Honor Council Rice University  
 

Abstract of the Honor Council
Case #13, Spring 2003
April 15, 2003

Members Present:
Candice Hance (presiding), Joshua Barron, Matt Overbeck (non-binding vote), John Stevens (non-binding vote), John Pitcher, Roy Ha (non-binding vote), Jason Love, Michael Silva, Jason Longoria, Ravi Patel, Chris Edwards, Sally Anne Gutting

Ombuds:
Anshu Duggal

Letter of Accusation:
The Honor Council received a formal letter of accusation from a grader in an upper-level engineering class. The letter accused Students A and B of collaboration on a section of a take-home exam.

Evidence Submitted:

Plea:
Student A pled In Violation. Student B pled Not In Violation.

Testimony:
Student A asked that the council refer to his written statement instead of making an opening statement. In the statement he admitted to altering a portion of his exam after looking at Student B's exam. Student A explained that he had been given Student B's exam to turn in and that Student B had nothing to do with it. He expressed regret and explained an emotional situation that occurred the night he took the exam/ the night before he turned in the two exams. Student B also asked the council to refer to his written statement in which he stated that he did not know anything about cheating. When questioned, Student A stated that he only changed one section of one problem from his exam. He had left the section blank and filled it in with Student B's answer. He stated that he spent an hour and a half on the exam beginning at midnight the night before the exam was due. A member of his family had called earlier that evening with a problem that caused Student A distress. Student A stated that he got off the phone late and kept thinking about his family issues. He stated that the test would not take the whole three hours but that after an hour and a half he was frustrated and kept thinking about other things. Students A and B admitted to studying together on this and other assignments. Student B stated that the exam took him about two hours to complete. Student A stated that it took him about five minutes to copy the section from Student B's exam. Student B was unsure if he had given his exam to Student A in a sealed envelope. In closing statements Student A expressed his regret and apologized for breaking Student B's trust and for violating the honor code.

Deliberation:
In opening deliberations the council agreed that Student B was not in violation. Members expressed concern about if Student B had given his exam to Student A in a sealed envelope or an unsealed envelope. They also wanted to look at the entire exam, comparing all of Student A and Student B's answers and also comparing their answers with the sample exams. The council also expressed concern over the time Student A took on the exam and whether he stopped taking his exam because he could not complete it due to a lack of ability or due to his emotional distress.

The council compared the two exams to each other and with the sample exams and concluded that Student A had only copied one part of one question.

Straw Poll #1: Did a violation occur?
Yes: 9+3 non-binding votes
No: 0
Abstentions: 0

Straw Poll #2: Is Student A in violation?
Yes: 9+3 non-binding votes
No: 0
Abstentions: 0

Straw Poll #3: Is Student B in violation?
Yes: 0
No: 9+3 non-binding votes
Abstentions: 0

Penalty Phase:
The council first considered mitigating circumstances for Student A. It was agreed that Student A cooperated fully, and some council members considered his cooperation with the council to be very admirable. Some council members believed that the mitigating circumstance of severity would apply because he only copied one part of one section of the exam, but other council members pointed out that this one section was worth more points than the other sections combined. The council also considered the mitigating circumstance of severe emotional distress. While Student A admitted that this stress was ongoing for a long period, several members of the council agreed that there was a flare up the night of the exam that was specific to the violation. It was discussed by the council that Student A had several days to complete his exam but waited until late the night before it was due and in light of his distressing call the night of the exam he could have asked for an extension.

Straw Poll #4: Penalty for Student A
F in the course and a 2 semester suspension: 0
F in the course and a 1 semester suspension: 1 (non-binding vote)
F in the course: 4+1(non-binding vote)
Loss of credit in the course: 0
Zero on the exam: 4
F on the exam: 0
Abstentions: 1+1(non-binding vote)
It was then discussed that there is a big leap between receiving a zero on the exam and an F in the course. Some council members explained that the punishment should be more than if the student had turned in a blank piece of paper, but that perhaps an F in the course was too harsh considering the factors of the case.

Straw Poll #5: Penalty for Student A
F in the course and a 1 semester suspension: 1 (non-binding vote)
F in the course: 2
Zero on the exam and 1 letter grade reduction in course grade: 4+2 (non-binding votes)
Zero on the exam: 3
Abstentions: 0

Several council members expressed their feeling that Student A's penalty should be mitigated on his cooperation and his owning up to his mistake. Other students continued to express their concern that despite his great cooperation, this was still a blatant violation of the honor code.

Straw Poll #6: Penalty for Student A
F in the course and a 1 semester suspension: 1 (non-binding vote)
F in the course: 1
Zero on the exam and 1 letter grade reduction in course grade: 5+2 (non-binding votes)
Zero on the exam: 3
Abstentions: 0

Straw Polls #1, 2, 3, and 6 were made binding.

Thus, the Honor Council finds Student B Not In Violation. The council finds Student A In Violation of the Honor System and recommends that he receive a zero on the exam and a 1 letter grade reduction in his course grade. Additionally, a suspension clause will be attached to his record.

Time of Trial and Deliberation:1 hour, 35 minutes.

Respectfully Submitted,
Sally Anne Gutting, Clerk

Last modified Wednesday, May 7, 2003 10:20 AM
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