nelsonb@stolaf.UUCP (nelsonb) (01/21/85)
It's taken me quite a while to come up with the time to organise all of
this and post it, but here it all is. For those of you who didn't read
the original article or who have forgotten, I am doing a study of the
honor system at St. Olaf College. I had hoped to do some kind of
comparison study between St. Olaf and another similar non-religious
school with an honor system, but that proved to not be a very good
idea. (Instead we're looking at sex differences in the subject areas
students cheat. Much easier with everything all on campus, here.)
But the responses to my request on the net were quite interesting, and
I thought were worth posting. Thankyou to everyone who responded.
What follows is a listing of most of the responses I received. The
colleges are listed in alphabetical order, and some responses have
been edited or paraphrased, although I've tried to make sure that it
wasn't too extensive. I think most of us will be surprised by the
number of colleges with honor systems, and the extent of them. (This
might be helpful for any one who has a kid sister or brother who is
thinking of going to one of these schools.)
***
My wife went to Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA (just outside Atlanta)
where the honor system was *rampant*. She was very satisfied with it.
The nightmare that continues to recur in graduated "Scotties" is that
they've signed out a final, open the envelope, and realize that it is
for the WRONG subject.
***
Air Force Academy (applies to all aspects of campus life).
***
The fundamental statement of the Caltech honor system is:
No Caltech student shall take unfair advantage of any member of the
Caltech community.
Instructors are forbidden from requiring that a test be taken in a particular
place, and with only a few exceptions, most instructors don't require that
a, say, three-hour test be taken at a particular time. Exams are both
closed-book and open-book. A typical final might be handed out the last day
of class, stapled shut, labelled, "3 hours, closed book, due 5 pm Tuesday".
And, by golly, people kept to that. It was wonderful! If I wanted to take
the test at 9 pm Sunday in my room, a time and place I was comfortable, I
could. A perfectly acceptable practice when the time elapsed was to draw a
line, write "Here's where I ran out of time." and go on and finish the
problem, on the chance that the instructor would accept the solution anyway
(they often did).
Other consequences included being able to leave your door unlocked (until
outsiders made the practice unwise) and having easy access to locked buildings.
Unlike West Point, there was no hardline rule about turning in violators; that
was an open question. Violations were tried in secret by the student-run
Board of Control, so violators and their punishments were never officially made
public.
***
The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado works under a similar
system. I did my undergrad work there. Enrollment is less than 2000 (at
last count), and it is a liberal arts institution. It is a private college
with no religious affiliation.
***
Dartmouth has a precisely analogous Honor Principle which all students
must sign *once* at matriculation. After that, you're assumed to be on
your honor indefinitely. Exams are not proctored, et cetera.
Sometimes it doesn't work. I knew of a flagrant example of cheating my
freshman year, but couldn't report it because it was only hearsay (she
told me that he said thus-and-such.) I tried to argue the girl with
first-hand-knowledge into reporting the problem or at least pressuring
the offender into stopping cheating, but she would only say that 'that wouldn't
be fair'.
***
Knox College has an honor system. It has been 100 years since it was last
affiliated with a religious group (Presbyterian & Congregationalist, I
think). It has an enrollment of about 1000, and is in Galesburg IL.
The only problem I saw with it was in premed courses. A number of people
cheated. One woman was hauled before the honor board several times, but
she brought lawyers and threatened to sue Knox if they hurt her chances
to get into medical school. She is now a practicing physician. She is
a liar and a cheat, of course.
Teachers were not required to leave the room. Sometimes the class would
request that they stay, and that the test be proctored. As you might
guess, these were mostly biology and chemistry classes. On the other
hand, I took a three hour, closed book, take home exam. We were to time
ourselves. The students suggested the time limit because we hated tests
that took all day, but we didn't have any time in class to take a test.
Surveys showed that half the students cheated at one time or another, but
almost all were ashamed of themselves and only did it once.
***
Princeton has exactly the same system, and has had for some 180+ years.
The pledge on exams goes like:
I pledge my honor that I have not violated the honor code during this
exam.
The honor code states that you have neither seen nor taken part in any
cheating, copying, plagerizing(sp?) etc.
***
I graduated from Princeton University 4 years ago. We do
have an honor system for test, exams, and student papers.
Our system also says that if a student does not sign the pledge,
he/she is assumed to be guilty. As a precaution, all professors
check the statements and signatures when they collect papers.
I personally have never seen any cheating going on in
exams, but I certainly have heard of them. Some students were
kicked out of the school for violating the honor code.
For your information, Princeton is a small (4300 undergraduates
when I graduated in 1980), liberal arts school with no religious
affiliation. The students are mostly form the upper middle class.
I also believe that most Ivy League schools have some form
of an honor system.
***
Reed has an enrollment of around 1200 (yes, we are small), the
constituants of which are mostly middle to upper middle
class. We are non- affiliated.
Our tests are also not proctered. We do not, however,
have to sign a statement of innocence after each test.
Turning in the test subsumes compliance with the Honor Prin-
ciple, which is written up in our constitution (I do not
have a copy of it with me, but if you'd like, I could dig it
up and quote it for you). Except in special circumstances
(like pop quizzes which are not to take the entire class
period), tests can be taken anywhere on campus. It is com-
mon practice in the Math and Physics departments to distri-
bute a take-home, closed book exam, with an arbitrary (the
prof. wouldn't use that term, but it is as far as I'm con-
cerned) time limit due some time the following week.
The honor principle extends to most facets of school
life, and we have few written-in-stone rules (We're quite
proud of our version of anarchy). There is a Judicial Board
(or J-Board, as it's often referenced) which deals with
questions of unnecessary harassment or embarassment.
***
Have you heard of Reed college (Portland, OR 97272)?
We have an Honor Code which extends far past testing
situations into our daily lives. For the most part it
works rather well, but in the more recent past there have
been some problems. In essence, the Honor Code states (if
you need a more exact statement let me know) that no
member of the Reed community (as in students, faculty,
staff, maintinance crew, and anyone else having to do
with the school) will do anything to needlessly hurt,
harm, or embarrass any other member of the community.
All violations of the Honor Code are brought before the
Judicial Board which is composed of students and faculty;
the J-board decides on the case and the 'sentence' given,
if any, usually consists of repair of the damage and an
open letter of apology to the community through the Quest
(newspaper). I have only heard of and have only seen letters
about cheating two or three times in my 2.25 years here.
There are no faculty members present in the testing rooms,
and most profs allow students to take the exams anywhere the
students like, as long as the exam is handed in on time at the location
designated by the prof. The Reed student body numbers approx. 1000.
***
I attended Rice University, in Houston. It fits all your criteria, except
that is is not primarily liberal arts, but has a large engineering school
as well. The pledge at Rice is similar to yours except for the part about
seeing anyone else. The exact wording is:
On my honor, I have neither given nor received any aid on this (exam, paper,
whatever).
(signed)
Not all work is pledged. Generally all tests are, and some homework and
projects.
***
Simmons College in Boston has the honor system.
My graduating class was only 250 so I would say that it qualifies
for small. It is an all women's college with no religious affiliation,
never had it and never will.
***
Well, Stanford isn't small, but it also has an honor system very
close to the one you described. Professors & TA's not allowed
in the room during exams (except for brief visits to answer
questions or see if anyone has questions). You must also sign
the "Honor Pledge". And there is a student-faculty honor
code committee which investigates alleged cheating and can
expell cheaters. Stanford has ~6000 undergrads and ~8000 graduate
students.
***
Although I am currently at the University of Maryland (which has what
they think is an honor code, but is mostly a flop), I got my B.S. at the
College of William and Mary. As best I know it, W&M was the first
college (now university) to have an honor code (about 1760 or so).
Thomas Jefferson took it to the University of Virginia when he founded
that school.
Currently, about 15 students are elected to honor council each year.
They don't get to campaign; they run on their views of the honor code as
published in the school newspaper. Most exams are not proctored because the
students abide by the honor code that "I will not lie, cheat, or steal or
tolerate anyone who does." If you see someone violate this code, you must
confront them and give them 24 hours to turn themselves in to the the honor
council. After 24 hours, you can tell a professor and the honor council.
The faculty must also give students 24 hours before reporting them. Some
homework is said to be pledged because you sign that you have not received
any help on it. (This seems to correspond to your honor code.) Mostly,
professors stay in the room during an exam to answer questions. I have had
finals which were so crowded the professor said we could go find someplace
more comfortable to take the exam.
After you have reported to the honor council, you will receive a
trial by 6 or 7 of the honor council members (all students). They hear
testimony (I've been a witness for computer program copying cases.) and then
they decide what the punishment will be. Often, an F in the course will be
given for a first offense. Second offenders may be placed on probation,
suspended, or outright expelled. There is no means of appealing, though you
might be able to go to the dean of students to ask for a retrial. The
proceedings are private. Witnesses are asked not to discuss the details.
The school paper reports on verdicts, but no names are given. The records
are kept separately from the student's regular record just as are disciplinary
records (assault and such). I think the honor code works at W&M. You agree
to it when you apply for admission.
By the way, William and Mary is a small (6000 students) liberal arts
university founded in 1693 in Williamsburg, Virginia. It is state-supported
and co-ed. About 4000 students are undergraduates with the rest spread
through the law school, business school, institute of marine science, and
other grad students.
--
------
"This is only a test."
beth nelson
...!ihnp4!stolaf!agnes!nelsonb
"It is not necessary to deny another's reality in order to affirm
my own." --Anne Wilson Schaef