The emotional impact of academic misconduct allegations on students

Facing academic misconduct allegations, and formal institutional processes of investigation and discipline, are potentially distressing experiences for students in higher education. However, limited research has investigated this experience, and none has previously sought to gauge the level of psychological distress felt by students who have undergone formal academic misconduct processes. In this study, 22 students who had faced a formal academic misconduct allegation completed a norm-referenced measure of psychological distress reporting their feelings at the time of facing these allegations. This measurement allowed a comparison of their levels of anxiety, stress, and depression symptoms with those of typical adults and similar students. We found that half of the students reported experiencing severe or extremely severe depression and more than half reported extremely severe anxiety at the time of facing a formal academic misconduct process. Over 40% of the students experienced severe or extremely severe stress. Although students found formal academic misconduct processes to be educational, they were sometimes not timely, with delays exacerbating distress. These findings indicate that formal academic misconduct processes should be expeditious and highlight both the risk of putting students through formal academic misconduct processes unnecessarily and the need for psychological support for students facing misconduct allegations.