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.