Massachusetts · Private University
Smith College Student Conduct & Academic Misconduct Defense
Facing a Academic Integrity Board proceeding? AdvocatED advisors know Smith's specific process, not generic advice, but guidance built around how your institution actually works.
⏱ Smith's appeal windows are short: seven days for an Academic Integrity Board decision and seven business days for a College Community Standards Board decision. And because Smith's unproctored exams make even a minute of extra time a reportable violation, take any exam-timing allegation seriously. Read your outcome the day it arrives and act quickly.
If you just received notice
What to do right now at Smith
- 1Note the exact date on your notice letter and calendar every deadline it lists. Smith's response and appeal windows are short, and missing one forecloses your options.
- 2Do not respond substantively yet. Before you reply to the Academic Integrity Board, read Academic Integrity Statement and Code of Student Conduct so you know the specific procedure that applies to your case.
- 3Preserve everything related to the allegation: emails, drafts, timestamps, citations, and messages with classmates. This evidence often decides the case.
- 4Confirm your right to an advisor. Most schools, including Smith College, allow you to bring an advisor to a Academic Integrity Board proceeding. AdvocatED can serve in that role.
- 5Contact AdvocatED for a free case review before your Smith meeting. We will explain how the Academic Integrity Board approaches cases like yours and what response gives you the strongest position.
Smith College's Academic Integrity & Conduct Process
Smith, one of the Seven Sisters, adjudicates academic integrity through the Academic Integrity Board (AIB), chaired by an Associate Dean, with three faculty and four students. Non-academic conduct goes to the College Community Standards Board (CCSB). Both apply the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. Smith's academic-integrity framework is its Academic Integrity Statement, not a separate honor code document, and the College's self-scheduled, unproctored exams are a signature feature of its Academic Honor System.
This specific institutional knowledge is what separates AdvocatED from generic advisors. We provide guidance tailored to how Smith's actual process works, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Key Things to Know About Smith's Academic Integrity Board
- →Smith adjudicates academic integrity through the Academic Integrity Board (three faculty, four students, chaired by an Associate Dean) and non-academic conduct through the College Community Standards Board
- →Both boards apply the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, meaning more likely than not that the violation occurred
- →Academic cases are normally reported within about ten days, and a student found in violation cannot drop the course or change its grading option
- →Distinctively, Smith's self-scheduled, unproctored exams mean that taking even one extra minute is a violation of the Academic Integrity Statement and is reported by the Registrar to the Academic Integrity Board
- →The boards do not impose suspension, dismissal, or permanent separation directly; they recommend those outcomes to the College's senior administration for approval
- →Academic appeals are due within seven days (grounds: procedural error, newly discovered materials, or bias), and non-academic appeals within seven business days to the Dean of Students
How AdvocatED Helps Smith Students
Academic Misconduct Defense
Academic Integrity Statement and Code of Student Conduct violations, plagiarism, cheating, AI use, collaboration issues
Learn more →Conduct Hearing Preparation
Coaching and preparation for presenting your case before Academic Integrity Board
Learn more →Academic Dismissal Appeals
Building a compelling appeal through Smith's appeals process
Learn more →Title IX Defense
Navigating Smith College's Title IX investigation and hearing procedures
Learn more →Smith Resources & Guides
Frequently Asked Questions: Smith Students
Who decides conduct cases at Smith College?
Smith uses two boards. The Academic Integrity Board hears academic-integrity cases; it is chaired by an Associate Dean (non-voting) and includes three faculty and four students in a full-board panel. The College Community Standards Board hears non-academic conduct, with a full board of five voting members that aims to include at least three students. Both operate within Smith's student-self-governance Academic Honor System. Note the current names: the academic body is the Academic Integrity Board, and its governing text is the Academic Integrity Statement, not a separate honor code.
How do Smith's self-scheduled exams affect academic integrity cases?
Smith's exams are self-scheduled and unproctored: you check out an exam, take it in a sanctioned classroom without a proctor, and return it by the deadline. Because of that trust-based system, taking extra time, even one minute, is treated as a violation of the Academic Integrity Statement, and the Registrar reports the overtime to the Academic Integrity Board. That makes exam-timing one of the more common and easily misunderstood allegations at Smith, and worth addressing carefully.
What is the standard of proof at Smith?
Both the Academic Integrity Board and the College Community Standards Board apply the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, meaning it is more likely than not that the violation occurred. The Title IX process uses the same standard. Because preponderance is the lowest standard of proof, how the evidence is framed and how you prepare your response are central to the outcome.
How do I appeal a Smith decision, and who can suspend or dismiss me?
For an academic case, you appeal in writing within seven days of the decision letter, on grounds of a procedural error that significantly affected the outcome, newly discovered materials not reasonably available at the hearing, or evidence of biased treatment; a committee chaired by the Dean of the College decides, and findings of not responsible or a warning cannot be appealed. For a non-academic case, you appeal within seven business days to the Dean of Students. The boards themselves do not impose suspension, dismissal, or permanent separation; they recommend those outcomes to senior administration for approval.
Do I need a lawyer for a Smith College conduct case?
In most cases, no. Smith's proceedings follow the Academic Integrity Statement and Code of Student Conduct, not the court system, and its Honor System is student-run. What helps most is someone who understands the two-board structure, the unproctored-exam rules, and the seven-day appeal windows. An education advocate typically provides more targeted guidance than a general-practice attorney, at a fraction of the cost. AdvocatED can serve as your advisor and help you prepare your response and any appeal.
Related guides for Smith students
Topic-specific guides that cover the situations Smith students most commonly face.
Facing a Smith Conduct Issue?
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