HONOR CODES RETURNING TO CAMPUSES
Outside of the military academies and religious colleges and universities, only a handful of campuses around the nation still have honor codes. Most colleges and universities eliminated their honor codes during the 1960s. Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi is going against that trend. It adopted an honor code at the request of its student body in 1994.
After months of legalistic mumbo-jumbo from the beltway regarding definitions of "perjury," "sex" and "is" that it might be timely to take a look at campuses that still maintain or are starting honor codes.
A representative--but not exhaustive--list of academic offenses covered by the Millsaps College honor code include: plagiarism; dishonesty on examinations, tests and assignments; lying about academic matters; unauthorized use of a computer file, program, user name, or password; and unauthorized use of, tampering with, or removing community materials from laboratories or the library.
All students must sign the pledge upon attending Millsaps College. It reads: "As a Millsaps College student, I hereby affirm that I understand the Honor Code and am aware of its implications and of my responsibility to the Code. In the interests of expanding the atmosphere of respect and trust in the College, I promise to uphold the Honor Code and I will not tolerate dishonest behavior in myself or in others."
Each examination, quiz, or other assignment that is to be graded carries the written pledge: "I hereby certify that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on the assignment." The abbreviation "Pledged" followed by the student's signature has the same meaning.
Schools don't start honor codes because there is wholesale cheating on the campus. That wasn't the case at Millsaps College nor was it the case at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Its honor code goes back to 1957. According to Bob Nordvall, Dean of First-Year Students at Gettysburg College, research shows that schools with honor codes have less cheating than those that don't.
Colgate University in Hamilton, New York is in the midst of considering an honor code. It's soon to be the subject of a student referendum. It's largely a student initiative, with faculty and administrative support, and it is expected to pass.
"Legalese" is a constant challenge for campuses with honor codes. Dean Nordvall notes that many schools have to resist the urging of lawyers to add more rules. It's becoming a balancing act for schools as they try to have an honor code that is useable but not unwieldy.
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Editors feel free to call Sarah Armstrong, chair of the biology department at Millsaps College. She helped the students put together the honor code in 1994. She's at 601-974-1413 (office).
Kevin Russell and Christina Finzel of Millsaps' public relations office can get you all the background information you need on the code. They're at 601-974-1012/1034.
Dean Nordvall of Gettysburg College is at 717-337-6586.
Michael Cappeto, Dean of the College, can answer questions about Colgate University's attempts to start an honor code. He's at 315-228-7425.
Jim Leach of Colgate University's public relations office is at 315-228-7417. Please call Steve Infanti of Dick Jones Communications at 814-867-1963 or [email protected] if you need any additional information.
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