| Susie P. Gonzalez | 210-999-8406 | susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu |
Trinity University Adopts Academic Honor Code |
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The academic honor code grew out of concerns voiced by Trinity students in 1999 about national statistics that showed a dramatic increase in cheating at high schools, colleges, and universities without such codes. A student-faculty committee was formed to analyze trends and develop a code for Trinity. Students entering the University in the fall of 2004 will attend a ceremony to sign a pledge vowing to uphold the academic honor code throughout their years of study at Trinity. In addition, each assignment must include the phrase, “On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this work” or the shorter version, “Pledged,” followed by the student’s signature. In the case of group projects, student collaborators can be named in order to comply with the code. “It will raise everybody’s awareness that honesty and integrity will be honored at Trinity,” said Moya Ball, associate vice president for academic affairs. “For students, it will level the playing field.” Under current policies and at the discretion of individual professors, students caught cheating might receive an “F” on a particular assignment or an “F” for the entire course, Dr. Ball explained. With the academic honor code, students will go before the Honor Council comprised of 17 students and two faculty advisers. Procedures and penalties will be set out and include an appeals process. Jake Walker, president of the Association of Student Representatives and a member of the committee that designed the honor code, also voiced support for it. “We’ve created one that fits the Trinity community culture the best. It puts emphasis on integrity and academics, and it places a communal responsibility on our students. This is a great opportunity for Trinity to step out and say, ‘This is what we believe. . . and this is who we are as an academic institution.’” Dr. Ball called the timing of the academic honor code’s passage “superb.” She cited findings by the Center for Academic Integrity at Duke University that cheating among high school and college students is rising, in large part because of Internet technologies. “It is our hope that Trinity University’s Academic Honor Code will encourage an ongoing conversation about the close relationship between learning and honesty, and that students will learn that success at Trinity University is not defined only as getting good grades, but that success is also defined as living a life of integrity.” The code also was passed against the backdrop of plagiarism by a reporter at The New York Times and indictments against home designer Martha Stewart for dishonest business practices. |
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Last updated on June 20, 2003 by the Office of Public Relations |