Will my academic appeal succeed? Second misconduct case with serious mental health issues.

[Jennifer2345]

Hi everyone,
I was recently expelled from university for academic misconduct. This was, admittedly, my second offence. At the time of the first incident, I was already struggling with serious health issues, but I wasn't in a place to speak up or submit mitigating circumstances. By the time I tried, the evidence was submitted too late to be considered.
I've now submitted an appeal with updated mitigating circumstances, including new medical evidence from my psychiatrist that wasn't available earlier because my diagnosis and treatment were still in progress. I've taken full responsibility for my actions l'm not denying what happened.
I made a mistake, and I fully own that
The purpose of my appeal is to explain why it happened and to provide the context that was missing at the time.
According to university regulations, expulsion isn't supposed to be the automatic outcome if valid mitigating circumstances exist but because my evidence was post-dated, it was never taken into account. Now that l've submitted proper documentation, l'm hoping the university will reconsider.
I know a second offence makes things more complicated, but l've done a lot of work to get to a better place mentally and emotionally. I just want a second chance to move forward and do things right. Has anyone been through something similar? Do appeals like this ever work?

It's likely to depend on many things. What exactly you did, first of all. What evidence your care team provided. How your health issues directly and indirectly impacted your conduct. And so on.

That there was a second offense is a problem. This is now a pattern of behavior.

If you don't feel coming disclosing details (and I can fully understand why you wouldn't) then there's really no way for anyone to estimate how successful you might be here.

@temperedolivei committed academic misconduct twice… the first time I got a chance to redo my work then the second time I was in a very dark place I was dealing with severe mental health issues that were undiagnosed and untreated. I was later diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, PTSD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and my psychiatrist has confirmed that these conditions significantly impaired my judgment and ability to cope with stress. Which I’ve mentioned everything in my appeal with medical report and how it affected me back then.

I wish you luck and better health. No matter what the outcome of this appeal, it's really good that you've taken steps to get care and that you have a proper diagnosis now. Remember that no matter how this plays out, you've taken that giant leap forward.

@temperedoliveThank you!! And based on people similar cases as mine what was the outcome??

No one can really say - as a pp said it depends what form the misconduct took. Paying someone else to write your essay vs missing off a couple of references?

A timeline would also help - should you even have been studying. At my institution you’d have had to have a fit to study assessment and it’s possibly you wouldn’t have been allowed to study until your MH was manageable.

If you’re not allowed back can you take the credits you have and continue elsewhere?

@titchyThanks, that’s a fair point. Just to clarify, I was actually an external student this academic year while waiting for the outcome of my hearing.

The misconduct involved inappropriate use of AI tools. I now have a formal diagnosis from my psychiatrist, confirming that my mental health at the time significantly impacted my judgment.

Kindly, OP, yours is the very definition of a “case by case” basis, it is unlikely anyone answering can give you any real view on your chance of success, but it sounds like you have done the right thing regarding treatment and making your case.

I think this could depend a little bit on the degree. For example, a healthcare type degree where honesty is integral to an intended job from the degree, they may be less lenient than for example a humanities type degree.

A friend got suspended for suspected plagiarism and it took her a long time to clear her name - which she eventually did! But she had the support of her university lecturers etc as it was completely out of character for her. Ended up being an honest mistake by accidentally deleting in text citations. It is case by case so no one can truly say but I doubt you will be reinstated after a second offence.

On my degree (nursing) any appeal regarding plagiarism would have been unlikely to succeed, I guess it’s going to come down to individual departments.

I was caught having plagiarised myself in the middle of a crisis due to being the victim of a crime. I couldn't think straight, rehashed something I'd written before for another topic and handed in instead of missing the deadline or getting help. When I was able to get help and speak to the course coordinator, I was allowed to redo the unit's assignment and achieve no more than the pass mark, but continue the course. I think they'll understand new evidence of mitigating circumstances.

Dh works in academia and using AI is really frowned upon. They're really clamping down on it op so obviously who knows but from the uni side it's seen as a big deal

Yes I am currently studying and we have had entire lectures on (not) using AI in our work. There are set guidelines from each uni about using AI (v.strict guidelines) and any use of it must be acknowledged in the work.

Appeals are handled at university level, not departmental level. They will all be subject to the same rules (and the panels are composed of staff from across the university).

Use of AI is a big no no any where near academic work ( in very limited circumstance it might be acceptable with clear citation and acknowledgement ) and being a second offence will not support your case. Kindly no one here on MN can give you any guidance / comfort on the likely outcome as it will very much be an individual case by case basis, the very specific circumstances leading to the offence, and the information provided by your health professionals.

I can assure you that plagiarism is taken extremely seriously in the humanities—just as it is in every other discipline.

Honestly if this is the 2nd time round, you've HAD your 2nd chance. Move along, do something new.

@LoobyLott I’d agree with you if I had done this in a stable state of mind with clear intentions. But I wasn’t well mentally or emotionally and at the time, I didn’t even realise how serious my condition was.

This isn’t about denying responsibility; it’s about asking for understanding now that I finally have the right support and clarity. I know not everyone will agree, but I just want the appeal board to see the full picture before closing the door completely.

There really isn’t any space in academia for students or graduates to be using AI. You got caught twice, but possibly used it more. You had your second chance.

This is your answer.

Take responsibility. There’s no excuse.

As someone who has done both of these degrees, I'm afraid this isn't true. Academic integrity is held in high esteem for any subject.

Unfortunately my experience (not mine, my adult child and also other students) of universities is that they close ranks against expelled students even with extensive evidence presented at the right time. The best I've ever seen achieved is the award of a lower qualification because they refused to let students reenter their course and a note on the academic supervisor's record (bullying, lack of support of vulnerable student).

Unless you have the finances to engage legal support they are powerful institutions and individuals are expendable. I'm sorry to be so bleak and don't dismiss your points at all. But hoping that they'll find for you is unrealistic. They want you (or any other difficult students) gone and the chances of you being reinstated I think are very minimal to non-existent.

The issue isn’t with the OP’s ‘difficulty’. The issue is that she’s cheated, twice. OP, a lot will depend on what you actually did. Did you generate an entire essay via AI, twice? Had you done the work. One AI case in my department (Eng Lit) last year was particularly serious because the AI, as so often, had invented plot lines and characters, and it was clear that the student in question had not even read the primary texts involved, or she would have known!