Honor code proposed for student coursework
Published April 20, 2004
It might not come with more strict penalties, but a revised honor code designed to curb cheating has been drafted by a university committee.
Revisions to the sections involving academic integrity would include an honor pledge that Alan Strathman, chairman of the policy subcommittee of the Academic Integrity Assessment Committee, said he would like to see students include on work they turn in for grades.
"We hope students would write it or sign something that says it each time they turn in a graded assignment," he said.
On Thursday, the policy subcommittee presented a draft to the Faculty Council. If approved, the code would make sections of the M-Book and Faculty Handbook regarding academic integrity consistent.
Strathman said the revisions regarding academic integrity are necessary because there is not much consistency between the two books.
"The code was written in a vague way," he said. "It was sometimes hard to figure out what we meant by the code. The changes are just defining the process everyone should follow when dealing with academic dishonesty."
Freshman Greg Chase has been working with the committee on the revisions.
"It's important that we are reminding ourselves that we're standing for, whether it's on a quiz, a paper or an exam," Chase said. "It makes students think about what they are handing in."
Chase said he became involved with the policy change because he felt it was important there was student voice on the committee.
"Academic honesty is something that is important to this campus and I wanted to make sure students would understand the new policy," he said.
Missouri Students Association President Brian Laoruangroch said he thinks adding an honor pledge is not a bad thing because it would deter students from cheating.
"Academic honesty is implied anywhere you go, but it's not actually told to you," he said. "This would make sure everybody's on the same page."
Strathman said the revisions would not include specific disciplinary consequences because the provost's office ' with input from the Student Court ' determines punishments.
"We'd like to create a process of more communication about the potential consequences of academic dishonesty," Strathman said. "We'd like it to define how the process works, what an instructor should do when he or she suspects academic dishonesty by a student."
Strathman said Faculty Council was presented with a draft of the revisions and the subcommittee will look at suggestions from members of the council. He said the subcommittee hopes to present a final draft of the revisions to Faculty Council before the end of the school year. The new code, if approved this semester, could go into effect this fall.
"It seems like there is a lot of misunderstanding, but a clear understanding of the code is valuable," he said. "Academic honesty is an important issue for any university and it's something universities have struggled with as of late. Having a process in place that's clear and understood helps the whole process."