ETHOS
FEBRUARY 2013
A Monthly Publication of the International Center for Academic Integrity Featuring Summaries of Integrity News + News from the Center
Quote of the Month
“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of
others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”
–Frederick Douglass
Academic Integrity Task Force proposes
undergrad honor code
By: Qiuyun Tan
Columbia Spectator
02/01/13
The Academic Integrity Task Force has proposed an honor code for the
undergraduate schools at Columbia to improve academic integrity. Bruno
Rigonatti Mendes, CC ’14, initiated this proposal as the Columbia College
Student Council’s academic affairs representative last year. Mendes said
that the honor code would improve academic honesty on campus because it
would be a pledge that students take themselves.
“The honor code would be one of several strategies we would have to pursue
in order to have a better-established culture of academic integrity on
campus,” he said. “It was one that required a sizable effort coming from
students themselves.”
Students in support of the honor code said that it would count on students
to be responsible for their own academic integrity and create a community
culture that cherishes academic honesty. “We want to make it a cultural
thing and not about a discipline,” CCSC Academic Affairs Representative
Steven Castellano, CC ’13, said. “If you make it the professors’
responsibility, students will just find more ways to cheat.”
Task force members hope to create an honor pledge that students take at
convocations, and plan to print one on the back of blue books for students to
sign at every exam they take. Castellano, who is spearheading the
initiative, said, “There have been so many studies that suggest that if you
sign off on that, if you write out the words even as simple as ‘I did not
cheat,’ you are much less likely to cheat because the idea is reinforced.”
Jeri Henry, associate dean of judicial affairs and community standards,
said that she was very supportive of the project. “If properly implemented,
it would establish the values of the community, thereby shaping the
development of students’ awareness of expectations and academic culture
at Columbia,” she said.
Complete Article:
http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2013/02/01/academic-integrity-taskforce-proposes-undergrad-honor-code
UNC Should Comply with Accreditation Agency Review
By: Editorial Board
The Daily Tar Heel
02/26/2013
The University needs to cooperate fully with its accrediting agency to
prevent possible sanctions ranging from loss of accreditation to forcing
graduates who took “aberrant” courses to return to campus to retake
their classes. If the University is not in compliance by June, after a visit
from an agency committee in April, it could face punishments ranging
from sanctions to losing membership in the commission.
As of now, UNC has taken some earnest steps toward academic reform.
Departments have been reorganized, and a greater emphasis has been
placed on oversight. UNC must continue to address SACSCC’s claim that
“the institution did not provide sufficient evidence that it had addressed
the breaches of academic integrity … for courses determined by the
From the Director
For many schools considering the
adoption of an honor code, the trickiest
questions have to do with whether or not
to include the requirement to report
instances of cheating by others. At a time
of life when fitting in is at a premium,
reporting a classmate is simply more than
many students will agree to do.
While seen by many people as evidence
that today’s youth lack character, their
resistance to include such a requirement
can also be seen as a positive sign—a sign
that they take honor code development
seriously and want to adopt a code that
they can truly live by.
If we’re honest with ourselves, many of us
can recall times when we failed to “blow
the whistle” on unethical behavior--a time
that we could have taken action but
instead, looked the other way. Taking a
stand when someone else does something
wrong requires courage that can take
years to develop, and taking a stand with
one’s friends and peers may require the
most courage of all. It may be better to
adopt a code that allows students to focus
on their own ethical development first
before asking them to turn their attention
outward to try to affect the behavior of
others.
~Teddi Fishman
University to be ‘aberrant.’”
The agency has mandated that UNC file a monitoring report four
weeks before the committee visit. In the report, the University needs to
ensure that major reforms are apparent and effective.
Even a warning of possible accreditation loss would hurt UNC’s
already struggling reputation. There’s no doubt that UNC
administrators have been working hard to fix academic issues. But the
accrediting agency’s oversight is another reminder that restoring and
maintaining full academic integrity isn’t a single action, but a
continuous process.
To read the complete article, please visit:
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2013/02/512c0367d7429
Announcements
Possible Probation for Phoenix
By: Paul Fain
InsideHigherEd.com
02/26/2013
2013 Southeast Regional Conference
at Samford University - April 19-20!! The University of Phoenix’s accreditation
http://www.samford.edu/mannc
enter/2013conference.aspx
___________________________________
We want your feedback! Visit our
redesigned and updated website and email
comments, questions, and suggestions to:
CAI-L@clemson.edu!
woes are more serious than the for-profit
giant had been told to expect, with its
regional accreditor recommending that the
university be placed on probation because
of concerns about a lack of autonomy from
its holding company, the Apollo Group.
The Higher Learning Commission of the
North Central Association of Colleges and
Schools last year wrapped up its
accreditation review of Phoenix. In
January the accreditor informed Apollo
that it had identified unspecified problems
that would be disclosed in a forthcoming
draft report.
“Specifically, the review team concluded
that the University of Phoenix has
insufficient autonomy relative to its
parent corporation and sole shareholder,
Apollo Group, Inc., to assure that its board
of directors can manage the institution,
assure the university’s integrity, exercise
the board’s fiduciary responsibilities and
make decisions necessary to achieve the
institution’s mission and successful
operation,” the company said.
The commission found other problems
with Phoenix including retention and
graduation rates, reliance on federal
financial aid, assessment of student
learning and documentation of credit hour
policies “with regard to learning outcomes
of learning teams,” the company said.
Those problems will require future
reporting and follow-up activities.
www.facebook.com/AcademicIntegrity
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Probation status would mean that the
commission had determined that Phoenix
is out of compliance with criteria for
accreditation. The probation could last up
to two years, and would require another
site visit.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/26
/university-phoenix-faces-possible-probationaccreditor
The International Center for Academic Integrity grants permission to duplicate and
distribute this newsletter physically or electronically, so long as it is duplicated
and/or distributed in its entirety and without alteration.
ICAI’s First Southeast
Regional Conference – April
19-20 at Samford University
ICAI is proud to announce its
partnership with the Mann Center for
Ethics at Samford University in
Birmingham, Alabama to host the very
first Southeast Regional Conference on
Academic Integrity this April!
Like ICAI’s annual international
conference, the regional event will be a
forum for southeastern colleges and
universities to share best practices in
promoting a culture of integrity, but in a
smaller and more intimate setting.
Anyone in the US Southeast who is
interested in attending is welcome! ICAI
members and non-members are
encouraged to participate in this
exciting new partnership.
Registration and a tentative agenda are
available online. Please visit
http://www.samford.edu/manncenter/20
13conference.aspx for all the details!
The Frances Marlin Mann Center
for Ethics and Leadership
emphasizes the indispensable
connection between ethics and
good leadership in business,
government, social services and the
classic professions. Much of the
center’s work is at this vital nexus
of ethics and leadership.
Contacts
Azalea M. Hulbert
Program Manager
Mann Center for Ethics
205.726.4634
amwhitco@samford.edu
Aaron Monson
Membership Services
ICAI
864.656.1293
amonson@clemson.edu
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Please note that this publication features summaries of and links to
original works that are subject to copyright protection. ICAI does not
claim ownership or credit for any original works found within.
This publication is sponsored by:
CAI-L@clemson.edu
Welcome new ICAI members Feb. 2013!
Institutional Members
Anna Maria College
Individual Members
Dr. Timothy Haupt
Dr. Theresa Marron-Grodsky
Ethos Staff:
Aaron Monson: Writer / Editor
Teddi Fishman: Executive Editor