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Academic Misconduct (COAM)

The Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM) is a pool of faculty and students from which small panels are drawn to hear cases of alleged academic misconduct. When a panel determines that academic misconduct has occurred, its members decide on the appropriate sanction. The committee as a whole considers the broader issues of academic misconduct and provides feedback to instructors and departments about best practices and policies.

Information on Committee Expectations

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Leadership

  • Jay Wellman headshot
    Jay Wellman
    Business, Faculty Senator 2026-2029
    COAM Chair, 2025-2027

Membership

MemberSourceTerm Ends

Jennifer Dush 

Faculty Council2027

Ash Faulkner 

Faculty Council2027

Chris Fortney 

Faculty Council2027

Kayla Herbell 

Faculty Council2027

Megan Mefford 

Faculty Council2027

Steven Salopek 

Faculty Council2027

Jay Wellman 

Faculty Council2027

Travis West 

Faculty Council2027

Karen Winstead 

Faculty Council2027

Andrea Baldwin 

Faculty Council 

2028 

Sheryl Barringer 

Faculty Council 

2028 

Louise Campbell 

Faculty Council 

2028 

Lisa Cravens-Brown 

Faculty Council 

2028 

Galey Modan 

Faculty Council 

2028 

Bobby Ramsey 

Faculty Council 

2028 

Kristen Adams 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Ann Bartman 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Christina Billman 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Amy Brunell 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Oksana Chkrebtii 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Melanie Dickman 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Anna Hamilton 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Libby Hertenstein 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Ran Hu 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Samantha Krening 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Thomas McDow 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Lauren Pino 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Naeem Shareef 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Trisha Van Zandt 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Deborah Wilson 

Faculty Council 

2029 

Abdullah Al Mahmud 

CGS 

2027

Peyton Chrisner 

CGS 

2027

William DeVito 

CGS 

2027

Tanay Jawdekar 

CGS 

2027

Xiaofeng Jiang 

CGS 

2027

Anna Kolganova 

CGS 

2027

Megan Maxton 

CGS 

2027

Nishita Meshram 

CGS 

2027

Kylee Montgomery 

CGS 

2027

Amanda Mullen 

CGS 

2027

Amrhen Ortega 

CGS 

2027

Mashnur Rashid 

CGS 

2027

Connor Rouillier 

CGS 

2027

Sumita Sen 

CGS 

2027

Piyush Sharma 

CGS 

2027

Maryam Alabdullah 

USG 

2027 

Vivian Chou 

USG 

2027 

Alex Cross 

USG 

2027 

Achraf Elinani 

USG 

2027 

Adriana Freitas 

USG 

2027 

Annaliese Gualtier 

USG 

2027 

Shrilekha Kalavakolanu 

USG 

2027 

Sahana Karthik 

USG 

2027 

David Le 

USG 

2027 

John Paul Neufarth 

USG 

2027 

Indrakshi Pal 

USG 

2027 

Savina Reo 

USG 

2027 

Kell Tuttle 

USG 

2027 

Sam Wheelock 

USG 

2027 

 USG2027
Danny GlassmanVP OSL Designee 
Jennifer WhetstoneProvost Appointee 

Rule 3335-5-48.7 Committee on Academic Misconduct

(A) Membership

The committee on academic misconduct shall consist of sixty-two members.
 

  1. Thirty faculty, at least half of whom shall be tenure-track faculty. Faculty members are eligible for reappointment, but may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
     
  2. Thirty students.
     
    1. Fifteen graduate students.
       
    2. Fifteen undergraduate students. The term of service shall begin with the summer term
       
  3. Two administrators.
     
    1. The vice president for student life or designee, non-voting.
       
    2. The director of the Office of the Committee on Academic Misconduct, appointed by the executive vice president and provost, who shall not participate in the decisions of the committee. The director may recommend student members for approval bythe appointing body, as specified in paragraph (B)(1) of rule 3335-5-46 of the Administrative Code.
       
  4. Alternate members.
     

Faculty and students who have been regular members of the committee during the previous three years shall be eligible to be alternate members, providing they remain at the university in their same category.

(B) Duties and Responsibilities
  1. Investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct, with the exception of cases in a professional college having a published honor code, and decide upon suitable disciplinary action. (The term "academic misconduct" is defined in paragraph (A) of rule 3335-23-04 of the Administrative Code.) Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee.
  2. Investigate all cases of lax or irregular methods of conducting examinations that might tend to promote academic misconduct on the part of students, with the exception of cases in a professional college having a published honor code. The committee shall report its findings in these cases to the executive vice president and provost.
  3. Serve as a consultant on questions of academic misconduct for any professional college having a published honor code. (Note: this committee shall not have jurisdiction over cases involving student academic misconduct in professional colleges having published honor codes. These colleges shall follow their own codes in investigating reported cases of academic misconduct and in determining suitable disciplinary action. When the action taken involves suspension, dismissal, or entry on the student's permanent record, a recommendation to that effect shall be made to the executive vice president and provost for review and action.)
(C) Organization
  1. The committee on academic misconduct is authorized to:
     
    1. Establish panels of its members which will conduct hearings and make decisions with the same authority as the committee itself;
    2. Establish rules and procedures to conduct hearings, including the definition of a quorum.
  2. If the caseload of the committee should from time to time become such that cases cannot be set for hearing within four weeks (excluding periods of examinations or between vacations and recesses between semesters, terms, or sessions), the chair shall be empowered to ask alternate members to serve voluntarily and temporarily as members of hearing panels.
  3. As a standing committee of the senate, this committee is also governed by the provisions of rules 3335-5-46 and 3335-5-48 of the Administrative Code.

(Board approval dates: 5/1/1986, 2/5/1988, 11/2/1990, 7/12/1991, 2/4/1993, 11/4/1994, 5/3/1996, 4/4/1997, 4/3/1998, 6/1/2001, 6/7/2005, 5/14/2010, 6/6/2014, 4/7/2017, 5/31/2019)