Honor code up for review Four-year report recommends faculty education

Author: Rachel Greenhaus

Recommendations in this year's review of the Middlebury College Honor Code, according to Associate Dean of Students and Chair of the Honor Code Review Committee Marichal Gentry, center around educating faculty about the honor code. The review, which is conducted by the College every four years, also seeks to improve the honor code's implementation rather than suggesting that any particular policy changes.

A reduced contingent of the Honor Code Review Committee recently submitted a report to the Faculty Council after working on it with the Community Council. That report is now being reviewed by the Council before being brought to the faculty for ratification, hopefully at the April faculty meeting.

"We feel that students get a lot of orientation with the honor code. We would like to find more ways to be able to orient faculty," Gentry said. He emphasized the strengths of the system in educating first-year students and first-year seminar professors, and the effectiveness of the honor code overall.

Citing the fact that there are on average only between 13 and 15 cases of reported Code violations brought to the Academic Honor Board per year, Gentry postulated that these low figures indicate that either professors are not coming forward with cases of cheating or that cheating simply is not prevalent on campus.

Taking the optimistic view, Gentry said, "I think a lot of students value the honor code as a contract between faculty and students, a system of trust."

Gentry also spoke of the need for a greater level of general understanding regarding the honor code, particularly among the faculty. One of the Committee's goals is to achieve consistency both within and across departments.

"We would love it if all departments had all the same information to present to students," Gentry said. On the whole, Gentry does not anticipate any resistance from the faculty when it comes time for their vote.