Investigative Counsel Role Checklist
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Always CC your IC on all communication with other SO’s on the case.
You will be contacted by your IC by means of a Case Assignment email thread, which is sent to
all involved parties in the case, and lists the specific role assignments.
Immediately send the Reporter Advisor and your Co-Counsel your availabilities for the week,
CC’ing your IC, so the Reporter Interview can be scheduled.
Meet with your Co-Counsel as soon as possible to begin formulating questions for the reporter.
Remember to craft questions that will help an I-Panel make distinctions about the three criteria of
an Honor Offense: Act, Knowledge, and Significance.
Your first question (although it’s not really a question) in a Reporter Interview should always be
“Please state your name and affiliation with the University.”
The final two questions of the Reporter Interview should always be “Is there anyone else we
should contact?” and “Is there anything you would like to add?”
Send your potential questions for the Reporter to the Reporter advisor at a minimum 24 hours
before the scheduled time of the interview. If there are less than 24 hours until the interview when
the date and time of the interview are set, send the questions as soon as possible.
The Reporter Interview
o Arrive to the Honor Offices at least 30 minutes before the scheduled interview. Dress in
Business Casual.
o When the Reporter Advisor informs you that the Reporter is ready to begin the interview,
introduce yourself and allow your Co-Counsel to do the same. Explain your role as an
impartial fact finder in pursuit of the truth. Explain that unlike an advisor, you do not
have a confidential relationship with witnesses in the case. Explain that since you are
transcribing the interview, you will most likely need to ask the Reporter to slow down or
repeat words throughout the interview.
o Remind the Reporter that when the interview is complete, you will leave the room and
he/she may will be able to edit or delete any of his/her transcribed answers, but may
make no changes to the transcription of the questions asked.
o One Counsel should type while the other asks questions. Make sure you are typing the
answers into a document that is identical in format to that of the interview in the I-Log
Template, available under the “Resources” tab of OCP.
o Do not hesitate to ask the Reporter to slow down or repeat words so that you can
transcribe his/her words repeatedly.
o Do not simply read the questions you have prepared. React to the answers the Reporter
gives with follow-up questions that help clarify Act, Knowledge, and Significance in the
case.
o When the interview is complete, leave the Reporter and his/her advisor alone to edit it.
Reporters will occasionally want to take their interview home to edit, which is
discouraged. Home editing should only be done in extenuating circumstances, for which
you should consult your IC or the VCI.
o When the Reporter is finished editing, print of the interview and have the Reporter sign
his/her full name on the appropriate blanks at the top of the first page, and initial the top
of every other page of the interview. If the Reporter refuses to sign the interview, read it
aloud in its entirety to all other parties present, and then have all parties, including
yourself sign and initial the interview. Contact your IC and the VCI immediately if the
Reporter refuses to sign.
o Collect all evidence, physical and digital, from the Reporter. Scan the signed interview
and any submitted physical evidence into OCP. Use the VC Office Scanner’s “Send”
function to send a PDF of the evidence to your email. Upload each piece of evidence with
a title detailing the nature of the evidence and include from whom the evidence was
obtained. Do the same with any evidence that was submitted to you electronically.
o Put the original, signed interview and all submitted physical evidence in the front folder
(titled “New Evidence for Alex)” of the topmost drawer of the gray Investigations
Cabinet in the VC office, the key for which is in the lock box on the opposite wall. If
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evidence is submitted to you electronically, print out that evidence and also put it in the
“New Evidence for Alex” file.
o Since we live in the digital age, you no longer need to make hard copies of submitted
evidence. There only need to be two iterations of submitted evidence: 1) Original
interviews and evidence placed in the “New Evidence for Alex” folder and 2) Digital
copies uploaded to OCP. Do not place copies of any of the evidence in the Case’s
Correspondence file, which exists for documents from and for the Case’s Student
Advisor.
If the reporter submits evidence through his/her advisor at any other point throughout the case,
follow the same proceedings as above.
If it becomes apparent in the interview with the Reporter that he/she is not the primary witness in
the case (e.g. a T.A. found and annotated plagiarism in a paper, but the class’s professor actually
made the report) consult with your IC and the VCI. The VCI may direct you to conduct an
interview with this second witness in the same manner as the Reporter’s interview prior to the
composition of the Notice Letter.
Once the Reporter interview (and, if necessary a second interview) is(are) complete, the VCI will
compose a Notice Letter and the IR Period will begin.
If an IR for the case is submitted and accepted, you will receive an email from your IC informing
you that the case is finished.
If an IR is not submitted or accepted, your IC will inform you that the case will continue.
At this point, send your availabilities to the case’s Student Advisor to schedule the Student’s
Initial interview. Make sure the IC is CC’d on all of these communications.
Meet with your Co-Counsel as soon as possible to begin formulating questions for the Student.
Remember to craft questions that will help an I-Panel make distinctions about the three criteria of
an Honor Offense: Act, Knowledge, and Significance.
Your first question (although it’s not really a question) in a Reporter Interview should always be
“Please state your name and affiliation with the University.”
Your last three questions should always be “Are there any mental or medical conditions which
may have affected the situation(s) in question?” “Is there anyone else we should contact?” and “Is
there anything you would like to add?”
If the student has been reported for multiple Alleged Incidents (which will be made clear in the
case’s Notice Letter, which you can find in the case’s correspondence file in the gray
Investigations Cabinet), divide the questions into sections regarding each Alleged Incident.
Send your potential questions for the Student to the Student Advisor at a minimum 24 hours
before the scheduled time of the interview. If there are less than 24 hours until the interview when
the date and time of the interview are set, send the questions as soon as possible.
The Student Interview
o Follow the same proceedings in conducting the Student Interview that you did for the
Reporter Interview, remembering that the student will likely be under significant stress.
o If there are multiple students reported by a single reporter, repeat this process for each
student.
Once the Student Interview is completed, complete interviews for any and all nominated
witnesses, or any potential witnesses you deem relevant, in a fashion identical to that of the
previous interviews.
Once you have completed all interviews for the case, inform the Advisors that they should assist
the Student(s)/Reporter in the composition of Rebuttal/Response Interviews
Once the Advisors provide you with all the necessary Rebuttal/Response Interviews, enter them
into OCP like all other evidence.
Compile the I-Log with all evidence according to the format set forth in the I-Log template, which
is available under the Resources Tab of OCP. Once you have completed the I-Log, upload it as a
single PDF to OCP.
Once the IC and VCI have approved the I-Log, the VCI will schedule an I-Panel. You will be
informed of the I-Panel’s disposition by your IC. If the I-Panel sends the case back for further
investigation, consult with the VCI directly.