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The James Madison
University Honor Code
A. Introduction
B. The
Honor Code
C. Reporting of Possible
Violations
D. Potential Resolution by Faculty or Staff
Member
E. Investigations and
Charges By Honor Council
F. Rights of Accused
Students
G. Penalties
H. Hearing, Appeal and Review
Procedures
1. The
Hearing
2. Special Panel Provisions
3. Appeals
4. Final Review
I. Miscellaneous Provisions
1. Restrictions on Graduation
2. Effects on Official
Records
3. Records and Reports
4. Nature of Proceedings
5. Application of
Honor System in Courses
6. Confidentiality
7. Impartiality
J. Honor System Organization
1. Academic Affairs Division
2. Honor Council
Coordinator
3. Honor Council
4. Honor Advisory
Board
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A. Introduction
In a university community, there
can be no doubt that honor and the pursuit of knowledge are
inexorably intertwined.
An honor system must be believed
in, supported by and administered by those who belong to it. Upon
enrollment at James Madison University, each student is
automatically subject to the provisions of the Honor system. Each
student has a duty to become familiar with the Honor Code and the
provisions of the Honor system. Ignorance of what constitutes an
Honor Code violation cannot be used as a defense in an honor
hearing.
The Honor system at JMU does not
discriminate based upon race, color, religion, national origin,
political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, age or
disability.
Each examination, paper and other
written or electronically submitted assignment is submitted
pursuant to the Honor Code, and shall contain the following pledge
(or similar pledge approved by the faculty or staff member) of the
student(s) submitting the work: "This work complies with the JMU
Honor Code." The pledge shall be signed by the student(s)
unless it is submitted electronically, in which case the faculty or
staff member may require a different method of proof of a student's
pledge.
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B.
The Honor Code
Students shall observe complete
honesty in all academic matters. Violations of the Honor Code
include, but are not limited to, taking or attempting to take any
of the following actions:
- Using unauthorized materials or
receiving unauthorized assistance during an examination or in
connection with any work done for academic credit. Unauthorized
materials may include, but are not limited to, notes, textbooks,
previous examinations, exhibits, experiments, papers or other
supplementary items.
- Giving false or misleading
information regarding an academic matter.
- Copying information from another
student during an examination.
- Rendering unauthorized assistance
to another student by knowingly permitting him or her to see or
copy all or a portion of an examination or any work to be submitted
for academic credit.
- Obtaining prior knowledge of
examination materials (including by using copies of previously
given examinations obtained from files maintained by various groups
and organizations) in an unauthorized manner.
- Selling or giving to another
student unauthorized copies of any portion of an
examination.
- Using a commercially prepared
paper or research project or submitting for academic credit any
work completed by someone else.
- Falsifying or attempting to
falsify class attendance records for oneself, or for someone else,
or having another falsify attendance records on your
behalf.
- Falsifying material relating to
course registration or grades, either for oneself or for someone
else.
- Falsifying reasons why a student
did not attend a required class or take a scheduled
examination.
- Taking an examination in the
place of another student.
- Making unauthorized changes in
any reported grade or on an official academic report
form.
- Falsifying scientific or other
data submitted for academic credit.
- Collaborating in an unauthorized
manner with one or more other students on an examination or any
work submitted for academic credit.
- Committing the act of plagiarism
- the copying, writing or presenting as one's own the information,
ideas or phrasing of another person without proper acknowledgment
of the true source.
- Using computing facilities or
library resources in an academically dishonest manner.
- Falsifying evidence, or
intimidating or influencing someone in connection with an honor
violation investigation, hearing or appeal.
All students are strongly urged to
ask their faculty or staff members to clarify what types of conduct
are authorized or unauthorized in each course.
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C.
Reporting of Possible Violations
For the Honor system to be truly
effective, all students and faculty members or staff members are
expected to cooperate in its implementation. If students accept
dishonesty by their peers, or if faculty or staff members
accept dishonesty by their students, the entire Honor system will
be destroyed. True honor can be achieved only if all guard it
zealously.
Any member of the university
community who has reason to believe that an honor violation has
taken place should immediately report the circumstances to the
faculty or staff member of the course involved. However, if the
potential violation does not relate primarily to a specific course,
the matter should be immediately reported to the Honor Council
coordinator for disposition under Part E.
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D. Potential Resolution by Faculty or Staff
Member
If a faculty or staff member has
reason to believe that an honor violation has occurred (due to
either the faculty or staff member's own observation or a report by
a third party), the faculty or staff member should discuss the
matter with the student and consider whether the behavior is a
violation of the Honor Code. The faculty or staff member shall not
communicate the identity of any third party reporter(s) to the
student. The faculty or staff member then has the following three
options:
- If the faculty or staff member
determines that there has been no honor violation, the matter is
outside the scope of the honor system.
- If the faculty or staff member is
unsure as to whether an honor violation has occurred, the faculty
or staff member will take one of the following actions:
-
- refer the matter to the Honor
Council coordinator for disposition under Part E; or
- deal with the matter informally
with the agreement of the student, without determining that a
violation has occurred. If there is no agreement, either the
faculty or staff member or the student may refer the matter to the
Honor Council coordinator for disposition under Part E.
- If the faculty or staff member
determines that an honor violation has occurred, the faculty or
staff member will take one of the following actions:
-
- refer the matter to the Honor
Council coordinator for disposition under Part E; or
- determine the appropriate penalty
from sections 1 or 2 of Part G. If the student agrees, the faculty
or staff member reports the violation and penalty to the Honor
Council coordinator who will promptly complete all the appropriate
documentation. If the student disagrees with the violation
determination and/or the penalty, the matter is referred by the
faculty or staff member or the student to the Honor Council
coordinator for disposition under Part E. If the student disagrees
only with the penalty, a hearing body will determine the
penalty.
At any time prior to reaching an
agreement regarding guilt and the penalty, either the faculty or
staff member or the student may refer the matter to the Honor
Council coordinator for disposition under Part E; however, once a
matter is so referred, there is no longer any possibility of
informal resolution or resolution by agreement between the faculty
or staff member and the student unless the Honor Council
coordinator gives the faculty or staff member permission to
withdraw his/her written complaint and handle the matter informally
with the student. The faculty or staff member then should report
the violation and penalty agreed upon to the Honor Council
coordinator who will then complete all the appropriate
documentation. If a matter is referred for disposition under
Part E, the hearing body will not be informed of the faculty or
staff member's opinion on the appropriate penalty.
A faculty or staff member has the
option of consulting with the Honor Council coordinator to obtain
the assistance of the Honor Council investigators, to obtain advice
about an appropriate penalty, or to obtain other advice or
assistance with respect to the matter in question. Any such
consultation will not constitute a referral of the matter to the
Honor Council coordinator for disposition under Part E.
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E. Investigations and Charges By Honor
Council
The Honor Council shill not take action with
respect to a violation reported to it more than 60 days after its
occurrence could reasonably have been discovered. Upon receipt of a
written complaint of an alleged honor violation, the coordinator or
an investigator will notify the student by letter that he or she is
the subject of an honor investigation, and an investigator will be
assigned to investigate the alleged violation.
All official correspondence from
the honor council will take place via the university e-mail system,
and will be addressed to current university electronic
identification on record. It is the
responsibility of the accused student, reporting faculty, and
witnesses to read and promptly respond to all electronic
communication from the honor council.
It will be the responsibility of
the assigned investigator to gather the information needed to
permit a fair determination of whether there is reason to believe
that an honor violation has taken place. The Honor Council
coordinator and investigators should complete the initial
investigation of the alleged violation and decide whether to charge
the student with a violation of the Honor Code or to terminate the
matter within 20 class days from the date of the notification
letter. The student will be promptly notified of that
decision.
A student charged with an honor
violation under this Part E will be promptly notified of the charge
and instructed to make an appointment with the investigator. At
this meeting, the investigator will explain the charges, inform the
student of his or her rights, and describe the Honor system
procedures. Neither the student's failure to contact the
investigator, the student's withdrawal from the course, nor the
student's withdrawal from the university while an honor
investigation or charge is pending will halt the investigation or
any subsequent honor proceeding (including the hearing and, if
applicable, the appeal) affecting the student.
A student charged with an honor
violation under this Part E may request the assistance of an
investigator in gathering relevant evidence. Although the accused
is responsible for preparing and presenting his or her own defense,
the accused may submit to the investigator a list of questions the
accused would like asked of witnesses during the investigation and
at the hearing. This procedure will not affect the right of the
accused to question any witness at the hearing.
Formal reports received by the
honor council during the last three weeks of spring semester and
during all summer sessions will likely receive no action until the
following fall semester. Available
council member will make attempts to begin the investigation
process, but it is rare that the council will be able to conduct
hearings and resolve cases during the late spring and summer
sessions.
It should be remembered that honor
council investigators are students. They are assigned to gather
evidence in an impartial manner and to help those involved in honor
council proceedings understand the operation of the Honor
system.
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F. Rights of Accused
Students
Each student charged with an
honor violation under Part E shall have the right to the
following:
- A fair and impartial hearing
before the appropriate hearing body within a reasonable period of
time after being charged with an honor violation.
- The benefit of a presumption of
innocence until proven guilty.
- See typewritten copies of
statements of the reporter(s) and witness(es), modified to protect
the identities of the reporter(s) and witness(es), before
submitting his or her statement regarding the incident.
- Notification of the nature of the
charges as soon as they can be deduced from the statements of the
reporter(s). This will usually require receipt of written
statements from the reporter(s).
- Notification of the specific
charges and evidence as well as the time and place of the hearing
at least five class days prior to the hearing.
- Representation by any willing
student member of the university community, excluding Honor Council
members.
- Have a lawyer attend the hearing.
If a student elects to have a lawyer attend the hearing, the
student must notify the Honor Council president no later than 24
hours prior to the hearing. A lawyer attending a hearing may not
actively represent the accused student but may give advice to the
student regarding how to present his or her defense. The Honor
Council president may direct a lawyer to cease all assistance if
the president determines that the assistance is unduly disrupting
the hearing.
- Select up to three non-witnesses
to attend a closed hearing by providing the investigator with their
names at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. These non-witnesses
may not participate in the hearing.
- Question all witnesses who
testify at the hearing.
- Present witnesses to testify for
the defense.
- Be present during the entire
hearing (except closed deliberations) and know all evidence used in
the proceeding. The accused may elect not to appear at the hearing;
failure to appear will not be construed as an admission of
guilt.
- Remain silent. Such silence will
not be construed as an admission of guilt.
- Be notified in writing of the
decision of the hearing body within 10 days of the date of the
hearing.
- Submit an appeal.
- Have access to the official
record of the hearing for the purpose of preparing an appeal. This
record will consist of either a written transcript of the hearing
or a copy of an audio or visual recording made at the hearing, at
the discretion of the coordinator.
- Have the above rights apply to a
hearing conducted by a special panel, as described in that
section.
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G.
Penalties
One of the following penalties
will be assessed for a student's first honor violation:
- Reduced or failing grade on the
most applicable area of student evaluation in the course (e.g., an
assignment, an examination, class participation, etc.);
- Reduced or failing grade in the
course.
- "F" in the course and suspension
for the fall or spring semester following the final disposition of
the matter. A student may not receive credit for work taken at
another institution during this period of suspension. A hearing
body may impose suspension for a student's first violation if it
finds that the student intentionally tried to obtain an academic
advantage for him/herself or another student;
- "F" in the course and expulsion
from the university; a hearing body may impose expulsion for a
student's first or second violation if it finds (i) the student
intentionally tried to obtain an academic advantage for him/herself
or another student, and (ii) the violation involved aggravated
circumstances (e.g., violation of another university policy in
conjunction with the honor violation).
The maximum penalty that may be
assessed under Part D (i.e., the penalty designated by the faculty
or staff member is agreed to by the student) is "F" in the course.
If an "F" in the course is assessed for an honor violation, the
student will not be permitted to retake that course on a
"repeat/forgiveness" basis.
If a student commits more than one
honor violation, the following minimum penalties will apply: the
minimum penalty for a second violation will be "F" in the course
and suspension for a semester; the minimum penalty for a third
violation will be "F" in the course and expulsion. If a student is assigned the sanction of
suspension twice within the same semester, the suspensions are to
be served in consecutive semesters.
When the penalty of suspension is
imposed students are not permitted to enroll in May or summer
sessions preceding or following the semester of
suspension.
***The option to require the
student to attend the Values Workshop facilitated in conjunction
with the Office of Judicial Affairs is available for both formal
and informal resolutions. This penalty can only be assigned
in addition to another appropriate penalty unless the violation
occurs in a situation where it is not particular to a course the
student is taking (e.g. the student is selling papers but is not in
the class for which the papers are being sold). This penalty
is assigned based on the judgment of the professor if it is an
informal violation or of the hearing board for a formal violation
that the student will benefit from the class. If the Values
Workshop does not seem appropriate for the student then it should
not be assigned. This penalty can only be given one
time.
Each student assigned this penalty
must attend the Values Workshop by the end of the semester after
the violation is resolved. (e.g. if the penalty is assigned
during the Spring semester, the student must attend the workshop by
the end of the next Fall semester).
This penalty may not be assigned
to graduating seniors.
If this penalty is assigned to a
student who has also been assigned the penalty of suspension, they
will be required to attend the Values Workshop upon re-enrollment
during the first semester back at JMU.
Each student assigned this penalty
is responsible for contacting the Office of Judicial Affairs to
sign up for a Workshop. Any cost associated with the Values
Workshop shall be the responsibility of the student. Once the
student has signed up for the workshop, they must attend or give at
least 24 hours notice to cancel. If the student fails to
comply by these guidelines, they will be found responsible for a
judicial violation.***
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H.
Hearing, Appeal and Review Procedures
1.
The Hearing
- No hearings or special panels
will take place when classes are not in session, i.e. August,
Spring and Winter breaks, and during final exams.
- All hearings will be closed
unless the accused requests an open hearing at least 48 hours prior
to the time of the hearing. If the number of spectators or
disorderly behavior disrupts the hearing in any manner, the Honor
Council president may order any or all spectators to leave the
hearing room. The president may prohibit the use of cameras or
unauthorized audio or video recording equipment.
- The members of the hearing board
will be selected by the Honor Council vice president. The hearing
board will consist of seven members: three students, three faculty
members and the vice president. Members of the hearing board may be
selected from the Honor Council.
- At least three class days prior
to the hearing, the accused must inform the Honor Council office of
the names of all witnesses to be called at the hearing by the
accused and must provide a summary of the points to which each is
expected to testify.
- The accused will be entitled to
all rights guaranteed in the "Student Rights" section of this
document.
- The Honor Council president or
the chair of the special panel will preside at the hearing and will
rule on the admissibility of all evidence introduced during the
hearing and on all other matters raised at the hearing. Formal
rules of evidence will not apply.
- A hearing will generally be held
in the following order:
-
- The president will introduce
those present.
- The president will make a
statement emphasizing the confidentiality of the
proceedings.
- The president will answer any
questions concerning hearing procedures.
- The president will read the
charges against the accused.
- The accused will enter a plea of
"not guilty" or "guilty."
- The president will direct the
investigators to provide all evidence gathered regarding the
alleged violation. This may include the impartial questioning of
witnesses (including the accused, unless the accused elects not to
testify) for clarification and the presentation of evidence
requested by the accused. The investigators, the members of the
hearing board, the accused and his or her designated representative
will have the opportunity to question each witness.
- The accused or his or her
designated representative may present concluding
remarks.
- All persons will leave the
hearing room except the hearing board members, who will select a
chair and commence their deliberations.
- The hearing board will first
consider the guilt or innocence of the accused. The hearing board
may recall any witness who testified during the hearing. The
accused shall have the right to be present during any additional
testimony and, with the permission of the president, may question
these witnesses.
- The hearing board will reach one
of the following decisions as to guilt: If at least five of
the seven hearing board members determine that it has been
established by "clear and convincing evidence" that the accused
student committed an alleged honor code violation, the student
shall be found "guilty" on that charge. If no more than four
of the seven hearing board members make that determination, the
student shall be found "not guilty." Additionally, if, after
a reasonable period of deliberation (as determined by the president
of the Honor Council), a finding of guilty has not been reached,
the hearing board shall be deemed to have found the student not
guilty.
- If the hearing board finds a
violation, it should then reach a determination to assess any of
the penalties enumerated in Part G, by a vote of four of the seven
hearing board members. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the
student has previously committed an honor violation, the minimum
penalties set forth in the last sentence of Part G will
apply.
- The decision will be announced in
the presence of the accused or his or her designated representative
if either is then present.
- The president will inform a
convicted student of the appeal procedure and will answer any
questions.
- If an accused refuses or fails to
appear at a hearing after being properly notified, the hearing will
proceed.
- The accused may request one
postponement of the hearing by contacting the president at least 24
hours prior to the scheduled hearing. Adequate cause for
postponement must be demonstrated.
- If the accused wants to have his
or her case heard when witnesses are not available, the right to
question witnesses may be waived in writing and the written
statements of all witnesses will then be accepted as evidence and
testimony by the hearing board or special panel. The accused
student may, however, challenge the testimony given in these
statements by presenting witnesses (including the accused) who will
testify on behalf of the accused.
- The accused or the reporter may
request by letter to the Honor Council coordinator that the hearing
of a case arising during one of the summer sessions be postponed
until the fall semester. Adequate cause must be demonstrated for
the postponement to be approved.
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2. Special Panel Provisions
- The hearing body will be a
special panel consisting of one faculty member and two students
appointed by the Honor Council Coordinator of vice president for
any student charged with an honor violation.
-
- during the last two weeks of fall
or spring semester classes, or
2. between the end of
spring semester classes and the first day of classes of the next
fall semester.
- The special panel will select a
chair from among its members. The chair will have full voting
rights and will, in addition, have the same powers and
responsibilities at a special panel hearing as the Honor Council
president has at a hearing board hearing.
- Each special panel hearing shall
be held as soon as reasonably possible after the investigation is
completed. The coordinator may grant a request for a postponement
of the hearing only if the coordinator finds that special
circumstances exist that would make it inequitable to proceed with
an immediate hearing.
- The special panel will reach one
of the following decisions as to guilt:
-
- guilty based upon the standard of
proof of "clear and convincing evidence," which requires the
concurrence of at least two of the three members of the special
panel; or
- not guilty based upon the
standard of "clear and convincing evidence," which requires the
concurrence of at least two of the three members of the special
panel.
- If there is a decision of guilty,
any of the penalties enumerated in Part G may be assessed, although
the penalty of suspension or expulsion requires the concurrence of
all three members of the special panel, whereas assessment of the
other penalties requires the concurrence of at least two of the
three members of the special panel. [Note: If the student has
previously committed an honor violation, the minimum penalties set
forth in the last sentence of Part G will apply.]
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3.
Appeals
- Any student found guilty by a
hearing board or special panel will have the right to appeal within
five class days of receiving written notice of the decision by
providing a written statement to the Honor Council coordinator
describing the basis of the appeal. An appeal may be based upon the
availability of new evidence, the violation of due process rights
of the convicted student, or the unreasonableness of the hearing
body's decision.
- If a student does not appeal the
decision within five class days of receiving written notice of the
decision, the decision will be deemed to be final (unless the
penalty includes suspension or expulsion, in which cases final
review occurs under section 4 below).
- The vice president for academic
affairs will designate an academic dean, or an associate or
assistant dean, to chair the appeals committee, which will be the
appeal body except in the circumstances described below. The
committee will consist of three members: the committee chair, and a
student and faculty member appointed by the Honor Council vice
president or the coordinator.
- Appeals presented during the last
two weeks of spring semester classes or during the period between
the end of spring semester classes and the first day of classes of
the next fall semester will be heard by a person designated by the
vice president for academic affairs, who in those circumstances
will be the appeal body in lieu of the appeals
committee.
- The appeal body or an
investigator will notify the student in writing of the date, time
and place of the appeal hearing.
- At the appeal hearing, the appeal
body will review the record of the original hearing and may recall
witnesses for clarification purposes or receive additional evidence
or testimony in order to determine whether the decision of the
hearing body should be changed.
- The appeal body will then take
one of the following actions:
-
- Affirm the guilty finding and
penalty imposed by the hearing body.
- Affirm the guilty finding but
reduce the penalty (but not below the applicable minimum
penalty).
- Find the student not guilty and
dismiss the charges.
- Order a new hearing.
If the appeal body is the appeals
committee, two votes will be necessary to take any action other
than to affirm the guilty finding and penalty imposed by the
hearing body. A student may not be given a more severe penalty as
the result of an appeal.
The appeal body will notify the
Honor Council coordinator of its decision, and the coordinator will
promptly notify the student of the decision. If the decision of the
appeal body does not include a penalty of suspension or expulsion,
there shall be no further appeal or review.
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4.
Final Review
In all cases in which the
penalty includes suspension or expulsion, there shall be a final
review by the Vice President for Academic Affairs (if the penalty
is suspension) or by the University President in consultation with
the Vice President for Academic Affairs (if the penalty is
expulsion). The Honor Council coordinator shall provide the
reviewer with the relevant documentation and
information.
The reviewer need not review the
entire record of the hearing or the deliberations of the appeal
body before making a decision.
The reviewer will take one of the
following actions:
- Affirm the guilty finding and
penalty.
- Affirm the guilty finding and
reduce the penalty (but not below the applicable minimum
penalty).
- Find the student not guilty and
dismiss the charges.
- Order a new hearing.
The reviewer will notify the
coordinator of the final decision, and the coordinator will
promptly notify the student.
If the final decision includes
suspension or expulsion the coordinator will notify the vice
president for academic affairs, the vice president for student
affairs, the assistant vice president for finance, the director of
residence life, the university registrar and the Honor Council
president. This notification will include only the final decision
and will not be a report of the proceeding itself.
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I. Miscellaneous Provisions
1. Restrictions on
Graduation
A student who is the subject of
an honor investigation or who has been charged with an honor
violation may not graduate from the university until the case has
been resolved, (i.e., the case has been dismissed or dropped, a
hearing has occurred, all appeals have occurred, etc.). A
student who is found guilty of (or admits to) an honor violation
may not graduate from the university until the student completes
any additional course work resulting from the penalty and any
suspension period has expired. A student who has been expelled from
the university due to an honor violation may neither graduate from
nor re-enroll in the university at any time.
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2. Effects on Official
Records
If a student is expelled from
the university because of an honor violation, the student's
official university records will so indicate. If a student is
suspended from the university because of an honor
violation:
- any copy of the student's
transcript which is prepared or sent out between the final review
and the end of the suspension period will bear the notation "NOT IN
GOOD STANDING," and
- after the end of the suspension
period, the grade of "F" in the course in which the violation
occurred will remain, but there will be no reference to the honor
violation in the student's official university records.
If neither suspension or expulsion
is assessed due to an honor violation, any grade change in the
course in which the violation will remain, but there will be no
reference to the honor violation in the student's official
university records.
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3. Records and Reports
The Honor Council coordinator
will keep records of violators (to identify repeat offenders and
assess applicable minimum penalties) and of the numbers and types
of alleged and actual violations; such records are not considered
to be part of a student's "official university records." The
coordinator will prepare a report each semester presenting summary
data on offenses, results and trends. The coordinator will cause
the report to be disseminated to the JMU community; publication in
the campus newspaper would be one preferred means of dissemination.
The reports will not contain any information that would permit
identification of any accused student or of any student who was
found guilty of an honor violation.
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4. Nature of Proceedings
In adopting the Honor system,
the university recognized that errors in procedures and processes
may sometimes occur. Thus, a violation of a procedure by a member
of the Honor Council or faculty member that would not be expected
to result in a different outcome in a particular case, and does not
impair the overall fairness of the system should not be considered
a violation of the student's due process rights. Similarly, a
student should not be unduly penalized for an inadvertent failure
to comply with a specific procedure relating to honor cases.
The Honor System is designed to be fair while protecting students'
rights, and each provision of this Code should be read in that
light.
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5.
Application of Honor System in
Courses
Faculty members are strongly
encouraged to make reference to the Honor Code in their syllabi and
to discuss in class its application to their specific courses and
assignments (e.g., clarifying the scope of permissible
collaboration, if any, among students). Nevertheless, the student
is responsible for being familiar with the Honor system and for
complying with the Honor Code.
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6.
Confidentiality
All information relating to any
honor case should be considered confidential. All who are
involved in any honor case must protect that
confidentiality.
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7.
Impartiality
If any member of the Honor
Council, a hearing board, a special panel or an appeal body
believes that there are circumstances (for example, prior
acquaintance with the accused student or the reporter) that may
impair his or her ability to render a fair judgment or to fulfill
his or her responsibility with respect to an honor case in an
unbiased manner, that member should request to be excused from his
or her responsibilities with respect to the applicable case. If an
accused challenges the impartiality of any such member and the
Honor Council president or coordinator determines that there is
reasonable justification for such challenge (which must be
presented as soon as possible after the accused becomes aware of
the relevant circumstances), such member will be excused from his
or her responsibilities with respect to the applicable case. In any
such event, a substitute for the excused member will be appointed
by an Honor Council officer or the coordinator.
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J. Honor System Organization
1. Academic Affairs Division
The JMU Honor system and its
component bodies are organizationally under the Academic Affairs
Division.
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2. Honor Council
Coordinator
The Vice President for Academic
Affairs will recommend and the Honor Advisory Board will approve
the selection of the Honor Council coordinator, who will report to
the Vice President for Academic Affairs or the designated Associate
Vice President for Academic Affairs. The coordinator will have the
following duties:
- To handle all major
correspondence and administrative matters related to the Honor
system except matters assigned to the Honor Council officers and
investigators.
- To coordinate and supervise the
training of all Honor Council members.
- To provide assistance to and
supervision of investigators in the gathering and presenting of
evidence related to an alleged honor violation in a professional
and impartial manner.
- To approve the appointment of
additional volunteer investigators to assist in the gathering and
presenting of evidence related to an alleged honor
violation.
- Along with the investigators, to
decide whether there is sufficient evidence to charge a student
with an honor violation.
- To gather and present evidence at
hearings during the summer break or other times when investigators
are unavailable.
- To serve in the role and capacity
of adviser to the Honor Council.
- To maintain Honor system records
and prepare reports for the JMU community.
- To determine the proper
application of provisions of the Honor system in a manner which
upholds the spirit and intent of the Honor system.
- To take such other actions as may
be authorized from time to time by the Honor Advisory Board or the
Vice President for Academic Affairs in order to fulfill the spirit
and intent of the Honor system.
The Vice President for Academic
Affairs may appoint an acting Honor Council coordinator when the
Honor Council coordinator is temporarily absent from the
university.
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3.
Honor Council
- The Honor Council will have
approximately 106 members as follows:
-
- The president and vice president,
who will be selected by the Honor Advisory Board and approved by a
Student Government Association designated committee, which will
include representation from the Honor Council. Eligibility for both positions includes being a
currently enrolled student in good standing and having served as an
Honor Council student representative at JMU for one
semester.
- Approximately four student
investigators to be selected by the Honor Advisory
Board.
- Approximately 50 faculty members
to be nominated from each academic department/school and approved
by the Honor Advisory Board, none of whom will hold an
administrative position higher than department head/school
director.
- Approximately 40 undergraduate
student representatives to be selected by the Honor Council
officers from applications submitted to the Honor
Council.
- Approximately 10 graduate student
representatives to be selected by the Honor Council officers from
applications submitted to the Honor Council.
- The terms of the members of the
Honor Council will be as follows:
-
- The president, the vice president
and the investigators will take office on the date of the May
graduation following their election and will serve until the next
May graduation.
- The faculty members and student
representatives will serve for the full academic year following
their election, beginning with the start of the fall
semester.
- The duties of the Honor Council
members will be as follows:
-
- President- The president will
serve as the chief executive officer for the James Madison
University Honor system and will have the following specific
duties:
-
- The president will chair all
hearing board hearings with no vote. He or she will control the
general order of the hearing, ensure that information on both sides
is adequately presented and rule on any questions of evidence,
procedure or due process. The president may consult with the Honor
Council coordinator before making rulings.
- The president will not
participate in closed deliberations of the hearing
board.
- The president will be responsible
for maintaining adequate communication on Honor system matters with
the SGA administrative vice president, the Vice President for
Academic Affairs, college deans, departmental liaisons and the
President of the University.
-
- Vice President - The vice
president (or, if the vice president is unable to perform the
applicable duty, another student to be designated by the Honor
Council coordinator) will assume all presidential duties in the
absence of the president and will have the following additional
duties:
-
- The vice president will serve as
a regular voting member of hearing boards.
- The vice president will be
responsible for organizing all hearing board hearings (including
the taping of all hearings and the securing of all
tapes).
- The vice president will provide
assistance to the chairs of special panels and appeal bodies in
connection with the organization of those hearings.
- Investigators - The investigators
are assisted and supervised by the Honor Council coordinator. They
are neither prosecutors nor representatives of accused students.
They are to act impartially, in a manner that upholds the spirit
and intent of the Honor system. Investigators will have the
following duties:
-
- The investigators will
investigate and gather evidence related to alleged honor
violations.
- The investigators will decide
with the Honor Council coordinator whether there is sufficient
evidence to charge a student with an honor violation.
- The investigators will provide
all relevant evidence at hearings.
- The investigators will assume
such other duties as may be assigned by the Honor Council president
or the coordinator.
- Representatives - Student
representatives will have those duties assigned from time to time
by the officers, including the following:
-
- Representatives will serve on
hearing boards and committees when selected to do so and will be
responsible for attending all hearings and meetings to which they
are assigned.
- Representatives will be
responsible for communicating with students and faculty members on
matters concerning the Honor system.
- Representatives will be
responsible for actively participating in the development and
implementation of special projects, communication methods, and
student and faculty orientation to increase both awareness of and
support for the Honor system.
- Training - The Honor Council
president, vice president and coordinator will be responsible for
the preparation of Honor Council members to fulfill their duties
and responsibilities, through one or more orientation meetings or
other methods.
- Removal from the Honor
Council
-
- Honor Council officers and
investigators may be removed from membership on the Honor Council
for violations of the Honor Code, major violations under the
University Judicial System, violation of the Honor system
confidentiality requirement, academic suspension or failure to
fulfill any of their assigned duties related to the Honor system. A
written statement fully describing the reasons for removal and the
procedures to be followed must be given to the person being
considered for removal at least one week prior to the final vote of
the Honor Advisory Board.
- An officer or investigator may be
removed by the Honor Advisory Board. The person being considered
for removal may not vote or be present at the deliberations of the
board (which will be closed) but will have the opportunity to
address the board before deliberations begin.
- Representatives may be removed by
the Honor Council officers and coordinator for any of the causes
for removal of an officer or investigator, or for failure to
fulfill the duties of a representative.
- If the president resigns or is
removed from office, the vice president will become the new
president. A new vice president will then be elected by the Honor
Council from the current members of the council, and a new
representative will be appointed by the Honor Advisory Board. This
procedure will also be followed if the vice president resigns or is
removed from office.
- If an investigator resigns or is
removed from office, the Honor Advisory Board will select a person
to complete his or her term.
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4. Honor Advisory Board
There will be an Honor Advisory
Board which will be comprised of the following members: the Honor
Council coordinator, president, vice president and investigators;
the SGA vice president; the vice president for academic affairs or
his or her designee; and one faculty member from each college
appointed by the dean of each college. An additional faculty member
appointed by the vice president for academic affairs will act as
the nonvoting chair of the board. A representative from the Office
of Student Affairs, appointed by the vice president for student
affairs, will serve as nonvoting secretary. The duties of the Honor
Advisory Board will be as follows:
- To approve nominations for
membership on the Honor Council.
- To appoint replacements to the
Honor Council in case of vacancies.
- To appoint the Honor Council
investigators.
- To remove Honor Council officers
and investigators from the Honor Council.
- To act individually and
collectively in an advisory capacity to the Honor
Council.
- To make changes in the
procedures, definitions and powers relating to the James Madison
University Honor system. Any changes will not reduce the rights of
an accused student to receive a fair hearing with full protection
of due process.
A quorum at a meeting of the Honor
Advisory Board will consist of a majority of its voting members.
The board may take action either (i) at a meeting at which a quorum
is present - upon the vote of a majority of its voting members who
are present at the meeting, or (ii) without a meeting - by the
written consent of a majority of its voting members.
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Last amended, May
2006.
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