Concerns about Students

On this page you fill find resources available for reporting a student's academic misconduct or addressing any other concerns you might have about your students. The EHHD Crisis Response Plan provides guidance and resources for emergency situations.

As a faculty member, if you have a student who is demonstrating cause for concern, first note that EHHD has a professional support system to help both you and the student to resolve issues. The Senior Assistant Dean works with faculty, staff and students to ensurethat students have access to what they need on campus to be successful. Whether you areworried about class disruption, mental health, absences, or a possibledanger to self or others(whether based on agut feeling ortangible evidence), the S.A.D. will be able to help. 

If you are concerned that a student is going to harm themselves or others, you are encouraged to immediately call university police at 911 should you feel the situation warrants. Please let the Senior Assistant Dean know if you have done this so she can follow-up if necessary.

The Senior Assistant Dean also addresses student frustrations with faculty members. This personserves as a mediatorbetween faculty and students, as a supportive guide and advisor to students and as a consultant to help facultyhave conversations with challenging students. They also offer resources for referral when appropriate. PROCESS TIP: The Senior Assistant Dean can initiate contact with a student and offer to meet one-on-one if the faculty member firstemails the student and copies the Senior Assistant Dean, they will then reach out to the student within a few days if she doesn't hear directly from the student.

The Senior Assistant Dean also deals with end-of-semester issues such as grades,college probation, university probation, suspension warnings and suspensions (all based on cumulative GPA). She always sends an email to students not in good standing at the end of every semester with a list of resources and an invitation to meet and develop aplan for creating a path to success. PROCESS TIP:  If you’re concerned about a student’s academic status, you may be able to access information in DegreeWorks, but generally this system is primarily for our professional academic advisors.  DegreeWorks information can be found in MyInfo under the Advisor tab to which you may have access. Faculty can request access to the Advisor tab by contacting the Registrar’s Office at registrar@montana.edu. If a student is not in good standing, the Senior Assistant Dean will be apprised through the system, and reach out to the student to discuss a plan and the resources available to them.  She also meets with students who are being suspended, or coming back from suspension.

Every EHHD student is assigned a departmental advisor with whom they meet once each semester to come up with a plan of study for the following semester. If they see fit, they may refer a student to a faculty member for mentoring. PROCESS TIP: If a student approaches you with questions about classes, you should send them to the advisors, not the Senior Assistant Dean.

On a daily basis, the Senior Assistant Dean supports students who are experiencing disruptions in their personal lives such as breakups, family deaths, roommate fights, fiscal crises, or anything else that can disrupt a student’s academic work. Faculty are welcome to refer students in these types of situations. She in turnmay refer the studentto other campus services. The college offers a list of both Academic and Non-Academic Support Resources.

Note that the College of EHHD, because of its role in developing teachers and educational leaders, has some very specific expectations and protocols to be aware of, specifically the Professional Competencies and Dispositions for Professional Educators. These exist due to the high stakes in teacher preparation. In accordance with these protocols, the teacher preparation programs have a formalized set of procedures for addressing faculty concerns about students' behaviors and dispositions. PROCESS TIP: Faculty who feel a student is failing to meet either the competencies or dispositions is required to have a conversation with the student identifying their concern and the reasons for the concern. Faculty are encouraged to reach out to any or all members of the Department of Education’s Student SupportTeam (S.S.T.) for assistance with these conversations, or any other question or concern about student behavior, either positive or negative. The S.S.T. approach is modeled on Multi-Tiered System of Support. The team focuses on supporting faculty and staff, empowering them to identify students who need development in academic or dispositional areas. The S.S.T. uses the Crucial Conversations model (training available to all MSU faculty/staff through HR). 

PROCESS TIP: Please contact any team member for assistance with supporting students in areas for growth and areas of celebration.  

Department of Education Student Support Team 2022-2023

Gini Mohr – Assistant Director, Field Placement & Licensure

John Melick – Director, Field Placement & Licensure

Karen Waller – Instructor, Department of Education

Marcie Reuer – Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Education

RC Townsend – Academic Advisor, Department of Education

Sarah Schmitt-Wilson – Director of Operations, Department of Education

PROCESS TIP:  If the student’s behavior persists after an initial conversation, instructors, field supervisors, or others may refer to the Department’s Student Success page that addresses "Student Success, Program Variance, and Grievance Procedures for Students and Faculty." Continued failure to meet the expectations may result in the student being placed on a Professional Improvement Plan.

The complete set of MSU/EHHD conduct guidelines and grievance procedures is spelled out at the Student Success Procedures webpage.

Concerns about Graduate Student Growth

Graduate students may need different kinds of supports. Grad students have to navigate the Graduate School's policies, departmental policies, programs of study, committee selection, and additional deadlines and forms. The support structure specific to graduate students is managed by each department or program, and centrally by the MSU Graduate School.

In HHD, graduate student procedures vary with each program. In Education, Department Head Dr. Sarah Pennington and Director of Operations Dr. Sarah Schmitt-Wilson consult with all graduate students upon request, both with issues they have (personally or with faculty) and regarding their academic program. The Graduate Programs Coordinator (Micki MacGregor) is available for questions about processes and procedures related to the Department of Education's graduate programs.  PROCESS TIP: Program content questions such as course selection are to be dealt with by the faculty advisor.

Academic Misconduct Reporting

Academic misconduct includes cheating, plagiarism, forgery, falsification, facilitation or aiding academic dishonesty; multiple submission, theft of instructional materials or tests; unauthorized access to, manipulation of or tampering with laboratory equipment, experiments, computer programs, or animals without proper authorization; alteration of grades or files; misuse of research data in reporting results; use of personal relationships to gain grades or favors, or otherwise attempting to obtain grades or credit through fraudulent means. PROCESS TIP: If you have concern about a student in your classroom violating the academic misconduct policy please take the following steps:

  1. Gather any materials that verify your suspicion of academic misconduct.
  2. Review the incident with a fellow colleague, your Department Head, Dean (or S.A.D.) and/or an Office of the Dean of Students staff member to gain another perspective on the situation and familiarize yourself with the reporting process.
  3. Contact the student to set up a time to discuss the situation/incident.
  4. Meet with the student and discuss your perspective on what happened. Give the student an opportunity to share their perspective as well. You may want to consider inviting a colleague, the S.A.D. and/or an Office of the Dean of Students staff member to join this meeting. It is also acceptable for the student to bring an additional support person with them, should they choose to do so.
  5. Make a determination of responsibility and notify the student in writing of your determination. Report the academic misconduct violation and outcome to the Office of the Dean of Students by completing the online Academic Misconduct Reporting Form.

A student’s first incident of academic misconduct is handled at the instructor’s discretion. The instructor may impose sanctions A through E of section 435.00 of the Code of Student Conduct for students found culpable of academic misconduct. These sanctions range from an oral reprimand to a lower or failing grade in the course. After an instructor submits the Academic Misconduct Reporting form and it is determined that the violation was the student's second incident of academic misconduct, the student will be referred to the student conduct process. The student will have the option to sign an administrative agreement, accepting responsibility for the academic misconduct violation and agreeing to sanctions. If the student does not take responsibility for the incident, they will be informed of the appeals process which may ultimately result in a student conduct hearing. A student found responsible for a second incident of academic misconduct may be sanctioned with F through I of section 435.00. These sanctions range from removal of the student from the course through disciplinary probation, suspension, or expulsion from the University.

Student Originality and use of TurnItIn

Montana State University has a license agreement with TurnItIn, a web-based service that verifies the originality of student work by comparing a submitted paper to information available on the internet, databases of journal articles, and millions of student papers previously submitted to TurnItIn. Information about TurnItIn plagiarism detection software is available at MSU's UIT webpage, including resources for using TurnItIn with D2L, understanding originality reports, and more. PROCESS TIP: Note that some students (such as international students) come to MSU with no or a very different understanding of what qualifies as plagiarism. You are encouraged to first have a conversation with an offending student, perhaps showing them what TurnItIn is showing in their papers, before making judgments or taking action. The library offers a tutorial on how to avoid plagiarism. This chapter's section on Faculty Teaching Guidance and Supports provides language you can insert in your syllabus about this issue. The Dean of Students' page on Academic Misconduct @ MSU offers further information on how to, if warranted, report the misconduct.

Dean of Students’ Reporting Forms and Resources:

The Dean of Students has a separate student Academic Misconduct Reporting Form as well as a Care Form. Also under the Dean of Students' Division of Student Success you'll find the Allen Yarnell Center for Student Success.  The AYCSS offers an Early Alert program and referral form to complete if you have concerns about a student’s class attendance, test scores (particularly D & F’s), homework assignments (incomplete or poorly completed) or class interaction/engagement.

MSU CARES has a well trained team composed of members from the Office of the Dean of Students, University Police, Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Health Service, Residence Life, Disability Services, and Veteran Services who can assist with different situations as needed. The MSU CARES program offers quick links regarding Aggressive Students who may be manifesting diverse types of behaviors.

The MSU Dean of Students leads the "MSU CARE Program" (Campus Assessment Response Education Support) program that counsels "See Something, Say Something, Do Something." PROCESS TIP: If you are concerned about the welfare of someone affiliated  with MSU and this is a non-emergency, you are encouraged to complete a CARE ALERT. Sometimes people cannot or will not ask for support, so informing the Dean of Students of your concern may be a critical factor in getting them assistance. There are a number of reasons why someone might need help that you can report on this form, including but not limited to: threats of suicide or self-harm, threats regarding violence to others, other mental health related concerns and concerns to the safety of the community.

PROCESS TIP: If you consider the situation to be an emergency, call 911. This will mobilize either the campus or city police, or both as needed and appropriate. The Dean of Students offers a Safety & Welfare Guide Poster for faculty and staff regarding safety, mental health, disruptive behavior, personal crises, sexual assault/violence and academic difficulties, with guidelines for intervention. The Dean of Students offers the following Resources and Guidelines for Intervention:

You can have a profound effect on students when you openly acknowledge that you are aware of their distress, are sincerely concerned about their welfare, and are willing to help them explore options. Whenever possible, we encourage you to speak directly and honestly to students if you sense academic or personal distress.

  1. Request to see the student in private. This should help minimize embarrassment and defensiveness. Show respect for the student.
  2. Briefly share your observations and perceptions of the student's situation. Express your concerns directly and honestly.
  3. Listen carefully. Try to see the issues from the student's point of view without agreeing or disagreeing.
  4. Attempt to identify the problem. Is the student connected with any ongoing resources? You can help by exploring options to deal with the concern.
  5. Acknowledge inappropriate or strange behavior. Comment on what you observe without sounding judgmental.
  6. Flexibility in administering established policies may allow an alienated student to respond more effectively to your concerns.
  7. Involve yourself only as far as you are comfortable, then refer the student to the appropriate resources. As you attempt to reach out to a troubled student, do not become more involved than time or skill permits

Student Complaints

The following links provide information on students' rights and responsibilities: Student Rights and Responsibilities - EHHD Faculty Handbook, and MSU Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Students who have a complaint about an instructor may file an Instructor Grievance following the steps outlined on this Dean of Students page. Or, a student may choose to address the issue within the College of EHHD by contacting the Senior Assistant Dean.

If a parent calls, please ensure you follow FERPA guidelines and do not discuss anything specific about their student. You are not allowed even to confirm or deny that a student is on campus or in your class. You may explain policies and procedures about your classes or about campus FERPA procedures. See the section on Student Rights and Responsibilities in this Handbook chapter. Please consult with the Senior Assistant Dean before having any in-depth conversations.