"The two primary components are, first, a requirement that all students sign the Code upon entering the College," but no current students will have to sign the Code, explained Associate Professor of Philosophy Joe Moore, a member of the College Council. "The signing will be combined with a session in which students discuss the meaning of the Honor Code, including internal tensions within it. The second component is a required review of the current honor code once every fourth year by the College Council. Any proposed changes that result from this review must be voted on by both faculty and students."
The College Council has worked to devise a plan to address the growing number of incidents of cheating and plagiarism on campus. "I think that cheating is a problem," said Professor of French Paul Rockwell, a member of the College Council. "The numbers [of incidents of academic dishonesty] that we accumulated early in the year were alarming. Using the honor code approach is the right direction."
In addition to the actual Honor Code, the College Council suggested three changes that will affect the treatment of cases of academic dishonesty.
"In cases of alleged academic dishonesty, a random student from the sophomore, junior or senior classes [will] sit in on the panel [of Disciplinary Committee members], replacing one of the elected members," said Dean of Students Ben Lieber, a member of the College Council. "This will make the process a little more random. It will be similar to the jury selection in actual trials."
The new policy permits faculty members who report a contested incident of academic dishonesty to request that someone else present the case before the Disciplinary Committee. "This would permit a faculty member to request that a member of the Dean of Students office present the case," said Lieber. "This is meant to serve as an incentive to faculty members who may not report cases because they do not want to play the prosecutorial role."
The third measure would add to the Code of Conduct a recommended penalty of failure in the class for academic dishonesty. "Students would not automatically fail the class. Discretion about the grade would be left to the professor [as it is now]," said Lieber. "It would only be a formal recommendation."
In formulating the proposed Honor Code, the College Council considered the procedures of other schools and the opinions of the College community. "After careful review of all of the information, including meetings with student government, students and faculty and information from similar schools, we decided on the document on which students will be voting," said Assistant Dean of Students Samuel Haynes, a member of the College Council.
The College Council hopes that the Honor Code will reduce incidents of academic dishonesty while increasing awareness of the College's policies on academic dishonesty. "I hope that it will generate more awareness of students of their responsibility and ultimately reduce cheating," said Haynes.
"I hope that the Honor Code will instill in every student a belief that it simply is not acceptable for Amherst College students to cheat and plagiarize. Hopefully, by 'raising the stakes'... we can further convince students it is in their best interests ... not to cheat," said Ryan Park '05, AAS President and member of the College Council.
If students approve the Honor Code, the College Council will vote on the proposal, after which the Committee of Six and the faculty will vote on the measures.