunately, evidence sufficiently compelling to incline someone to conclude accurately on the spot that a student is cheating should be equally compelling after the fact should the student choose to dispute the allegations in a hearing. Accordingly, it is essenti al to follow established procedures even if you think they are unnecessary and burdensome steps being taken to arrive at the inevitable. Such legalities may sometimes cause reasonable frustrations, but they are realities under which we are obligated to function. As a practical matter, however, following the proper steps rarely prevents us from arriving at the appropriate outcome.