Dartmouth Academic Honor Principle

Academic Honor Principle

On February 13, 1962, the Dartmouth College Faculty passed unanimously the following resolution; the text was updated by Faculty vote on May 17, 1999:

Whereas, on February 1, 1962, a majority vote of the student body adopted the principle that 'all academic activities will be based on student honor' and thereby accepted the responsibility, individually and collectively, to maintain and perpetuate the principle of academic honor.

Therefore be it Resolved that,

1. The Faculty of Dartmouth College, in recognizing the responsibility of students for their own education, assumes intellectual honesty and integrity in the performance of academic assignments, both in the classroom and outside. Each student upon enrollment at Dartmouth College accepts this responsibility with the understanding that any student who submits work which is not his or her own violates the purpose of the College and is subject to disciplinary actions, up to and including suspension and separation.
2. The Faculty recognizes its obligation: (a) to provide continuing guidance as to what constitutes academic honesty; (b) to promote procedures and circumstances which will reinforce the principle of academic honor; (c) to review constantly the effective operation of this principle.
3. The practice of proctoring examinations is hereby discontinued, though a teacher may be present at appropriate times for the purpose of administration or to answer questions.
4. The Committee on Standards shall undertake: (a) to publish and interpret the Resolution on Academic Honor to the student body each year; (b) to adjudicate reported violations according to established procedures; (c) to review constantly the effective operation of this principle and, if necessary, make recommendations to the Faculty for maintaining the spirit of this Resolution.

The faculty, administration and students of Dartmouth College recognize the Academic Honor Principle as fundamental to the education process. Any instance of academic dishonesty is considered a violation of the Academic Honor Principle.

Fundamental to the principle of independent learning are the requirements of honesty and integrity in the performance of academic assignments, both in the classroom and outside. Dartmouth operates on the principle of academic honor, without proctoring of examinations. Any student who submits work which is not his or her own, or commits other acts of academic dishonesty, violates the purposes of the college and is subject to disciplinary actions, up to and including suspension or separation.

The Academic Honor Principle depends on the willingness of students, individually and collectively, to maintain and perpetuate standards of academic honesty. Each Dartmouth student accepts the responsibility to be honorable in the student's own academic affairs, as well as to support the Principle as it applies to others.

Any student who becomes aware of a violation of the Academic Honor Principle is bound by honor to take some action. The student may report the violation, speak personally to the student observed in violation of the Principle, exercise some form of social sanction, or do whatever the student feels is appropriate under the circumstances. If Dartmouth students stand by and do nothing, both the spirit and operation of the Academic Honor Principle are severely threatened.

A number of actions are specifically prohibited by the Academic Honor Principle. These focus on plagiarism and on academic dishonesty in the taking of examinations, the writing of papers, the use of the same work in more than one course, and unauthorized collaboration. This list of examples covers the more common violations but is not intended to be exhaustive.

1. Examinations. Any student giving or receiving assistance during an examination or quiz violates the Academic Honor Principle.
2. Plagiarism. Any form of plagiarism violates the Academic Honor Principle. Plagiarism is defined as the submission or presentation of work, in any form, that is not a student's own, without acknowledgment of the source. With specific regard to papers, a simple rule dictates when it is necessary to acknowledge sources. If a student obtains information or ideas from an outside source, that source must be acknowledged. Another rule to follow is that any direct quotation must be placed in quotation marks, and the source immediately cited.Students are responsible for the information concerning plagiarism found in Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgment, available in the Deans' Offices.
3. Use of the same work in more than one course. Submission of the same work in more than one course without the prior approval of all professors responsible for the courses violates the Academic Honor Principle.The intent of this rule is that a student should not receive academic credit more than once for the same work product without permission. The rule is not intended to regulate repeated use of an idea or a body of learning developed by the student, but rather the identical formulation and presentation of that idea. Thus the same paper, computer program, research project or results, or other academic work product should not be submitted in more than one course (whether in identical or rewritten form) without first obtaining the permission of all professors responsible for the courses involved. Students with questions about the application of this rule in a specific case should seek faculty advice.
4. Unauthorized Collaboration. Whether or not collaboration in course work (labs, reports, papers, homework assignments, take-home tests, or other academic work for credit) is permitted depends on expectations established in individual courses. Students are sometimes encouraged to collaborate on laboratory work, for example, but told to write their laboratory reports independently. Students should presume that collaboration on academic work is not permitted, and that submission of collaborative work would constitute a violation of the academic honor principle, unless an instructor specifically authorizes collaboration. Students should not presume that authorization in one class applies to any other class, even classes in the same subject area. Students should discuss with instructors in advance any questions or uncertainty regarding permitted collaboration.