The office of Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) is a department of the university that promotes and maintains the principles of UC Davis through educating students in academic integrity. SJA maintains an environment of integrity by administering student discipline and fielding student grievances.
Last year, over 300 faculty members and parties referred 977 cases of academic and social misconduct. Students referred for supposed cheating on an exam made up 26 percent, while possible plagiarism cases were 25 percent. Many do not know that SJA also handles social misconduct on and off campus, and so 10 percent of students were referred for alcohol-related incidents.
The sanctions imposed by SJA are meant to be educational for the student and are based on the prior record of the student as well as the circumstances of each particular case. Thus, students that are suspended or dismissed are those who refused to take responsibility for their actions or have a record of misconduct.
For academic cases, 67 percent of students received some form of probation, while six percent (39 students) were suspended for some period of time and one percent (10 students) were dismissed from the university.
In social cases, 36 percent received probation, while two percent (seven students) were suspended and less than one percent (two students) were dismissed.
In addition, many students receive other forms of sanctions. Last year, 4,568 hours of community service were logged by students assigned to community service and many continued on after the mandatory period of time.
Also, 150 students were referred to on-campus programs for assistance such as the Student Academic Success Center (SASC), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs Intervention Services (ATOD) and other organizations to get the help they need.
SJA also fields grievances from students about the faculty and campus policies. Last year there were 33 grievances filed, which can be about arbitrary treatment, discrimination, grading problems and other issues.
Although SJA is a small department, they handle hundreds of cases every year to ensure student growth and development. For further information about SJA go to sja.ucdavis.edu or visit the SJA office at 3000 Dutton Hall.
