By Ava Geaniotis

Currently, Adelphi University us operating under a new academic integrity policy-provisionally.

Following approval by executive leadership, the Faculty Senate voted in May 2026 for the policy to be in effect through the Fall 2026 semester. In late October or early November, the Faculty Senate will vote again on whether or not it stays.

New Policy Basics

According to Academic Integrity Officer and history department associate professor Michael LaCombe, the new policy is designed to protect students’ rights and reduce the stress level of integrity violations.

“The new policy is much more transparent,” LaCombe said. “[Students] are going to be getting a lot more communication about how the process works.”

Under the old policy, LaCombe said that when students entered the reporting faculty member’s office, the faculty was in a position of power. Many students were afraid of extreme consequences – including expulsion. Now, reported students will be given an academic integrity advocate to function as a guide.

“It’s someone a student can talk to, knowledgeable about the process and can be more of a guide and can help out,” LaCombe said.

Furthermore, under the new policy, students who are granted an appeal of their integrity violation will now have a student on their appeals panel.

LaCombe said he hopes thesechanges will facilitate student involvement. “We are trying to bring students into the process a little bit more, so it’s not so much kind of a ‘top-down’ thing – something that faculty are sort of guarding and that students don’t have any ownership of,” he said.

For instructors, one notable change is that reports now begin in the Maxient case management system. Previously, this was used for student conduct reports. This form can be found on eCampus under the academic reporting tab.

On Maxient, reports cannot be edited once submitted. If the initial submission does not correspond to posted guidelines, the report will be returned with requests for specific revisions. If it is not resubmitted, it will not be forwarded along in the process and it will be discarded. This is to ensure that all reports comply with policy.

The former reporting dashboard can still be accessed to review past cases – but new ones cannot be filed there.

Why Now?

In a video posted to the FCPE Adelphi YouTube account and embed-
ded on the Adelphi Website’s new Academic Integrity page, LaCombe explained that the policy change was due to a January 2026 court decision.

In Fall 2025, Adelphi University was sued by a student who asked a judge to overturn the finding that he had violated their integrity policy.

“There was a lot of misinformation in the media about this story – most of it concerning the use of AI detection software,” LaCombe says in the video. “That was part of the student’s claim, but it was not part of the judge’s ruling.”

According to LaCombe, the judge decided that the old policy denied the student basic rights of due process that all students are legally entitled to. As a result, Adelphi had to create a policy with substantial new language.

How Students Feel

Undergraduate students are expressing mixed feelings about the new policy – and many did not know about its existence nor its provisional implementation.

Sophomore languages and cultures major Bella Randazzo did not previously know about the new academic integrity policy, and expressed some skepticism about its effectiveness.

“I think that they can make as many policies as they want,” Randazzo said, and suggested that a more effective solution would be to eliminate online work in order to ensure academic integrity.

Other students expressed interest in the new policy.

Senior international relations major Elouan Boyer also did not previously know about the new academic integrity policy. Upon learning of it, though, he emphasized the need for clarity in procedure, especially during a time of increased AI use.

“I feel that the use of AI is obviously changing a lot of dynamics on campus, and in terms of education in general,” Boyer said. “Then, obviously, I do think that students must be protected in a way that, if any accusations do come, that there needs to be a correct way to go about how things are handled.”

Like Boyer, other students expressed concerns about AI.

Junior communications major Luna Mikazuki said they believed the new
policy revolved around AI. Mikazuki said that their friends, particularly those who are not native English speakers, may write text that gets flagged as AI by trackers.

About the new policy, senior communications major Lucas Sanita said, “I suppose it’s needed.”

Both expressed distaste for using generative AI, particularly in art and education.

Moving Forward

Regarding generative AI and preventing academic integrity violations, LaCombe acknowledged that many students are concerned about being accused of generative AI misconduct. He said, “I would encourage students to really make sure you understand the expectations of each of your faculty members.”

LaCombe added, “My name and email can be a resource for students as well as faculty. If students have a question about how this process works, they should feel free to email me.”

Information on the new Academic Integrity policy is available on Adelphi’s website under the Office of the Provost’s Educational & Academic Support page.

For now, students should stay tuned for updates and more information as this process continues.