Honor Code at McDaniel College, Westminster, MD
The honor code affirms that honest people are the most important elements of a good community; the community pledges its commitment to the ideals of personal integrity and community honor in all aspects of campus life, including academic endeavors, use of [technology], the library, and other facilities, and respect for community and personal property. The Code protects the rights of the honest majority against the actions of individuals acting dishonestly.
As members of a community based on trust, all are responsible for ensuring that academic integrity is upheld; the effectiveness of the Honor Code depends on everyone’s participation.
For the student, this means not only taking personal responsibility for one’s own actions, but also discouraging academic dishonesty by making it socially unacceptable behavior. The student is required to report all instances of academic honor violations. This action is a social responsibility because academic dishonor has a detrimental effect on the grades of all students in a given course.
For the faculty, this means clearly establishing guidelines at the beginning of every course and then making it physically difficult to cheat during the rest of the semester. In some courses, this might simply mean removing temptation; in others, it might involve more stringent procedures such as simultaneously administering all examinations regardless of course sectioning….
Sometimes participation in a community based on honor requires facing difficult situations, including uncomfortable confrontations with friends and classmates. Students can get help in dealing with these confrontations from members of the Honor Board, [the Vice President for Students Affairs], faculty advisors, and friends.
The Honor and Conduct Board is established to correct academic honor violations within the college community. Academic violations consist of cheating in course work and misuse of library materials and other sources. Both students and faculty have an obligation to themselves and to their peers to discourage honor violations in any form and report honor violations….
The Honor Pledge I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this piece of work, nor have I knowingly tolerated any violation of the Honor Code.
(written and signed by students on assignments, papers, and tests)
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