How to File a UGA Referral Form: Conduct, Honesty, and Care

To file a referral at the University of Georgia, send your report to the specific office that handles your type of concern: the Office of Student Conduct for behavioral violations, the Office of Academic Honesty for cheating or plagiarism, Student Care and Outreach for well-being concerns, or the Equal Opportunity Office for discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct. Each office uses a different intake channel, so knowing how to file a UGA referral starts with picking the right one. Sending a report to the wrong office doesn’t just delay things; it can push the matter through the wrong policy framework entirely.

Which Office Handles Your Concern

UGA splits referrals across several offices. Match your concern to the right one before you draft anything.

Office of Student Conduct — non-academic behavioral violations of the Code of Conduct: disorderly conduct, dishonesty toward university officials, alcohol and drug violations, unauthorized entry, and failure to comply with university officials.¹
Office of Academic Honesty — cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and other violations of UGA’s “A Culture of Honesty” policy.²
Student Care and Outreach — concerns about a student’s personal well-being, mental health, or difficult life circumstances. Referrals here trigger supportive outreach, not discipline.³
Equal Opportunity Office (EOO) — discrimination or harassment based on age, color, disability, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or veteran status, plus sexual misconduct and Title IX complaints. The EOO Director is also UGA’s Title IX Coordinator.⁴
Hazing hotline — UGA runs a dedicated line at 706-207-0779 for hazing involving student organizations. Staff explain anonymity and confidentiality options when you call.⁵

Not sure which office fits? UGA also runs an independently operated Compliance, Ethics, and Reporting Hotline that takes reports around the clock, including anonymously. The university prohibits retaliation against anyone who files or participates in a hotline complaint.⁶

Filing a Student Conduct Referral

Student Conduct does not use a web form. Submit your report in writing to Rebecca Scarbro, Director for Student Conduct, by emailing rcw34@uga.edu or calling 706-542-1131.⁷ Reports that aren’t submitted in writing have to be independently verified before any investigation begins, so writing it down from the start saves a step. You can also set up an in-person meeting with office staff to walk through the process before or after filing.

File as soon as you can after the incident. Include:

The student’s full name and UGAID (the nine-digit identification number, which begins with an 81 prefix)⁸
The date, time, and specific location of the incident
A factual description of what happened
If you know it, the Code of Conduct regulation you believe was violated — though the office makes its own determination

Filing an Academic Honesty Referral

The academic honesty process works differently for faculty and students, but both have online portals at honesty.uga.edu.

If You’re an Instructor

Every UGA instructor who believes a student may have violated the academic integrity policy has a responsibility to report it. Faculty file through the online form on the faculty resources page, and the report has to go in within 15 days of discovering the possible dishonesty.⁹

While the referral is pending, let the student finish all other required coursework and grade everything except the assignment at issue. Preserve evidence — screenshots of a plagiarized submission, exam materials, anything else that documents the violation. If the semester ends before the matter is resolved, assign the student an Incomplete (“I”) as the final course grade.⁹

If You’re a Student

Students who witness academic dishonesty should report it to the instructor of the course and provide a signed, dated written description. You can also submit a report through the online portal on the student resources page.¹⁰

What to Put in the Report

Specify the course, the assignment or exam involved, and the type of dishonesty — unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, fabrication of data, or something else. Attach any evidence: screenshots, duplicate files, timestamps, communications. The more specific your submission, the less back-and-forth before the office schedules the next step.

Filing a Student Care and Outreach Referral

Anyone — faculty, staff, parents, or other students — can refer a student to Student Care and Outreach through the online form at sco.uga.edu. You can also call, email, or stop by the office in the Tate Student Center. Staff coverage is scheduled so someone is always available when a student needs help.¹¹³

This referral is not disciplinary. The office reaches out to the student, explains the support available, and helps connect them with campus resources. Describe what you’ve observed — missed classes, expressions of distress, sudden behavioral changes — rather than trying to diagnose the problem. Staff handle it from there.

Reporting Discrimination, Harassment, or Sexual Misconduct

Complaints involving discrimination based on a protected class, or sexual misconduct, go to the Equal Opportunity Office. The preferred method is the NDAH and Sexual Misconduct Complaint Form at eoo.uga.edu. Reports can also go by email, phone at 706-542-7912, fax, letter, or in person at 278 Brooks Hall in Athens.⁴ A single report to EOO covers both the Non-Discrimination Anti-Harassment Policy and the Sexual Misconduct Policy, since the same office administers both.

What Happens After You File

The follow-up depends on which office received your report.

For a Student Conduct referral, an administrative officer reviews the complaint. If there’s enough to allege a Code of Conduct violation, the student receives a Notice of Allegation listing the specific regulations and instructions for scheduling a meeting. The student has five business days to schedule that appointment, or a hold goes on their account.⁷

For an Academic Honesty referral, the Director notifies the accused student by email and copies the reporting instructor. A Facilitated Discussion follows — a meeting with the instructor, the student, and a facilitator — aimed at a mutually agreeable resolution. If no agreement is reached, the case moves to a Continued Discussion before an Academic Honesty Panel.¹²

Privacy Limits on What You’ll Hear Back

A student’s UGAID is protected under FERPA and is not treated as directory information at UGA, so it should never be disclosed publicly without the student’s permission.¹³ Include the UGAID in your referral itself, but don’t share it with people who aren’t involved.

FERPA also limits what the university can tell you after you file. In most cases, you will not learn the outcome of a conduct proceeding or what sanctions were imposed. Federal law generally requires written student consent before the university can disclose information from education records. A narrow exception lets institutions share the final results of a disciplinary proceeding — the student’s name, the violation, and the sanction — but only where the student was found responsible for a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense.¹⁴ Outside those circumstances, expect limited follow-up.

If you’d rather not identify yourself at all, the Compliance, Ethics, and Reporting Hotline accepts anonymous reports. The university forbids intimidation or retaliation against anyone who files, responds to, or participates in a hotline complaint; anyone who believes they’re facing retaliation can contact the Office of Legal Affairs for review.⁶

1
University of Georgia. Code of Conduct (PDF)
2
University of Georgia. Academic Honesty – Office of Instruction
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UGA Today. Student Care and Outreach Coordinates Individualized Assistance for Students
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University of Georgia. Equal Opportunity Office
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UGA Greek Life. UGA Hazing Policy
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UGA Legal Affairs. Compliance, Ethics and Reporting Hotline
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University of Georgia. Code of Conduct – Student Conduct
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UGA Today. UGAID Adding New Prefix This Fall
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University of Georgia. Faculty Resources – UGA Academic Honesty
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University of Georgia. Student Resources – UGA Academic Honesty
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University of Georgia. Student Care and Outreach
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University of Georgia. Resolving Academic Honesty Concerns – Process and Consequences
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University of Georgia. Classifying and Protecting the UGAID
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U.S. Department of Education. FERPA – Protecting Student Privacy