Honor Code Arguments

The Argument of the Honor Code in School Systems
Having an honor code at a school generally varies by the belief system of that school and the surrounding area. However, a concise and proper honor code is something that can help the academic, social, and personal well-being of students and the community surrounding them (Stanford University). To prove this, three points will be brought up. The first point discusses an article relating to the New York Times. The article speaks of how the academic honor code is slowly fading away from many schools, and why this can be a problem for the students’ overall well-being. The second point is an analysis of honor codes from many prestigious colleges and universities. These academic honor codes will be
She states that a survey was conducted the spring before her arrival, and that thirty-five percent of students at the campus agreed of breaking the honor code they had signed (Cheung). This had created a much tighter handle on the proctoring of students there, where the professors were forced to focus more on whether a student was cheating or not. The honor code at Middlebury focuses on students reporting if they witnessed cheating. However, a survey was completed, which stated that sixty-three percent of students would be neutral towards cheating while the rest would report it (Cheung). Another survey was done that stated about seventy-five percent of students would not object to professors proctoring exams. These students had said that they believe it would diminish cheating and allow students to follow the honor code. This allowed for many individuals to say that the peer proctoring part of the honor code should be removed (Cheung). However, not all honor codes are as simple as the one at Middlebury, where it mainly enforces peers to find cheating. The University of Virginia states that once you are found cheating once, you are expelled. However, this type of honor code punishes students more than it helps them understand to not cheat (Cheung). Having an honor code like this makes students more scared for when they have
Three of the most well-known schools to do this are the University of Notre Dame, Young Harris College, and lastly Haverford College. To start off, the University of Notre Dame has a simple honor code that enforces students to not cheat and follow proper academic conduct (University of Notre Dame). The reprimand from breaking academic conduct is a single reprimand which states that the student cannot withdraw, or stop, taking the class they “cheated” in. However, if the honor code is broken a second time, the student can be dismissed from the university. This type of honor code seems severe, but it allows the student to correct their mistake of cheating the first time with roughly no consequences (University of Notre Dame). This allows for an improvement by that student, which will reflect to the whole campus. The honor code at Notre dame allows for students to correct themselves, as does the one from Young Harris College. Their honor code states that if a student is found breaking the honor code, three separate bodies can punish a student: the faculty, the Division Dean, and the Honor Council (Young Harris College). Each have similar powers to each other, however neither the faculty nor the Division Dean can eliminate the student from the school. They can give the student a failing grade for their assignment or make then completely fail the course (Young Harris