Elon University Student Handbook

Academic Honor Code and Pledge

The pursuit of knowledge in an academic community brings students and faculty together in an association of shared rights and responsibilities. Central to this association is an atmosphere of mutual trust and high ideals of honesty and integrity. Elon articulates these ideals in its Academic Honor Code.

Elon students WILL:

* Express opinions with civility and with consideration for the opinions of others.

* Respect shared intellectual property and resources.

* Promote the importance of the honor code in all their interactions for the benefit of the learning community.

Elon students will NOT:

* Lie.

* Cheat.

* Plagiarize.

* Steal.

* Violate others' property.

* Facilitate others' dishonesty.

Each student must take responsibility for addressing the issue of integrity with members of the community who violate standards. A student who witnesses a violation of the academic honor code should confront the suspected student and/or report the violation to the professor involved or the Office of Academic Affairs. All members of the community must work together to ensure that Elon is a place where each individual can experience the most sound academic and personal development.

Although it is hoped and expected that all students will choose positively to uphold a standard of integrity, it is also important to be clear about what academic behavior is unacceptable and how it will be sanctioned. Sanctions associated with the Academic Honor Code include the following, described in more detail under Sanctions:

* Academic Censure.

* Preliminary Suspension.

* Disciplinary Suspension.

* Educational Sanction.

* Permanent Separation from the University.

Students who contribute to, aid or cover up other students' honor violations may also be held accountable for their actions. This includes supplying information to other students while knowing or having reason to believe that such materials will be used to commit an honor code violation.

The Elon University Honor Pledge states "On my honor, I will abide by (have abided by) the Elon University Honor Code."

Maintaining the integrity of the academic community rests with each individual member. The Honor Pledge is a student's public signature of trustworthiness, responsibility and integrity. Some students who are uncertain whether their behaviors might be in violation of the Academic Honor Code are urged to consult faculty members at the earliest moment possible. In some classes, faculty will ask students to write or sign the pledge as it relates to a particular test, paper or assignment. Even if the honor pledge does not appear in writing on the work, the faculty member can and will assume compliance.

ACADEMIC HONOR CODE POLICIES
Institutions like Elon University, which have enjoyed a long collegiate history, do so because of their moral and ethical commitment to integrity. This presumes that all members of our community consider themselves responsible for upholding these ideals while striving for excellence in their individual disciplines. Choices made by any member of the community in this respect necessarily affect all other members. Academic dishonesty inhibits learning, is demeaning to fellow students' work, undermines the very basic principles of fairness and distorts the overall evaluation process. Though it is hoped and expected that students will choose positively to uphold a standard of integrity, it is also important to be clear about what academic behavior is unacceptable. Policies associated with the Academic Honor Code include the following:

CHEATING
Definition - The possession, receipt, use or solicitation of unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other devices in any academic exercise. This definition includes unauthorized communication of information before, during and after an academic exercise.

Scope - all encompassing. Examples: This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

a. Copying from another student's paper or test or receiving any unauthorized assistance on any assignment or exam.

b. Possessing, buying, selling, removing, receiving or using at any time or in any manner not previously authorized by the instructor a partial or complete copy of any exam or other materials intended to be used as an instrument of evaluation in advance of their administration.

c. Using any material or equipment not authorized by the instructor during a test or other academic evaluation.

d. Attempting to influence or change an academic evaluation, grade or record by deceit or unfair means, such as (1) damaging the work of another student to gain an unfair advantage (2) marking or submitting an exam or other assignment in an attempt to deceive the grading system.

e. Submitting, without prior permission, the same academic work which has been submitted in identical or similar form in another class in fulfillment of any other academic requirement at the university.

f. Permitting another person to substitute for one's self for any type of academic evaluation.

g. Gaining an unfair advantage on any assignment by destroying, hiding or unauthorized removal of materials intended for the use of all (library resources, etc.).

h. Collaborating with other students on projects, processes and/or papers where such collaboration has been forbidden by the instructor.

Sanctions
Course related response - sanctions related to the course in which the violation occurred, including the course grade with an optional "honor code F", will be assigned by the professor.

Institutional response - sanctions resulting from egregious or multiple honor code violations will be determined by the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs. These sanctions may include preliminary suspension, disciplinary suspension or permanent separation from the university.

FACILITATING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Definition - Helping or attempting to help another person commit an act of academic dishonesty.

Scope - all encompassing. Examples: This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

a. Providing assistance to another during an exam or on another assignment in a manner not authorized by the instructor.

b. Acting as a substitute for another in any type of academic violation.

c. Providing specific information about a recently given test, exam or other assignment to another student who thereby gains an unfair advantage in an academic evaluation.

d. Permitting one's academic work to be represented as the work of another.

e. Preparing for sale, barter or loan to another such items as unauthorized papers, notes, abstracts of lectures or readings.

Sanctions
Course related response - sanctions related to the course in which the violation occurred, including the course grade with an optional "honor code F", will be assigned by the professor.

LYING
Definition - Any oral or written statement misrepresenting the truth.

Scope - all encompassing. Examples: This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

a. Making a false statement in an attempt to gain advantage or exception.

b. Falsifying evidence or testifying falsely.

c. Inventing or counterfeiting data, research results, research procedures, experiences or any other information.

d. Citing a non-existent source or a source not actually consulted for referenced material/data.

e. Altering any official academic record.

f. Submitting a false excuse for absences.

PLAGIARISM
Definition - Presenting the work or ideas of another as one's own (i.e. without proper acknowledgment of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when the ideas or information are common knowledge. Any student must be thoroughly familiar with methods for documenting the use of another person's sentences, arguments or ideas.

Scope - all encompassing. Examples: Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, failure to do the following:

a. Direct quotation. Any direct quotation of any portion of any source must be placed in quotation marks and properly attributed to its author, using documentation in accordance with the requirements of the appropriate current style manuals. The following example, which uses MLA style (other styles may be used in different classes), shows how a direct quotation is properly acknowledged:

In her book titled The Subject of Semiotics, Kaja Silverman points out that "Madame Bovary places ... an insistent emphasis on the cultural sources from which ideal images derive - churches, schools, the marketplace, literature - [which] may help to clarify for us that ideal representations are always socially mediated." (From Kaja Silverman, The Subject of Semiotics, New York: Oxford UP, 1983, p.161).

b. Paraphrase. Prompt acknowledgment is required when material from any source is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in one's own words.

To acknowledge a paraphrase properly, one might state: "To paraphrase Locke's comment..." or "According to Rousseau...," and conclude with a citation identifying the exact reference.

c. Attributing any ideas, research results, procedures or concepts not one's own to the original source.

When referring to another's work, proper credit must be given to the source, even if one neither paraphrases nor quotes directly from that work. A footnote or an endnote should fully identify that source.

The way in which a student and/or researcher chooses to handle this point in particular has a direct bearing on the integrity of the community in which s/he operates. This point should therefore be given careful consideration when preparing any paper or doing any type of research.

STEALING OR VANDALISM
Definition - Taking, attempting to take or withholding the property of another person or the university, thereby permanently or temporarily depriving the owner or other students of its use or possession.

Scope - all encompassing. Examples: These include, but are not limited to the following:

a. Unauthorized removal of library materials, examinations, computer programs, etc., from the premises.

b. Taking another's academic work or materials without permission or proper credit.

c. Defacing or destruction of academic property.

ADJUDICATION OF ACADEMIC HONOR CODE CHARGES
Elon faculty members who suspect a student or students of violations of the Academic Honor Code will schedule an appointment with the student/s (either individually or as a group, to be determined by the professor). Elon students who witness an academic violation are expected to report the violation to the faculty member, along with any information to substantiate their charge.

During the initial meeting, the professor will explain the basis of the Academic Honor Code charge, and will share supporting information, if available, with the student. The purpose of this meeting is not to question charges or negotiate sanctions, but rather to make sure the student understands the professor's charge against him/her and to sign the form indicating whether the student will or will not take responsibility for the offense.

If the charged student admits responsibility, the student can then discuss circumstances surrounding the violation. This information may be considered by a professor prior to assigning course-related sanctions. The professor's sanctions may include additional academic work and the professor may assign a lower grade, a grade of F or an Honor Code F for the course. Following the meeting the professor will forward paperwork detailing the outcome to the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs who will, if appropriate, assign institutional sanctions.

If the charged student denies responsibility for the violation then the case will proceed to the Elon Honor Board. After review of the available information, the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs will offer to meet with the accused student to explain his/her rights and responsibilities for the hearing and will schedule a hearing date. Reported violations of the honor code that are alleged as occurring within ten for fewer days before Reading Day each semester may have to be heard by the board during the subsequent semester.

The Elon Honor Board consists of 12 students (six elected by the student body and six appointed by the SGA President), three of which must be present at the hearing; six faculty (two elected by the Academic Council and four appointed by the provost/vice president of academic affairs), of which two may be present at the hearing; and two Student Life administrators (appointed by the vice president of student life), one of which must be present at the hearing. The assistant vice president of academic affairs and assistant dean of students are non-voting members of the Elon Honor Board and act as conveners of the board. Exact procedures for Elon Honor Boards may be found in the Honor Board Procedures section.

If a student is found responsible for an academic honor code violation, his/her class related sanctions will be determined by the professor as outlined previously. Institutional sanctions, if appropriate, will be determined by the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs, following input from the Hearing Board.

Academic Honor Code violation cases which are adjudicated by the Elon Honor Board may be appealed to the University Appeals Board for re-consideration of institutional sanctions. This Appeals Board consists of the following persons or their designees: the provost and vice president of academic affairs, the vice president of student life, president of the Student Government Association, and a faculty member appointed by the provost and vice president of academic affairs.

The University Appeals Board will hear appeals based on: (1) discovery of substantial new facts that were unavailable at the original hearing and which could affect the honor board's decision, (2) excessive sanction and/or (3) substantial violation of hearing procedure.

Students, faculty and staff who have questions about adjudication procedures, appeals procedures or sanctions should consult the appeals procedure section.

Students should consult with individual faculty members about parameters for collaborative learning and documentation procedures for completing assignments. Questions concerning the Academic Honor Code may be directed to the Office of Academic Affairs.