- Appeal
- A formal request that a higher authority review an institutional decision. Appeals usually require specific grounds: procedural error, new evidence, or disproportionate sanction.
- Appellate Board
- A panel of faculty, staff, and sometimes students that reviews appeals from initial conduct findings. Composition and authority vary by institution.
- BOI (Burden of Inquiry)
- Some campus conduct systems place the burden of inquiry on the institution rather than the student, meaning the institution must develop the evidence rather than assuming it.
- COAM
- Committee on Academic Misconduct. Ohio State's body that adjudicates academic-integrity allegations. Other institutions use similarly named bodies.
- Due Process
- The procedural protections owed to a student before adverse action. Public institutions are bound by the Fourteenth Amendment; private institutions are bound by their published policies.
- FAIR System
- Faculty Academic Integrity Reporting system used at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to log and route academic-integrity allegations.
- Fundamental Fairness
- The standard of procedural fairness that private-college conduct processes must meet. Roughly parallels public-school due process but is grounded in contract law and institutional policy.
- Informal Resolution
- A non-hearing pathway for resolving conduct allegations, typically faster but with limited appeal rights. Often a one-on-one meeting with a conduct officer.
- Office of Student Conduct
- The administrative office at most institutions handling student-discipline matters. Names vary: Community Standards, Student Rights and Responsibilities, Dean of Students, etc.
- OSACR
- Penn State's Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response. Handles academic-integrity and conduct matters.
- OSI
- Georgia Tech's Office of Student Integrity. Adjudicates honor-code and student-conduct violations.
- OSRR
- Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Used at Purdue, ASU, and other institutions to handle conduct cases.
- Preponderance of the Evidence
- The standard of proof used in most campus conduct hearings: more likely than not (>50%) that a violation occurred. Lower than the criminal beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard.
- Procedural Error
- A failure by the institution to follow its own published policies or procedures. Often the strongest ground for an appeal because it is verifiable and policy-based.
- SCCR
- Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. The University of Florida office routing academic-integrity referrals to the Student Honor Court.
- SJACS
- USC's Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards. Routes academic-integrity matters to the Academic Integrity Review Board.
- Vice Chancellor / Vice Provost
- Senior officer to whom appeals from suspension or dismissal are typically routed at large public universities. UCLA suspensions and dismissals appeal to the Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs.