nelsonb@stolaf.UUCP (Beth M. Nelson) (10/04/84)
[] I'm starting to do some research on the Honor System here at St. Olaf and I'm interested in any other small, liberal arts schools that might have an honor system too. I would prefer that they have no religious affiliation, since I want to compare our school with another similar school, but without all of the Lutheran overtones. In case you don't know what an Honor System is or aren't sure what fits, I'll tell you the St. Olaf version. All exams and tests are not proctored (the teacher is required to leave the room), but at the end of the test the student must sign the following statement: I pledge on my honor that during this examination I have neither given nor received assistance, and that I have seen no dishonest work. If someone doesn't sign the pledge, then that means someone cheated and you get called up to the Honor Council and have to explain why they didn't. A lot of people, of course, forget to sign the pledge, so not everyone who didn't sign the pledge cheated or saw someone cheat. (It's kind of embarrassing to get a message asking you to come talk to the Honor Council when you just forgot to sign it.) For those of you from State schools and such who are scoffing at this idea, from what I have seen it works, but I haven't, in the past, been too anxious to find out if other people are cheating, since then I would have to make a pretty big decision. If you know of any school that is small (no more than 5000), liberal arts, and non-religious (presently, I know a lot of schools that started out religious, but have been non-affiliated for a while now), preferably with students from an upper middle class background (at least), and have an Honor System similar to the one described I would appreciate it if you would send a reply to me at the address below. Thank you, -- beth nelson ...!ihnp4!stolaf!agnes!nelsonb
dgreen@ucla-cs.UUCP (10/17/84)
The University of Michigan Engineering Department has an honor system. It works exactly the way Beth Nelson's honor system works. I have never heard of a UM engineering student cheating on an exam and getting away with it. The reason it works is not necessarily because you have to write the pledge. Since having the proctor out of the room is an expression of trust, students who observe cheating consider it a moral issue. In places that do not use an honor system, cheating can be seen as a way to reject authority. And, as many of us know, students love to reject authority. By the way, the University of Michigan is a state-sponsered university, and is huge (40,000 students total). Dan Greening (UCLA)
beth@gymble.UUCP (Beth Katz) (10/19/84)
The College of William and Mary has an honor system for everything. Why should tests be special? Professors or instructors don't have to leave the room. They can be there to answer questions and make clarifications about the test. It's very difficult to make up an exam that cannot be misinterpreted in any way. They may go back to their offices, and sometimes students leave the room to find a more comfortable place to write. You don't necessarily write a pledge on your answers; you sign a pledge to abide by the honor code when you enter the school (I think it is actually on the application for admission, but I did that several years ago). If you observe someone cheating (or lying, or stealing), you have to give them 24 hours to turn themselves in to the honor council. Even faculty members must wait the 24 hours. The accused is given a trial by his peers (all students) in confidential surroundings. The results become part of the student's discipline record (distinct from his academic record) and are published anonymously in the school newspaper. First offense might get you kicked out of school, but a second offense will surely get you at least a suspension. This system seems to work very well. I know people have been kicked out (even if they were on athletic teams), and most people won't tolerate cheating. The system has been in place since sometime in the 1700's (Jefferson was involved in its creation, I believe.) William and Mary is a small, state-supported, coeducational (55%women, 45%men), highly competitive, liberal arts university in Williamsburg, Virginia. It keeps the college name for historical reasons. Beth Katz (U. of MD, College Park) ...!seismo!gymble!beth beth@gymble
wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (10/19/84)
Regarding cheating: It's been a while since I was in school, so this may be an old and completed discussion for most of you, but I just thought of it while reading the "honor system" discussion. It is my understanding that many test situations in the sciences allow the students to use calculators during the test. If you are so allowed, and the test is to see if you had memorized or knew certain formulae or principles, what is to keep someone from using one of those little alphanumeric memory calculators/pocket computers to store the formulae? You couldn't tell from looking at what they were doing if they were just punching in numbers and reading off results, or if they were recalling text containing information and therefore cheating. Anybody have any knowledge of this possibility actually being used? (And an aside: an old story about tests. For an open-book type of test in an engineering school, the professor had announced that the students could use, during the test, "anything they could carry into the room with them". One student arrived carrying a graduate student on his shoulders...) Will Martin USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin or ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA