FYC Orientation
The Honor Code &
Honor Council
August 25, 2015
Jason Ciejka, Assistant Dean, Office for Undergraduate Education
The Honor Code
Academic integrity is governed by a student
initiated Honor Code. All students are required to
maintain “a standard of unimpeachable honor in all
academic work.” (Preamble, Emory College Honor
Code)
Faculty have a duty to report any suspicion of academic misconduct to the Office
for Undergraduate Education.
Each case will be investigated and adjudicated by the Honor Council, which
includes 20 students and 20 faculty members.
The Honor Council will determine if academic misconduct took place and
recommend a sanction.
Sanctions include a grade penalty and a mark on the student’s record. Other
actions like suspension and expulsion or educational programs may also be
recommended.
Honor Code Statement
• The Honor Code is in effect throughout the semester. By taking
this course, you affirm that it is a violation of the code to cheat
on exams, to plagiarize, to deviate from the teacher's
instructions about collaboration on work that is submitted for
grades, to give false information to a faculty member, and to
undertake any other form of academic misconduct. You agree
that the instructor is entitled to move you to another seat
during examinations, without explanation. You also affirm that
if you witness others violating the code you have a duty to
report them to the honor council.
• http://www.college.emory.edu/home/academic/honorcouncil/faculty.html
Honor Code Violations
“Academic misconduct is an offense generally defined as any
action or inaction which is offensive to the integrity and honesty
of the members of the academic community.”
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Seeking or providing unauthorized assistance on a test/quiz
Copying assignments from other students
Collaborating with others when individual work is required
Plagiarizing
Lying to faculty to gain an academic advantage
Providing false information
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Lying about an absence or missed exam
Lying about a late assignment
Signing absent students into class
Using a clicker for another student so s/he gets credit
Changing answers and asking for a re-grade
Fabricating data
Have a stated policy for late work. Stress that it is better to
lose a few points for late work than lie or submit plagiarized
material.
Copying/Unauthorized
Collaboration
• Be explicit in the syllabus and assignment instructions about
whether individual work is required or not.
• For group projects, specify whether students are required to
write reports/papers individually.
• If collaboration is not allowed, indicate in the syllabus or
assignment instructions that they may not exchange work
with others in the class.
• If unauthorized collaboration is a common problem in your
discipline, be sure to remind the students how easy it is to
detect this.
What constitutes plagiarism?
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Improper paraphrasing (with or without references)
Lack of quotation marks
Lack of references
Copying-and-pasting in part or in whole
Resubmitting an old paper for a different class
Purchasing a paper from a website
Paying for a custom written paper
Retrieved from http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2014/09/16/did-i-plagiarize-the-types-and-severity-of-plagiarism-violations/,
August 17, 2015
Why do students plagiarize?
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Ignorance of expectations
Uncertainty about expectations
Don’t understand the material
Carelessness/Forgetfulness
Don’t understand importance of citing
Writing may just feel like an exercise
Not invested in assignment/class
Procrastination
Fear of low grade
Can’t see any other option
Pure malicious intent
Preventing plagiarism
• Talk to your class about plagiarism
• Give examples of proper methods for quoting and citing
material
• Be clear about whether outside sources are allowed
• Assign papers that are specific instead of generic
• Divide research papers into smaller graded tasks (proposal,
outline, annotated bibliography, draft, etc.)
• Use SafeAssign (available on Blackboard)
• Accept late work (with a penalty) or offer extensions
Detecting plagiarism
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SafeAssign
Google
Changes in style of writing
Style of writing doesn’t match previous work
Prose is “just too good”
Writing that is awkward suddenly becomes elegant
References to highly specialized information
Changes in font or font size
Safe Assign
What are some ways that
students cheat on tests?
Images retrieved from: http://gizmodo.com/5524592/the-coke-bottle-cheat-sheet; http://smarterservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/cheating-31.jpg
http://img.wonderhowto.com/img/92/22/63557829588608/0/cheat-test-with-eraser.1280x600.jpg;
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2015/6/clean_eraser.jpg, August 17, 2015
Tips for exams
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Active proctoring (multiple proctors when possible)
Remove items from the desk
Assign (or record) seats, leaving space between students
Give multiple versions of exams; don’t use past exams
Keep track of the number of exams given out and turned in
Redistribute blue books
Establish clear guidelines in syllabus or on test
• Cellphones; Prohibited Materials; Restroom policy
• Scan completed exams
• Take-home exams
• Include the Honor Pledge
Witnessing cheating
• Students must always be allowed to complete the exam.
• You may reassign seats if you include this language on your
syllabus. Be as discreet as possible.
• You may ask for cheating materials or ask to see the student’s
phone (take a photo of any open apps related to the exam).
Try to be unobtrusive.
• Without biasing other proctors, check if they observe any
suspicious behavior in the exam room.
• Take photos or videos of the suspicious behavior if possible.
• Look for unusual patterns in the student’s answers or overall
performance in the class.
• Report violations to the Honor Council/OUE.
Why is it important to report
violations?
• Students and faculty alike have an obligation to report
suspicions to the Honor Council
• The Honor Code provides due process for accused students
• Students receive consistent sanctions
• Process is a learning experience that deters future violations
• A neutral body handles the case so you can focus on teaching
• The student may have a history of misconduct
• The problem may continue if not addressed
• The process protects faculty members
Reporting violations
Contact me (Jason Ciejka) in the Office for Undergraduate
Education at:
jciejka@emory.edu
404-727-0674
I can discuss the incident with you and determine whether it is
necessary to move forward through the Honor Council process.
You may discuss the case with the chair, the DUS, or a faculty
member who acts as a resource for the department about HC
matters. Please avoid disclosing information about the student’s
identity.
Handling reported students
• Students may be informed of possible violations in two ways:
directly from the instructor or through the Honor Council.
• If you elect to inform the student directly, have a conversation
in private or write to the student. Do not reveal information
about any other reported student. Do not discuss the details
of the incident. Remain dispassionate. Emphasize it was your
duty to report, there is a process in place to handle the
situation, and you want to focus on teaching the student.
• Alternatively, I will contact the student to inform him/her of
the suspected violation.
Honor Council Process
• Step One: Preliminary meeting (15-30 minutes, longer for very
complex cases) in your office
• Investigative team with one student and one faculty member
• Step Two: Honor Council Hearing (0, or 1-2 hours)
• Faculty may or may not be asked to attend depending on the type
of hearing
• Step Three: Appeal Process (0 hours)
• Faculty is not involved
Sanctions
• Grade penalty
• F in the course is typical, but zero on the assignment is often
recommended for less serious cases. For unintentional
plagiarism, student may be given an opportunity to resubmit
work
• Mark on the student’s personal record
• Typically given for two years
• May not be given for very minor infractions
• May be permanent for egregious violations
• Suspension or Expulsion
• Uncommon; typically given for students with a history of
violations or extreme acts of dishonesty (impersonating faculty,
sabotaging work of another student, fabricating evidence)
• Educational Programs
Resources
• Honor Council Webpage:
http://college.emory.edu/home/academic/honorcouncil/index.html
Questions