Are Honor Codes Necessary

Honor codes, or sets of regulations "intended to cultivate integrity" have been brought to recent debate. Several educational establishments are initiating a culture of honor codes within their schools. My own school, Sheyenne High School, has such honor codes requiring that students have the responsibility to be honest in their schoolwork. However, disunity over these codes have brought to question whether the codes are honorable or improbable. While at first glance, honor codes appear responsible and promising the unfound skepticism of students brings to light the confusion and doubt of their ability to rewrite student life. Honor codes have been implemented in my school over the past several years, but these codes must be revised to ensure

The existence of honor codes has had basis in helping students learn since their inception, but there are still those who object to their very definition. Nearly every institution centered around the education of children has some sort of code of conduct or set of rules in place for the betterment of the students. However, the term ‘honor’ in the title ‘honor code’ is what people can occasionally take issue with, as the term often implies a much more respectful idea. This issue leads one to question the purpose of honor codes. Although honor codes, like that of the school in Tobias Wolff’s Old School, exist for the purpose of bettering the students by ensuring that they all have an equal chance and that they all do their own work, Mr. Ramsey objects to his school’s honor code because he believes in a much more personal and valuable meaning of the word ‘honor’.

If a college campus harbors an environent where cheating is seen as acceptable and an activity many people participate in, even students with correct morals and no desire to cheat themselves are less likely to report fellow students for unsavory behavior. This can also go a step further and that same student who failed to confront a peer for cheating, may give in to the school’s atmosphere and start cheating themselves. This makes them all the less likely to report other students for fear of appearing hypocritical and/or being reported themselves. A study on honor code effectiveness was completed by Sally Sledge and Pam Pringle at a small public university (Source E). Their results showed that only 8% of students would report a fellow student for cheating. Even more surprisingly, 40% of students anonymously stated that they had “violated the honor code and not been caught”. This points to a very cheater-friendly attitude at this particular school and shows that the honor system is not very effective in this

People can very easily disobey the honor code even though many people may view that person as trustworthy or “would never do that.” They may just break the rule. The same idea goes with parents or teachers on students and kids. They always believe that a kid never disobeyed, cheated, or skip class but in reality, they actually did. In source C it says “The possibility that 125 Harvard students ‘improperly collaborated’ on an exam in the spring has galvanized a continuing discussion about the use of honor codes. While Harvard administrators hope that an honor code can improve the academic integrity of the college, critics--especially Harvard students--are skeptical that signing a piece of paper will suddenly cause a cheater to change his ways.” Many people who do cheat will tell their trusted peers. In Source E It shows highlights from student research in 2007-2008. 40% of students who have violated the honor code and not been caught. That’s actually a pretty high number and I don’t doubt that more students did the same thing but was not caught. In addition, no one wants to be that guy that points out that someone is cheating because other students will deem you as a “snitch” and feel that they can’t trust

In numerous colleges, students have minimal awareness about their honor codes and the punishments that correlate with violating that academic agreement. Susan Greenburg, author of “Why Colleges Should Ditch Honor Codes”, discusses the issues behind having an honor code and why colleges should no longer have this practice. She addresses the conflict in Stanford University, where students in a computer science class spring up attention on whether the code is still an appropriate use today. These students enrolled in the course were under questioning about their academic dishonesty and received harsh discipline in a class and future occupational field that involves collaboration with others daily. For some, the honor code is unfair considering

Honor codes have been a strong subject of dispute over the last few years. Whether to hold students accountable for their own actions, and allow them to control the cheating in a school is, in all regards, a major decision that could potentially be detrimental to a school’s society and reputation. However, the rewards for a successful honor code are exponentially higher than the cost. Schools should always have some form of honor code in place, whether it be something like a signed contract at the beginning of each semester paired with an honor court to hold violators accountable, or something as simple as a statement of trust on a worksheet.

The conflict of whether or not honor codes should be established has been brought up again due to an increase in cheating and collaborating on tests and school work. Recently, a surplus of students have been caught cheating in unexpected places, like Harvard and the University of Virginia. Those colleges are considering using honor codes to counteract the surge of cheating that has arisen. Although there is currently a cheating problem that needs to be dealt with, incorporating honor codes into high schools and colleges is not the most effective way to solve the cheating problem, and will not solve the cheating problem indefinitely. It is very difficult to change a person’s personality and their morals, no matter what paper they sign, but there are ways to make people’s convictions stronger. One of which is student interaction. Like many people, students have a “follow the herd” nature and want to fit in with the crowd. If many students discourage cheating, the “crowd” may choose to not cheat in fear of being shunned. Student interaction is much more effective than honor codes, and is a much less drastic change.

Honor codes are the embodiment of two things – trust and integrity. When schools maintain these honor codes, it gives off many advantages. “Unlike the majority of colleges where proctoring of tests and exams is the responsibility of the faculty and/or administration, many schools with academic honor codes allow students to take their exams without proctors present, relying on peer monitoring to control cheating.” (Source F) By allowing non-monitored tests, the honor code instills a better relationship between staff and students. When a student is having a problem with the class, they will more likely talk to the teacher rather than resort to copying. The code makes staff more trust worthy.

The current regulations clearly define cheating, plagiarism and the consequences associated with being caught cheating and requires that students only read through the document and sign that you understand the consequences of cheating. Its simplicity contributes to its effectiveness in deterring cheating among students without the added tension of the possibility of stirring conflict between others. Even if an honor code with a focus on student-enforced reporting of cheaters, it’s unlikely that any students would actively choose to betray their

Being a high schooler at Windham High School, I can say that I am not in favor of the honor codes being established at my school. I am a very busy student-athlete that always completes work on time, does what I’m expected to, and never cheats. Why should I have to follow honor codes that would make no difference in my life. Cheating, stealing, and plagiarizing are already not acceptable, we are told by our teachers constantly, and it is stated in our syllabi.

Prior to completing the Academic Integrity Program, I thought academic integrity was as simple “not cheating.” I considered it a policy solely implemented to ensure that students learned the material. To me, cheating was mostly plagiarism, or trying to pass off someone else’s work as your own. It was not until I completed the program that I began to understand the long-term effects of cheating on the peers, the professor, and the institution. Now, I understand that cheating affects not just me, but also the other students in my courses and the university’s reputation. I also understand the reasoning behind the university’s strict policies regarding academic integrity violations, as they are in place to protect the student, the classmates,

During the seminar, the students unanimously agreed that PCHS does not have an honor code to prevent cheating on tests, or school related projects. Therefore, many students take the chance to copy answers from other students who work hard to earn their grade. That’s why these students ask that an honor code be implemented by the student government, monitored and enforced by PCHS faculty, and be constantly revised to make PCHS an exceptional learning environment for students.

Every university should follow a set of rules to maintain Academic integrity in the university. Academic integrity means to moral values to protect the talent. One should follow all the rules included in academic integrity to maintain academic standards and to safeguard talent from cheating and plagiarism. Every student should be taught about how important the academic integrity is and this will result in benefit of student because they will be aware of the rules and regulations and will be able to implement them in their academic programs, this itself results in other advantage as they will be knowing the consequences that will be followed if the students violates any of the rules of academic integrity.

You may think that this is a problematic mindset. I would tend to agree. As the Chair of our school’s Honor Council, my job to uphold our Honor Code. That is to say, I try to make sure that students do not cheat, plagiarize, lie, steal, or create forgeries, nor tolerate peers who do. Violators of the Honor Code come to the Honor Council for investigation, judgement, and even punishment. Thankfully, I have the help

Our school community abides by a strict honor code. We believe honesty comes before all other values. Our team kept these morals in mind and adhered to them for all aspects of our project. Our school's honor code states: "As a member of the Charlotte Latin Community, I am responsible for upholding and promoting honesty, trust, respect, fairness, and justice in all venues of School life. To maintain personal integrity, I will not cheat, lie, steal, or plagiarize. I will do my best to raise awareness of the importance of honor for the purpose of making Latin a better place to learn and work. I understand the Charlotte Latin School Honor Code and will uphold my HONOR ABOVE ALL."