Information for Faculty About the Honor Code

Honor Code Faculty Advisor Contact Info:
Vincent McGuire, Ph.D.
Farrand Residence Academic Program
Kittredge Honors Program
180 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder CO 80309-0180
Ph. 303 735 3019
Vincent.McGuire@colorado.edu
http://spot.colorado.edu/~mcguire

Research by the Center of Academic Integrity at Duke University details the value of honor codes: on campuses without honor codes, 20 to 25 percent of students reported that they had cheated on more than three tests and examinations. On campuses with honor codes, only 6.25 percent reported cheating at this level.

A student-run Honor Code is necessary because research indicates that institutions with student-managed Honor Codes are highly successful in alleviating indiscretions and promoting an academically honorable community, as compared to equivalent institutions without student-managed Honor Codes.

Also, research conducted by Donald McCabe, a professor at Rutgers University, found that "45 percent of the survey respondents on campuses with no honor code admitted to one or more incidents of serious test or examination cheating; only 29 percent did so on the campuses with a modified honor code". The lowest levels of cheating were found on campuses where students had exclusive responsibility for the campus honor code.

The university acknowledges, through the creation of the CU Honor Code, that honor codes have the potential to foster academic integrity throughout the entire campus community.

Faculty Support

The CU Honor Code Constitution, developed with the assistance of faculty from the Boulder Faculty Assembly, Arts and Sciences Council, Academic Ethics Chairs, and other schools and colleges, includes the following statement regarding Faculty Support:

"Faculty are expected to support and promote academic integrity and honor within their classrooms. They are expected to refer to the Honor Code on all pertinent materials including syllabi, test, and other assignments. Faculty are encouraged to both discuss the Honor Code periodically in class as it applies to their courses, as well as to ask students to pledge their work."