For Investigating Officers

The following is a short list of general reminders for faculty members serving as IOs, condensed from a longer document regularly made available to IOs (“Reminders for Investigating Officers”). A copy of that document is available to any IO upon request.

• Generally, the investigation and filing of an Incident Report is expected to take two weeks from the date of the investigating officer’s initial receipt of the case.
• Please believe that the Honor Council tries to keep the load balanced among IOs. However, to do this effectively, we need all IOs to be willing to investigate cases.
• If the student will not answer phone calls or respond to e-mails, please let us know; it’s possible we can find another means of contact. Also, we like to stay generally informed of investigative difficulties.
• In addition to taking good notes when talking to students and faculty members, it’s highly advisable to get a written statement from the student as soon as possible.
• Please use the most recent version of the Incident Report form to write your report.
• If more than one student is involved, please consider submitting one Incident Report Form for each student. It’s okay to copy and paste between forms for the basics of the case and then give more details pertaining to each student’s particular involvement on his or her individual form.
• Don’t feel that you need to repeat basic information already included in the accusing faculty member’s statement. Anyone who reads your report (Honor Council staff or Hearing Board members) will have access to any background information.
• Remember to consider if the case fits the qualifications for the expedited process.
• Please do not send confidential material through campus mail.
• Never hesitate to ask contact us with any questions or concerns. We recognize that each case is different, with unique subtleties that often require talking with experienced Honor Council faculty or staff members.