ABSTRACT
We think of the legal system in terms of a court, lawyers, and perhaps a jury. But there are many other settings in which institutionally neutral parties are called upon to settle or adjudicate disputes, including administrative hearings, mediation and arbitration. Every university and college has developed its own legal system as well, to deal with issues involving students and/or faculty. One matter that university legal systems deal with routinely is allegations of breaches of academic integrity by students. The stakes in such matters are very high. For the student, a conviction can result in punishments up to expulsion from the university, and being excluded from many professions that require integrity, such as law, accounting and medicine. For the university, too lax a view of academic integrity can lead to an atmosphere in which the honest students feel disadvantaged, and the educational mission of the university is regarded with disdain.
