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Abstract of the Honor Council
Case #15. Spring, 2001
June 24, 2001
Members Present:
Aaron Martz (presiding), Candice Hance, DJ Brasier, Kevin Arceneaux, Rebecca Daprato, Andrew Lee, Paul Murphy
Ombuds:
Shweta Shah
Letter of Accusation:
The Honor Council received a letter of self-accusation from Student A, stating that he used his notes on a closed-notes take-home exam in a lower level science class.
Evidence Submitted:
Letter of Accusation
Short statement from the professor of the course
Student A's written statement
Student A's class notes
Student A's exam in question
Plea:
Student A pled in In Violation.
Testimony:
Student A chose to make no opening statement.
During questioning, Student A told the council that he first answered all the questions he was able to answer, then he turned to his notes to fill in what he hadn't been able to answer previously. He wasn't sure exactly how much of the exam had been based on his notes, but guessed it was about half of the exam.
Student A chose to make no closing statement.
Deliberation:
The Council discussed both the high degree of cooperation on the part of the accused and the self-accusation made in good faith.
Considering the clear evidence and the testimony of the accused, the Council determined that a violation had occured.
Straw Poll #1
In Violation: 7
Not in Violation: 0
The consensus penalty for such a violation is an F in the course and a 2 semester suspension since the exam was worth 20% of the course grade. Other penalties proposed included loss of credit on the exam and loss of a letter grade in the course.
The council agreed that a loss of a letter grade in the course would effectively eliminate the credit Student A received for the half of the exam that he used his notes on, whereas a loss of credit on the exam would eliminate the credit Student A received for the entire exam.
Straw poll #2
F in the course and 2 semester suspension: 0
Loss of credit on the exam: 2
Loss of one letter grade in the course: 4
Abstentions: 1
The abstaining member was unsure whether the entire exam should be discounted. The council discussed the fact that Student A used his notes at various places in the exam.
Straw Poll #3
Loss of credit on the exam: 3
Loss of one letter grade in the course: 4
Abstentions: 0
The Council further discussed whether the use of notes on various questions throughout an exam should invalidate the entire exam. Several members pointed out that cheating on about half of an exam is very significant. It was pointed out that either penalty took the high degree of cooperation with the council and the self-accusation into account.
Straw Poll #4
Loss of credit on the exam: 7
Loss of one letter grade in the course: 0
Straw Polls #1 and #4 were made binding.
Thus the Honor Council finds Student A In Violation of the Honor System and recommends that he receive a loss of credit on the exam, and that a suspension clause be attached to his record.
Time of Trial and Deliberation: 20 minutes
Respectfully Submitted,
DJ Brasier
Honor Council Secretary