The Honor Code is an undertaking of the students, individually and collectively:
Often students sign their names under the Honor Code statement on the front of blue books without reading or thinking about what they are signing. The signature, however, is a two-part pledge: neither to give nor receive help during the exam, and to see to it that others also behave honorably.
The Honor Code, which is the Fundamental Standard applied to academic matters, is agreed to by every student who registers at Stanford and by every instructor who accepts a teaching appointment. The Honor Code was not imposed upon students by the administration or the faculty but was assumed by students at their own request in 1921.
Over time, the responsibility for educating students about the Honor Code has fallen, in part, to RAs and RFs. Almost everyone recognizes that copying other students' work, plagiarizing, collaborating beyond the permitted limits and receiving unpermitted help on assignments or tests are violations of the Code. What is harder for students to accept is the second aspect, the "third-party responsibility." They say, "I will be responsible for my own behavior, but I will not police my peers or report their misconduct." This is often simply an automatic response to avoid unpleasantness. An atmosphere of trust, which is essential to an academic community, requires not only that the individuals act honorably but also that they trust each other. Mutual trust rests on a belief that behavior not in keeping with the code of the community will be recognized and responded to.
Students know that evaluations of academic work are affected when dishonesty is ignored. When violations go unreported, and violators unpunished, students' aspirations to honorable conduct are undermined and the level of academic trust essential to the University is eroded. Many students recognize that the erosion of trust hurts everyone. They understand the need to respond when they see something amiss. While reporting peers is only rarely necessary, there are times when students feel the need to speak up when they observe something clearly out of line. This is third party responsibility - not looking the other way, but speaking out directly to address misconduct. A few words, pointing out inappropriate or dishonest behavior, are almost always sufficient to embarrass the offender and stop the misconduct. To speak up requires the same kind of initiative that we ask of residents in confronting strangers wandering through the residence. Just as confronting strangers protects the safety of students in residences, so too does confronting Honor Code violators protect community standards of academic honesty.
Part of your job, then, is to help students understand the dual responsibility they have under the Honor Code. Before midterms you should raise the topic of the Honor Code at a house or hall meeting. This discussion is especially important in frosh houses, but is an important discussion to have with upper-class students as well. Three basic points to bring up are:
You can help students anticipate dilemmas: What would they do if they saw their friend copy from another's exam? What if their roommate turned in a friend's paper as his or her own? You might ask if the following situations are violations of the Honor Code:
The answer to all three questions is "not necessarily." It depends on the instructor's requirements for the course.
When you discuss forms of academic dishonesty it would be helpful to spend a few minutes defining plagiarism, which is not always understood. The following definition is reproduced from the Handbook for Teaching Assistants at Stanford:
Plagiarism
(Plagiarism) consists primarily of submitting statements, ideas, opinions, or findings copied without acknowledgment from another source as if they were one's own. If a student arrives independently at a position which happens to duplicate that which has been adopted by someone else, this is not plagiarism. Nor is it plagiarism to copy from another source, if the copying is acknowledged and the reference given. The proper use of quotations should be encouraged. A student is dishonest when he submits as his own work material which is in fact not his own and fails to indicate the source from which it was taken.
You can remind students to consult academic advisors, tutors, and individual instructors for help when they are having trouble writing papers, understanding classwork, budgeting time, or coping with stress. In four-class and upper-class houses, recognize the resource you have in upper-class students, and direct those with specific academic troubles to fellow residents who are willing to help.
While RAs are bound in the same way as all other Stanford students to uphold the Honor Code, they also have a special trust because of their position as members of the residence staff. RAs will be held to the strictest standards of academic honesty. Any proven charges or admission of an Honor Code violation may result in immediate dismissal from the RA position, in addition to any other penalties which are imposed. If RAs witness a Honor Code violation, they have the same obligation as other students to take action.
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