Vanderbilt has adopted a new statement of its honor code designed to continue the tradition of preserving and promoting academic integrity.
Developed in consultation with the various campus honor councils and with significant assistance from the associate deans and the Office of Student Accountability, Community Standards and Academic Integrity, the new statement applies across the university’s 10 schools and will provide a foundation on which schools can expand to reflect their specific school- and discipline-based practices.
While students have long been expected to acquit themselves honorably in the classroom and in their coursework, previously there was not uniformity across the schools within the university as each had adopted honor pledges that were specific to their school.
The honor code is enforced by honor councils, which are comprised of students and advised by faculty members, that also work to educate members of the Vanderbilt community about the honor system.
The change comes after the Student Life Committee of the Faculty Senate undertook an 18-month review to determine ways to further increase the effectiveness of and improve the university’s honor system. Co-chairs Vanessa Beasley, associate professor of communications studies, and Joy Calico, associate professor of musicology, and past vice-chair Bobby Bodenheimer, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering, led the committee’s review.
A poster campaign will be developed to generate awareness of the new honor code statement, which reads as follows:
“Vanderbilt University students pursue all academic endeavors with integrity. They conduct themselves honorably, professionally and respectfully in all realms of their studies in order to promote and secure an atmosphere of dignity and trust. The keystone of our honor system is self-regulation, which requires cooperation and support from each member of the University community.”