The number of cases handled by the University Honor Council has increased dramatically this year, with members of the council estimating that the total will be double the average of past years. The increased caseload is thought to be a result of a campaign to educate faculty members about the honor code rather than an increase in cheating by students.
According to Professor of Mathematics James Sandefur, the faculty chair of the council, nearly 70 students have appeared before a hearing board this year, although some of those cases were left over from last spring. From 1996 to 2001, the average number of cases each year was 45.
“Given the numbers we’ve had so far, I expect we’ll have at least twice what we had previously.” said Sandefur.
Sandefur believes the higher numbers reflect the fact that more faculty members now understand the importance of reporting possible instances of Honor Code violations.
“We had a big push to educate faculty about the honor system,” he said. ” I don’t think cheating has gone up. My feeling is that more faculty are reporting cases. They feel obligated to now. If you cheat, your odds of getting caught are pretty good.”
According to Sandefur, professors have become more aware of how to go about checking for plagiarism, including using the Internet and other technology.
“They know they can use online web searches to check for plagiarism,” he said. “It’s relatively easy to take a suspicious-sounding phrase from a paper and do a Google search with it.”
The council has also found itself issuing a higher level of sanction this year compared to past years, Sandefur said.
Sandefur said that approximately 20 percent of cases so far have resulted in suspensions or dismissals, the council’s harshest sanction. From 1996 to 2001, that average was 10 percent. The number of notations on transcripts, the second most severe sanction, has also increased from 15 percent to 25 percent of cases, while the lightest sanction, a letter of reprimand, has declined from 35 percent to 10 percent.
Sandefur believes the sanctions this year have been more consistent due to clarified sanctioning guidelines adopted by the council last spring and because of education and training of hearing board members, which include faculty, students and deans.
In an effort to reach out to students to warn them of the consequences of violating the University’s Honor Code, the council is sponsoring the first annual Honor Day on April 9.
