Gustavus Adolphus College Honor Code
Every Gustavus Adolphus College student is required to sign the
following statement before final admittance into the College:
"As a community of scholars, the faculty and students of Gustavus
Adolphus College have formulated an academic honesty policy and honor
code system, which is printed in the Academic Bulletin and in the
Gustavus Guide. As a student at Gustavus Adolphus College I agree to
uphold the honor code. This means that I will abide by the academic
honesty policy, and abide by decisions of the joint student/faculty
Honor Board."
The following code will be written in full and signed on every
examination and graded paper:
"On my honor, I pledge that I have not given, received, nor tolerated
others' use of unauthorized aid in completing this work."
Gustavus Adolphus College is proud to operate under an honor system.
The faculty and students have jointly created an Honor Board to enforce
this policy. In signing this statement a student is promising that his
or her work complies fully with the authorized aid as defined by the
professor. It is each professor's responsibility to state course
penalties for academic honesty policy violations, and to define the
level of authorized aid appropriate to the work in the course or to the
particular assignment. However, the student is responsible to ask
questions about any reasonable doubt they have regarding the
professor's definition.
Under the academic honesty policy, the instructor informs "...the
student and the office of the Dean of the Faculty of the nature of the
offense, the penalty within the course, and the recommendation of the
instructor as to whether further disciplinary action by the Dean is
warranted." The in-course penalties and notification of the Dean's
office should end the matter in most cases. However, if a student
disputes the allegation of academic dishonesty, the student can request
an Honor Board hearing.
A six-member Honor Board panel (three students and three faculty)
will investigate and hear the case. Both the accused student and the
instructor have the right to submit statements and documents and/or be
present for the proceeding. A 4-2 vote is needed to decide that the
student is indeed guilty of an academic honesty policy violation. If
the Board rules that a violation occurred, all other provisions of the
academic honesty policy will apply, including the instructor's
in-course penalties, and possible probation or suspension for repeated
offenses. If the student is not found guilty it will be presumed that
no violation occurred, and the faculty member will not penalize the
student for an honesty violation (honesty aside, the quality of the
student's work is still subject to the instructor's professional
judgment).
The Honor Board pool is comprised of six students and six faculty
members. From this pool of twelve, three students and three faculty
will be appointed by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty to
investigate and adjudicate cases involving the academic honesty policy.
Potential student members are required to complete an application, and
are interviewed and nominated each spring for the next academic year by
the Student Senate Academic Affairs Committee. After receiving the
nominations the Student Senate Cabinet appoints the student board
members. The faculty members are invited to indicate an interest in
serving on the board, and are then nominated by the Academic Operations
Committee. The Faculty Senate makes the appointment of faculty board
members each spring. Each Honor Board member participates in an
orientation session, and is instructed on the importance of
confidentiality and proper investigation procedures.
The proctoring of exams will be at the discretion of the instructor.
An integral part of the honor code is non-tolerance of violations.
This non-tolerance policy is a recognition that we are not only
responsible for our own ethical conduct but are also members of a vital
community with obligations to contribute to its ethical climate. Under
this code students are not expected to police others' actions. Rather,
students agree to report violations of which they become aware and
failure to do so would constitute an honor code violation. Maliciously
making a false accusation will be considered a violation of the honor
code.
ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY
The faculty of Gustavus Adolphus College expects all students to
adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty, and to refrain
from any action which impinges upon academic freedom of other members
of the college community. In all academic exercises, examinations,
presentations, speeches, papers, and reports, students shall submit
their own work. Footnotes or some other acceptable form of citation
must accompany any use of another's words or ideas. Students
are especially cautioned that quoting from or paraphrasing from
electronic sources without proper citation is as serious a violation
as copying from a book or other printed source.
In the case of cheating or plagiarism, the instructor will inform the
student and the office of the Dean of the Faculty of the nature of the
offense, the penalty within the course, and the recommendation of the
instructor as to whether further disciplinary action by the Dean is
warranted. Another instance of academic dishonesty will result in
review of the student's record by the probation committee
and may result in the student being placed on academic probation. If a
pattern of academic dishonesty continues, the student may be
permanently dismissed from the College.
A student may not submit work that is substantially the same in two
courses without first gaining permission of both instructors if the
courses are taken concurrently, or permission of the current
instructor, if the work had been submitted in a previous semester.
The faculty regards the damaging of library materials and failing to
sign out or to return them properly, and misuse of computer files and
programs as equally serious violations of the ethical standards of
courtesy, fairness, and honesty that bind together a community of
scholars.
Individuals who use the College's computer facilities assume
the responsibility of seeing that these resources are used in an
appropriate manner. Misuse of computer hardware, software, data, and
output is a violation of College policy and regulations and may also
be a violation of law if data of other computer users are disturbed or
the privacy of individuals is violated.
Finally, students who serve the College in positions of responsibility
in which they deal with test materials, letters of recommendation, and
other matters which must be held in confidence are expected to
maintain confidentiality and to adhere to the same high standards of
personal integrity.