Dmitrii Marchenko/Getty ImagesSince the launch of generative artificial intelligence (AI), many university students have claimed their teachers have falsely accused them of using AI to cheat. While allegations of cheating and plagiarism should be taken seriously, sometimes such accusations have rested on unreliable AI-detection programs.Unis have always had processes in place to investigate alleged student misconduct. But the impact of these experiences on students’ wellbeing has been mostly anecdotal, and lacking in research.In a new study, we investigated the emotional impact on students who faced formal academic misconduct investigations.Our researchIn 2024, we conducted a large-scale survey, asking uni students about their knowledge of plagiarism. At the end of the survey, we asked 771 of the participants (from two Australian universities) whether they had ever been investigated for academic misconduct. Twenty-two students said they had. These students were then invited to complete an additional survey about their experiences. This included completing a questionnaire that examined any depression, anxiety and stress they felt during these formal investigations. We also asked these students open-ended questions about their experiences.We then compared the results of the 22 students with the scores of more than 1,000 students who had not experienced academic misconduct procedures. These scores were collected in a previous study. In addition, we compared results with the psychological norms of more than 2,000 Australian adults. It’s worth noting that finding students who have been accused of academic misconduct at university is usually tricky for researchers. This is because formal processes are private and confidential to maintain fairness. Because we could not conduct research on students during misconduct processes, we decided to cast a wide net to find students who had faced a misconduct allegation.What we foundWe found more than half of the students who had faced misconduct allegations experienced extremely severe anxiety – a score that was in the top 2% of typical scores for anxiety in the general population. We are confident the allegations themselves were the most likely cause of these feelings.Half of the students also reported severe depression symptoms when facing misconduct allegations. At the same time, only three of the 22 students reported depression, anxiety and stress in the “normal” range.Although we expected students would report higher-than-normal psychological stress, we were surprised by just how high their scores were. While some students may intentionally plagiarise or cheat, it does not mean they should experience extreme psychological distress as a result of their actions.We also found a higher percentage of students who faced misconduct allegations did not speak English as their first language. These findings support other research that shows international students are often overrepresented in misconduct allegations.Unis’ responses matterSome students acknowledged investigation procedures helped them learn more about academic integrity and how to avoid plagiarism in the future, such as by using correct citation methods.However, when the process was seen by students as punitive, they felt worse. One student said:I didn’t learn much because my university was not very nice about it.Our findings also show students experienced increased distress when academic misconduct procedures were drawn out. One student, who reported the process taking about six weeks, noted:I felt severe anxiety throughout this period […] With the stress of exams and the misconduct, I felt unable to function. I already lived out of home during that period and had to temporarily move back in as I could not function from the anxiety.What can unis do to improve investigations?Our findings tell us misconduct procedures should not go ahead when based on unreliable evidence. To avoid incorrect accusations involving AI, unis should reform assessment design so it does not give students the opportunity to cheat using AI. This redesign might involve more supervised exams and in-class demonstrations or presentations. When investigation procedures are needed, our research suggests unis can make the experience less distressing by providing students with support services, such as access to psychologists and counsellors. Unis should make students more aware of these services, especially international students who are less likely to seek psychological support.Unis should also use investigations as an opportunity to educate accused students on academic misconduct, and minimise the length of investigation periods to reduce students’ emotional distress.Guy Curtis has received funding from the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)Amanda White has received funding from TEQSA.