Filing Incidents: Step-by-Step

Faculty must notify the student via their Conestoga email within three business days of noticing potential misconduct.

• Note that this is three days from when the incident is first suspected, not three days from when the incident/evaluation occurred.

• If an incident occurred in a testing situation, and the student was told immediately of the faculty's intent to file, the full 3-3-3 is still required. The faculty must follow up in writing to explain/summarize the incident.

This step creates an electronic "paper trail," and allows the student a fair opportunity to explain any possible misunderstanding. This reduces the chances of an appeal.

The student has three business days to respond to their faculty with evidence. This can include an explanation that helps contextualize the situation, proof of original work (such as version histories, drafts, or research notes), or any other material that might shift the balance of probabilities in the case.

Some students may respond using our student email templates, or may use genAI to help them compose a response. Please keep in mind that using genAI for these kind of communications is not an Academic Integrity Violation, or evidence that genAI was used in assessments.

• If there is still a productive ongoing conversation happening at the 3-day point, or if it is determined that a meeting needs to be scheduled and this cannot occur within the 3-day limit, the timeline can also be extended. Faculty are, however, encouraged to keep the process as close to the three-day limit as possible to reduce both faculty workload and student stress.

• If the student is sending repeated emails with no new evidence, it is better to move on.

• NOTE: Student Success Week does not count towards the three business days.

Once a student has sent all of their evidence, faculty can move to Step 3, even if less than three business days have passed. If the student does not reply within the three business days, the faculty can move to Step 3.

Faculty have three business days to make their final decision and file the incident based on the available evidence and the balance of probabilities (i.e. whether misconduct is more likely than not to have occurred). There are two outcomes: 

• No academic incident is filed; or 
• An academic incident is filed using the Integrity Violations tab located in the Employee Portal. For help with this process, you can review our video guide to Filing Incidents in the Employee Portal.

Once an outcome has been finalized, the student will be notified via automatic email to their Conestoga email.

This can include selecting the wrong category, penalty, or student.

This can be as simple as having clicked the wrong button or as complex as discovering new evidence that changes a filing decision.

It also might occur when faculty need to change the category or penalty following an appeal. Category errors generally require an explanatory email to the student(s) involved to let them know why the filing is being changed.

 Clerical errors include finalizing the incident by mistake before the investigation is finished, forgetting to upload evidence, or realizing a small detail was incorrect in the incident description, etc.

Clerical errors can be quickly re-filed. Best practice is to send a brief email to the student letting them know that a minor correction is being made and nothing has changed; this prevents the student from mistakenly believing they are receiving a new incident.

Sometimes, faculty may file incidents and then come to regret their choice of category or penalty even though the filing was not "incorrect" under the policy.

In general, once the case is finalized it is considered unfair to go back and increase the student's penalty. The exception to this is if significant new evidence emerges that requires the case to be completely re-considered, or if the student themselves re-opens consideration of the facts by submitting new evidence in an appeal.

Re-filing with a lower penalty is more generally acceptable as long as the lower penalty would still initially have to be supported by policy.

Sometimes, faculty may come to regret filing at all due to student reactions or the long-term impacts on students' academic careers. Student reactions can be saddening or frightening. Faculty should try to keep in mind that any time an Academic Integrity Violation occurs, filing is the correct decision. Rather than removing the incident, faculty should seek additional support for themselves and the student.

If additional support is required in the wake of an academic decision, consider one of the following:

• Student Success Advisor - For academic planning or making up lost credits. 
• International Student Advisor - To discuss any potential impact on visas or permits.
• Campus Security - For immediate intervention if faculty are concerned that a student may harm themselves or others, or for immediate support during unsafe on-campus interactions, or if faculty need support with an inappropriate or aggressive student reaction.
• CARE Team - If faculty are concerned about a student's mental health or well-being (CARE Team referrals allow for tracking and follow-up).
• Student Rights and Responsibilities - For follow-up and accountability around student behaviour.
• Faculty Email Templates - To handle badgering or repetitive emails.

Full-time students should be directed to the Appeal Request Form on Laserfische, and part-time students should be directed to email their Chair.

Note that students should not email their faculty to appeal. Faculty and students had the opportunity to discuss the incident during the 3-3-3 process.

If an incident is likely to be appealed for any reason, it can save time to let the Chair know in advance and send them any additional relevant information about the investigation. It is good practice to explain the incident clearly and thoroughly in the Description Box and upload supporting documentation when filing the incident, but there may be additional information or context that the filing form could not capture. Chairs have 5 business days to review the appeal, and having the full story available to them in advance can simplify this process.

Depending on the Chair's decision, the student may be able to escalate their appeal to the Dean. After the Dean, it may reach the Registrar, with a final, formal appeal. At all three stages, the investigator may reach out to the faculty for additional information.

Academic misconduct investigation can be complicated. It can be stressful for faculty to make the final decision on these cases, particularly when considering a high-level penalty that may impact a student's academic career. Having the Chair or Dean review the case can provide reassurance that the right decisions were made, or provide a useful second perspective on alternate paths that could have been taken.

Occasional appeals are a normal part of navigating Academic Integrity Violations. If an incident is modified or overturned on appeal, it is not a judgement on the faculty who made the filing.

If an appeal is successful, it does not necessarily result in an incident being removed from the student's record. For example, a student may appeal on the grounds that there was too high a jump in penalty. If this is found to be true, the incident could be re-filed with a lower penalty level. Or a student may appeal on the grounds that they were not given a chance to present evidence in their own defense. This is valid grounds for appeal. But if the student's evidence is fully considered and found not to change the case, the incident may be upheld.

In general, incidents are only removed if something is discovered during the appeal that changes the balance of evidence.

All policy and procedure documents, including the appeals procedure, can be reviewed through our policy and procedures page.

Faculty may also find it helpful to review the CSI's Academic Appeals page, which exists to help guide students through the process.