Princeton Notebook — Students Back Honor System

A poll by The Daily Princetonian shows that students overwhelmingly support the university’s century-old Honor Code but believe that most violations of it go unreported. The poll also indicates that a majority of students are ignorant of the Honor System’s scope and procedures.

            The anonymous poll, conducted by telephone early last month and reported in the March 8^th Prince, asked 180 undergraduates a range of questions about the student-administered system, which has been in place since 1893. The respondents were randomly selected, and the survey had a margin of error of 8 percent.

            By nearly a nine-to-one ratio, those surveyed found “still useful” “the idea of a code of conduct based on honor.” But three of four believed most infractions are not reported, and only two respondents said they personally had turned in someone they suspected of cheating. 

            Nearly three-quarters of the respondents incorrectly believed that the Honor System cover plagiarism. In fact, it applies only to examinations held in classrooms. Violations are adjudicated by the Honor Committee, which consists of three current undergraduate class presidents, three past presidents, and three other undergraduates selected by the committee. Cheating on take-home examinations, as well as plagiarism and other types of academic wrongdoing, come under the jurisdiction of the Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline. (The dean of the Graduate School handles academic infractions by graduate students.)

            Only 36 percent correctly answered “no” to the question “Is a person suspected of an Honor Code violation guaranteed a chance to face his or her accuser?” Granting anonymity to accusers is intended to make it easier for students to report suspected cheating, but critics of the Honor System charge that this practice violates a fundamental legal right. Many respondents seemed to agree: 65 percent said that suspects should be allowed to confront their accusers.

            T. Christian Workman ’94, the chairman of the Honor Committee, isn’t surprised by students’ lack of detailed knowledge about the Honor System. He believes that Princeton students know academic right from wrong, even if most are unaware of the fine points of the judicial process. “Students are busy, and most don’t take the time to read the part of Rights, Rules, Responsibilities covering the honor and discipline committees,” he said. “But most understand that if they don’t do anything dishonorable, they won’t get in trouble.”

            Workman said that in a typical academic year, the Honor Committee may investigate sixteen cases of alleged cheating. Five may result in hearings, and of these, three may lead to convictions. The usual penalty is one year’s suspension.

            Meanwhile, the Honor Committee is conducting its own poll of sixteen hundred undergraduates and expects to release the results this spring. 

This was originally published in the April 6, 1994 issue of PAW.