After studying the results of the Survey on Academic Dishonesty, which was distributed to all students and faculty members earlier this semester, the College Council felt that it was important to have a college-wide forum to discuss the problem, which has been growing exponentially in recent years. Students, faculty and members of the AAS and the College Council attended the discussion.
The last week of September, AAS President Ryan Park '05 created an ad hoc honor code committee comprised of AAS senators, including the College Council, to discuss possible solutions to the increasing rate of cheating and plagiarism.
At the general meeting yesterday, Park presented the options discussed by the committee. They include mandated penalties for certain infractions against academic honesty, increasing the number of students on the disciplinary committee and forcing faculty and students to report observed incidents of cheating and plagiarism.
"We don't want to create an atmosphere of distrust with the honor code," said Park. "We are trying to do the opposite." Several students voiced a desire to institute an honor code to help to manage and deter academic dishonesty.
Russell Kornblith '06 questioned the likelihood of success of an honor code that would govern academic life, as well as social life. "If we are going to make this more effective we have to investigate what makes other schools' policies so effective," said Kornblith.
AAS Treasurer Paris Wallace '04 supported broader change. "We need to address more than just cheating because the school is more than that," he said. "People need to feel safe on campus, academically and physically."
Some students expressed the concern that an honor code would be a stricter version of the Statement on Intellectual Responsibility, which merely defines but does not enforce desired student conduct. "If you implement an honor code and all it is is a more stringent Statement on Intellectual Responsibility, it won't be much more effective than the Statement," said Kornblith.
However, Council member Mihailis E. Diamantis '04 stated that the Council envisions an honor code that would not be just a "supped-up Statement on Intellectual Responsibility."
AAS Senator Noah Isserman '07 suggested that it is the presentation of the statement, and not the content, that is problematic. "The Statement on Intellectual Responsibility is an amazing document. But the way it [currently reads is] lackluster," he said.
Some students and faculty members suggested that the increase in technology might be the cause for the increased plagiarism. Also discussed was the possibility of signing statements of honesty before tests and papers, and the possibility of changing the College's current policy of unproctored exams. Professor of French Paul Rockwell expressed his concern over unproctored exams. "The expectation is that all tests are unproctored," he said. "I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore."
Students also discussed the possibility of standardized punishment and reporting incidents of cheating. Kornblith said that mandatory reporting of cheating "could pit faculty and students against each other." Students seemed hesitant to take away the discretion of the individual professors and to ignore the uniqueness of each incident.
However, some students did suggest more severe punishments, including expulsion. "Without the seriousness of expulsion, no one is going to take academic dishonesty seriously," said AAS Senator Jacob Thomas '07.
The discussion highlighted the varying opinions regarding academic dishonesty. "I don't think there is going to be one thing that is going to solve it," said Associate Professor of Philosophy Joseph Moore.