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Ethics Center > The College Honor Code

Members’ Pledge:  As a Forester, I will act with integrity, valuing myself, every member of the community, and our shared environment, and holding myself and others responsible for our own actions.

The pledge reflects central values that apply in academic work as well as social interactions; it highlights values that unite us as a community; it is expected to encourage the sustained effort necessary to achieve excellence and to make a unique contribution.

A. Academic Integrity

The members’ pledge has special application to work submitted to gain course credit.  Students are expected to guarantee that all material submitted represents their honest effort, clearly indicating sources used, avoiding any unauthorized aid, and presenting the results of their work accurately.  As an expression of this guarantee, for major assignments (as determined by the faculty member,) students will be expected to sign written work, with a statement that reaffirms the Members’ Pledge:

This work is my own and represents my honest effort.

Failure to uphold the standards of academic integrity represents (1) a lost opportunity for students to achieve the intellectual understanding that is a central goal of the academic enterprise and (2) a personal failure that reflects on the student’s character, generating a reputation for dishonesty that is difficult to overcome.  Furthermore, dishonest work (1) is unfair to other students, who may find their work assessed against submissions that include inappropriate aid, (2) represents a betrayal of the student-faculty relationship, and (3) interferes with the legitimate course of academic conversations, which depend on knowing the source of ideas and arguments.  Standards of academic integrity reflect the core values of the institution, essential to maintaining an academic environment that encourages its members to explore conscientiously novel and even unpopular ideas.  For these reasons and more, it is essential that every member of the community uphold and promote the ideals of academic honesty and integrity. *


B. Valuing Oneself, Others, and Our Shared Environment

The values embodied in the Members’ Pledge require that all of us seek to sustain a creative and diverse academic community, one that provides a supportive home for its many residents and a welcoming living and learning environment for all who study, work, or visit here. Members must also value and nurture our physical environment and the institution.

Each member enjoys the same basic rights and must take responsibility for respecting the rights of others, including (1) freedom from personal abuse and threats of violence, (2) access to all relevant College services and opportunities, (3) a supportive living environment that enables all to participate fully in the life of the College.  As members of a diverse academic community dedicated to open and free inquiry, we emphasize each individual’s right (1) to free expression, subject only to the dialogue that may result, (2) to organize his or her personal life, and (3) to act on his or her own vision, so long as it does not violate responsibilities to others or the College and its environment.

We are committed to the idea that the values underlying our community, if clarified, discussed, and ultimately accepted, provide an essential way to face directly and effectively the inevitable challenges that will arise in a diverse community.  Experience dealing civilly and conscientiously with personal and institutional challenges is an important part of the education provided here.  A fundamental respect for each member as someone who provides an important voice, whether in the classroom, the dorm, co-curricular activities, or social events, yields a foundation for functional democratic procedures and thus peaceful methods for resolving conflicts and extending our knowledge. **

C. Encouraging Responsible Action

All members of the community are expected to encourage, in others as well as themselves, the personal responsibility associated with the Members’ Pledge.  We must also be willing to challenge College decisions and policies we believe need improvement, which would include pursuing appropriate amendments to the Honor Code.

The provision to hold others accountable for their actions is not, however, an explicit requirement that students report all violations they witness.  Rather, students, as well as other members of the community, are expected to raise concerns with those who would violate provisions of the Honor Code, to emphasize the importance of fulfilling the Members’ Pledge, to offer advice and assistance, and to recommend alternative actions.  Such conversations are not easy, and members are encouraged to seek confidential advice, e.g., from advisors, Deans, the Director of the Ethics Center, and members of the Honor Council.

 
The Honor Council

An Honor Council will be established to:

  1. educate new members concerning the Code,
  2. organize efforts to enable members to live up to the provisions of the code,
  3. encourage broad campus dialogue about the Code, and
  4. formulate proposals for changes in the Code. 

Specific activities of Honor Council will include:

  1. orientation presentations for all new students,
  2. presentations in FIYS and other classes and at the request of faculty,
  3. sponsorship of programs concerning our academic and social values,
  4. coordination with faculty and academic departments on efforts to educate students concerning academic honesty expectations across disciplines,
  5. coordination with administrators and student groups on efforts to promote the values essential for our residential community. ***

The Honor Council will be composed largely of students, though it is intended to bring together members from many elements of the community.  Thus there will be faculty and staff representation. (As long as the Council’s role remains solely educational, membership will be flexible.  More explicit provisions about size and eligibility will be necessary when the Council begins hearing cases.) 

  1. Three faculty members will be selected by FPPC.  The Dean of Faculty and/or the Director of the Ethics Center will provide recommendations. 
  2. One or two staff members will be selected by EAR, in consultation with the Dean of Faculty and/or the Director of the Ethics Center.
  3. One or two administrators will be selected by the Dean of Faculty.
  4. There will be no limit on the number of student members.  The Dean of Students will collect names of student nominees and volunteers and confirm that potential members have not been found responsible for violations by Conduct Board or the Academic Honesty Judicial Board.  The Dean of Students will then confirm that eligible students are interested in serving on Honor Council and will submit the names of interested students to Student Government, which will approve members for the Council.  It is expected that, once selected, student members will remain on the Council for the rest of their undergraduate career.

Recommendations for membership are welcome from all members of the campus community.  Faculty and staff are encouraged to make nominations or to volunteer by contacting the Director of the Ethics Center. Students are encouraged to make nominations or to volunteer by contacting the Dean of Students. All members will be expected to participate in some of the educational tasks of the Council.

A student will be elected by the members to serve as Chair; co-chairs will be possible.  There will be two advisors: the Ethics Center Director and a Dean from the Office of Student Affairs (selected by the Dean of Students).  At least one advisor should attend each meeting.  The Ethics Center will provide logistical support for the Council.  In the interest of encouraging dialogue, the Council may decide to open all or some meetings to the campus community.


Notes And Elaborations

* Enforceable Expectations Concerning Academic Work
Violations of the basic expectations concerning academic integrity, such as plagiarism, cheating on tests, and falsifying data, are subject to disciplinary action.  For information concerning (1) these violations, (2) specific expectations of students, faculty and staff, and (3) the procedures for addressing violations, see the Student Handbook, Policies and Procedures—Academic, Academic Honesty.


** Enforceable Expectations Concerning Social Life on Campus
Certain violations of the expectations concerning personal behavior, such as disorderly conduct and vandalism, are subject to disciplinary action.  For information concerning (1) these violations, (2) specific expectations of students, faculty, and staff, and (3) the procedures for addressing violations, see the Student Handbook, Community Standards and Student Conduct.

*** As the Pledge and Honor Council become rooted in the culture of the College, the Council may consider proposals concerning, e.g., the relaxation of proctoring requirements.  It is expected that, once the Honor Counsel is fully established, a subcommittee, composed entirely of students,  will take on the responsibility for hearings concerning violations of minimal College expectations, i.e., cases now handled through the Academic Honesty Judicial Board and Conduct Board.  A proposal to that effect will be presented to the relevant governing bodies when appropriate.