Academic honor code

An academic honor code or honor system is a set of rules or ethical principles governing an academic community based on ideals that define what constitutes honorable behaviour within that community. The use of an honor code depends on the notion that people (at least within the community) can be trusted to act honorably. Those who are in violation of the honor code can be subject to various sanctions, including expulsion from the institution. Honor codes are used to deter academic dishonesty.

The documented history of an academic honor code dates back to 1736 at The College of William and Mary and is the oldest honor code in the United States. The Honor Code is an enduring tradition to this day, students administer the Honor pledge to each incoming student and educate faculty and administration on the relevance of the Code and its application to students' lives at the College. Students administer the Code through six Honor Councils and the Council of Chairs. The College of William and Mary founded the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society in 1776 and was the first school of higher education in the United States to install an honor code of conduct for students. The College’s Honor Code is based upon the premise that a person’s honor is his or her most cherished attribute. In a community devoted to learning, a foundation of honor among individuals must exist if that community is to thrive with respect and harmony among its members. An Honor System is an ideal mechanism to ensure such a state of affairs. With it, students and faculty are afforded a freedom that otherwise may not be available. With this freedom comes each individual’s responsibility to conduct himself or herself in such a way that the spirit of mutual trust which sustains the system is not compromised. The Honor Code applies to alleged acts of lying, stealing or cheating that adversely affect the College community, whether committed by a student on campus or elsewhere.

Presently, some of the most notable and most stringent honor codes exist at the U.S. Military Academy (see Cadet Honor Code), Virginia Military Institute, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the United States Merchant Marine Academy, and the United States Coast Guard Academy. The United States Naval Academy has an "Honor Concept" which is similar in scope to the honor codes at the other academies. The military academy honor codes not only govern the cadets' and midshipmen's lives at the academies, but are deemed essential to the development of military officers who are worthy of the public trust. As such, the codes are not limited merely to academic situations or to conduct on campus; cadets and midshipmen are expected to live by the codes' ethical standards at all times. The codes are as old as the academies themselves, and simply state that cadets and midshipmen do not lie, cheat or steal. The only single-sanction Honor Code in the United States exists at the Virginia Military Institute, where a "drum out" ceremony is still carried out upon a cadet's dismissal.

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