Honor codes are widely used by educational institutions to establish and enforce rules of academic integrity among students. They are built on mutual trust and respect and cannot be successful without the support and compliance of the students and faculty who uphold them. According to the Vanderbilt University Honor Code, “a student’s personal integrity is presumed to be sufficient assurance that in academic matters one does one’s own work without unauthorized help from any other source.” (Vanderbilt University, 2015) The words written on paper outline the code, honor comes from the moral fiber of the individuals that agree to the words written in the code.
The benefits of Honor Codes vary among implementations but they are generally accepted…show more content… Each of these has its own, fully vetted academic integrity policy that provides high level student expectations that I felt should be included as part of the foundation for the class honor code. The TBR guidelines for academic dishonesty focus on cheating and plagiarism, using “unauthorized information in the taking of an exam,” submitting work from other people as one’s own, and “assisting another student in obtaining or using unauthorized materials.” (Tennessee Board of Regents, n.d.) MTSU’s guidelines outline “the highest standards of academic achievement in the classroom and personal and social responsibility on and off campus.” (Middle Tennessee State University,…show more content… Ultimately, the integrity of a school helps define the perceived value of any degree obtained so instances of confirmed cheating must be handled appropriately to protect that value. (McCabe & Pavela, 2004) Per the code, any instance of unethical behavior will be initially reviewed by the instructor for validation. Depending on the outcome of this review, the result could lead to failing grades for affected assignments, a filed report with the student’s home institution and ultimately removal from the class for the semester if the violation is considered to be serious