Summary of HONOR SYSTEM Procedures

 

Academic integrity is crucial to the educational mission of James Madison University. The James Madison University honor system seeks to promote a university community in which all members of the community accept their responsibility for protecting the academic integrity of the institution. The JMU honor system promotes a university community of truth, trust, and fairness with the goals of academic and personal achievement and responsibility. Examples of academic misconduct include but are not limited to:

 

·        Collaborating on a project, assignment, test, or quiz with any other person(s) without authorization.

·        Committing an act of plagiarism: using materials for assignments, projects and papers without properly citing the source of the information.

·        Copying information from another student during an examination.

·        Giving false or misleading information regarding an academic matter.

 

Responsibility of Students

 

The success of the Honor Code depends upon the willingness of students to comply voluntarily with the provisions of the code. The Honor Council urges students

 

  1. To read the Honor Code and honor system procedures.

 

  1. To refrain from working with others on homework assignments, take-home tests or quizzes, papers or other type of out-of-class assignments without specific approval of the instructor.

 

  1. To learn what constitutes plagiarism. Those who use the words or ideas of another person must provide the source of the words or ideas in any work they submit for academic credit.

 

  1. To avoid engaging in conduct that might lead someone to believe they are engaging in academic misconduct. Students must refrain from talking to other students during an examination or quiz. They should not allow their eyes to wander during an examination or quiz.

 

  1. Not to provide false information to a faculty member regarding an academic matter, including reasons for missing a class or examination.

 

  1. Not to take unfair advantage of other students. Unless they first receive permission from the instructor, they should not ask another student for help on a project, paper, homework or other class assignment.

 

  1. Not to submit the same work in more than one class without the permission of the instructors. Work completed for one class may not be used to satisfy the requirements for another class.
  2. Not to purchase term papers from other students or from commercial term paper providers.

 

  1. Not to ask another student to sign their name to a class attendance roll.

 

  1. Not to falsify data used to complete a lab assignment or experiment.

 

  1. Know the rules; ignorance is not a defense. Those who violate the Honor Code are suspect to penalties including suspension and expulsion.

 

Responsibility of Faculty

 

The Honor Council strongly encourages faculty to make reference to the Honor Code in their syllabi and to discuss its application to their specific courses and assignments. Each examination, paper and other written or electronically submitted assignment shall contain a pledge that the student submitted the work in compliance with the Honor Code. The pledge shall be signed by the student unless submitted by electronic means. “On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment” is an example of a pledge that satisfies the pledging requirement. The Honor Council urges faculty members:

 

  1. To become familiar with informal and formal honor violation resolution and procedures.

 

  1. To establish a collaboration policy for each of their courses. The policy should set guidelines for students working together on all types of take home projects, assignments and examinations.

 

  1. To discuss what constitutes plagiarism at the beginning of each semester and how the plagiarism rule applies to the work submitted for academic credit in each course taught by the faculty member.

 

  1. To take prescribed steps to discourage academic misconduct during examinations. Alternate seating should be provided when possible. Student identification should be checked in large sections. Students should be required to submit drafts of research papers written during the semester.

 

  1. To monitor examinations. Faculty members are not required to monitor exams; however, monitoring exams and having a seating chart constitutes the most effective way to deter cheating during an exam.

 

  1. To refrain from punishing students for academic misconduct without following the prescribed informal or formal resolution procedures.

 

  1. To volunteer to serve on Honor Council hearing boards, special panels and appeal boards.

 

 

Honor System Resolution Procedures and Reporting of Violations

 

Faculty Resolution Procedures

 

When a faculty member suspects a student of a possible Honor Code violation, the faculty member should inform the student(s) involved and try to determine if a violation occurred. The faculty member is encouraged to consult the Honor Council coordinator for assistance on how to proceed. The faculty member may refer the matter to the Honor Council coordinator for formal resolution at any time.

 

Informal Resolution Procedures

 

If a student admits a violation or agrees the evidence appears as such, the faculty member and student may agree upon an appropriate grade penalty. The penalty may range from a grade reduction on a particular assignment to an “F” in the course. The faculty member must forward an Informal Resolution Agreement Form to the Honor Council coordinator before imposing the penalty agreed upon by the faculty member and student. The Honor Council coordinator will then contact the student to confirm the agreement. Students may only enter into one Informal Resolution during their enrollment at JMU.

 

Formal Resolution Procedures

 

If a faculty member and student fail to resolve the matter through informal resolution procedures, the faculty member should refer the matter to the Honor Council for formal resolution.

 

Formal Investigation

 

As part of the formal resolution process, the Honor Council coordinator and investigators will conduct a preliminary investigation to determine whether there is reason to believe a violation of the Honor Code has taken place. If the Honor Council coordinator and investigators determine there is sufficient reason to believe an Honor Code violation has taken place, the student receives notification that he/she has been charged with an Honor Code violation.

 

Honor Code Hearings

 

Students charged with an Honor Code violation receive a hearing before an Honor Council hearing panel or special panel. A student charged with an Honor Code violation has the opportunity to plead responsible or not responsible. The Honor Council hearing board or special panel has responsibility for determining the responsibility of the student and for determining the appropriate penalty for the Honor Code violation.

 

Students charged with an Honor Code violation have the right to a hearing that provides the student procedural fairness. Student rights include the right to remain silent during hearing proceedings, to cross-examine all witnesses, to present witnesses to testify for the defense and to submit an appeal. Students should consult the Honor Code for a complete list of student rights.

 

Penalties

 

One of the following penalties will be assessed for a student’s first honor violation:

 

  1. Reduced or failing grade on the most applicable area of student evaluation in the course (e.g., an assignment, an examination, class participation, etc.);

 

  1. Reduced or failing grade in the course.

 

  1. “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;

 

  1. “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 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 that 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.

 

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 the 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, the student 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. A student who has signed up for the workshop must attend or give at least 24 hours notice to cancel. Failure to comply by these guidelines will result in the student being found responsible for a judicial violation.

 

 

Please consult www.jmu.edu/honor for a complete description of honor system procedures.