The key to fighting the University’s growing levels of academic dishonesty may rest in the law school.
University law students are required to uphold the school’s honor code, a pledge each student makes to be honest and ethical in all areas of their academic work.
Students who fail to uphold the code risk expulsion from the law school.
Honor codes are primarily used by private East Coast institutions and smaller schools, but most large public schools do not use them. Each school’s code tends to be somewhat different and is adapted to fit the school’s needs.
While some think this system should be expanded to include the entire University, not everyone is confident that this is a practical idea.Richard Ludwick, the law school’s assistant dean for student affairs, said the entire University could benefit from using an honor code similar to the law school’s. He said the code entails turning in a signed pledge with each exam and written assignment stating the work is the student’s own. In addition to the pledge, all students are required to report anyone who is not being loyal to the code.
“The code helps build a better community, because it’s a philosophy of appropriate conduct,” Ludwick said.
He said the code has become an integral part of the law school, because students are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical manner, which will help them prepare for the real world of law and being an attorney.
“It creates a visible emphasis on honorable conduct, and attorneys are expected to be honorable and uphold the law,” Ludwick said.
Ludwick said that while it may be uncomfortable for students to report cheating by their peers, he said they still have to, because to knowingly let unethical behavior slide is also a violation of the honor code.
“It’s a self-reporting system, and that’s the beauty of it,” he said.
Chris Loschiavo, director of student judicial affairs, said honor codes are needed throughout the entire University because of rising numbers of incidences of academic dishonesty. There have been 33 reports of academic dishonesty since fall term.
But he said there needs to be a general acceptance among the majority of students and faculty for the code to be implemented.
“Finding students who are interested is key to getting this started,” he said.
Loschiavo said there currently aren’t any future plans to look into establishing an honor code for the University, but he hopes to eventually have the issue voted on in a student election.
“Odds are it would be a lot more successful that way, so we can see if students really want this,” he said.
Loschiavo said honor codes could reduce the level of academic dishonesty around campus because students would know their peers are watching them.
“There’s that deterrent effect, because anybody could report you,” he said.
Monica Wells, a first-year law student, said she knew upholding the honor code was expected of her before she came to the University.
“It makes you more aware,” she said. “When you have to sign a paper at the end of an exam, it makes it more real.”
She said lawyers are expected to uphold ethics codes and can be sanctioned if they don’t, so it is important that law students begin practicing honorable behavior early.
“Now when we graduate, we’ll be ready for the real world,” she said.
But Wells said she is not sure if honor codes would be successful for the entire University.
“I’m not sure how well it would work at the University level,” she said. “We’re older students, and I don’t know if undergrads would take it as seriously.”
But Ludwick disagrees. He said the honor code is practical for the entire University to use and said he would help University officials if and when they wanted to implement the code.
“Maybe making students uphold honor codes at younger ages could formulate good adult behavior earlier,” he said.
But for now, one idea everyone seems to agree on is that honor codes cannot end academic dishonestly altogether.
“If somebody’s going to cheat, they’re going to cheat, and I don’t know how much an honor code is going to change that,” Wells said.
Loschiavo agrees, but is still optimistic.
“Honor codes wouldn’t knock out academic dishonesty, but I think it would reduce it,” he said. “If we could at least knock it in half, that’s an improvement.”