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Honor Council

The Academic Honor System of the university is based on the premise that each student has the sole responsibility...

  • to uphold high standards of academic honesty and intellectual ownership;
  • to refuse to tolerate academic dishonesty in the university community;
  • to foster a high sense of honor and social responsibility on the part of all students.

Honor Code Pledge

"As a member of the Thomas University student body, I will not lie, cheat, or steal in any endeavor related to my academic pursuits, nor will I tolerate that behavior in others."

Each member of the university community is responsible for abiding by the Academic Honor Code at all times.

About The Honor Council

What is the Honor Council?
The Honor Council is the official body for educating students about and enforcing the Academic Honor Code.
Who is the Honor Council?
The Honor Council consists of eleven members and a president who review and decide all cases brought before them.
Who may serve?
Any student with a minimum 2.5 GPA and at least one semester's experience on campus.
What does the Honor Council do?
The Council meets weekly and on as "as needed" basis to educate the student body about the Honor Code and to enforce the Honor Code.
How does the Honor Council do its work?
The Council decides and implements strategies to help the student body understand and fully adhere to the Honor Code. If a student is accused of violating the Honor Code, a hearing is held where evidence is presented and the student has an opportunity to provide a defense. Once all the concerned parties have been heard, the Honor Council decides the verdict. If the student is found guilty, the Council also determines the penalty, which can range from expulsion to the student being assigned an “F” in the course and having an “Honor Code Violation” made in the student’s permanent record.
This is serious stuff. Students do this?
Yes! The Honor Council has one faculty advisor to provide them with the necessary training and to assist them with the decision making process when necessary. The Council officers have specific roles. The President acts as a student advocate and Council liaison. The Vice President initiates the educational activities. The Recorder documents all meetings.

Honor Council Members for 2009-2010

  • Sean Singletary: President
  • Christina Gainous, President Elect
  • Anna Gass: Vice President, Administration
  • Laura Humphries: Vice President, Education
  • Ashley Maxwell: Recorder
  • Dania Michel: Education major, Member
  • Amanda Wood: Education major, Member
  • Chris Lyons: Business Administration major, Member
  • Naama Wolf, Member
  • Angelic Watkins, Member
  • Richard Ulrich, Member
  • Anthony Terrou, Member
  • Stephanie Poulk, Member
  • Stacy Poulk, Member
  • Marc Musto, Member
  • Michael Timothy, Member
  • Jan Feldman, Member

Advisor

  • Sue Otto

Co-Advisors

  • Bill Milford
  • Rich McWilliam
  • Shannon Woods
  • April Penton
  • Misty Penton
  • Gail Whitehurst

The Honor Council

Primary responsibility for implementation of the Honor Code is vested in the Honor Council, which is composed entirely of members of the student body. The Honor Council has two major roles: education and enforcement.

Honor Council Membership

The Honor Council shall be composed of eleven students. Subject to decisions of the Honor Council Membership Selection Committee (see below), the only stipulated qualifications for Council membership are:

  • actively enrolled as an on-campus student during the term of Council membership
  • maintenance of a minimum grade point average of 2.5
  • have completed at least one semester of on-campus enrollment at Thomas University

Honor Council Membership Selection Committee

The committee is composed of four members:

  • One out-going member of the Honor Council, selected by the other three members of the committee
  • Out-going President of the SGA
  • Speaker of the Faculty Senate
  • Faculty Advisor to the Honor Council (this position is appointed by the University President)

The committee shall meet annually during the spring semester and as needed to solicit and evaluate nominations to the Honor Council and to select Honor Council members for the next academic year no later than March 1. All appointments to the Honor Council are for a period of one academic year, (beginning of fall semester to end of summer semester) with new members eligible to substitute for absentee members during summer semester (or earlier, as directed by the Honor Council President), after their selection but prior to the beginning of their standard term of membership. Nominations may be from any source, including self-nominations, and must be submitted by February 1. Appointees shall be notified via letter from the chair of the committee. Appointees must agree to attend special training sessions as a condition of appointment. The chair shall also provide for public notice of the selection of Honor Council Members after receiving notice of acceptance from those selected.

The committee shall develop and make public its methodology for accepting and evaluating nominations. In case of unforeseen vacancies on the Honor Council, the committee shall meet as needed to fill the vacancies in a timely manner. The Speaker of the Faculty Senate shall chair the committee.

Honor Council -  General Operation and Hearings

General
The Honor Council shall function to educate and encourage the campus community on issues of academic integrity. It shall also function as the body charged with enforcing the Honor Code. In this role it shall hear charges of academic dishonesty, determine guilt or innocence, and determine penalties for offending students.

Officers
The Honor Council shall have three officers elected by the full membership of the Council. All officers shall be elected within 30 days of the appointment of the Council for the coming year, subject to recall and replacement by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership.

President
The President shall be elected from the regular (not alternate) membership of the Council. Duties of the President are:

  1. to call meetings related to education and hearings on reported Honor Code violations;
  2. to preside at all meetings;
  3. to chair and facilitate hearings on violations, but to have no vote in such hearings;
  4. to advise persons accused of violations as to their rights under the Honor System;
  5. to generally insure that hearings are conducted in a fair and equitable manner, protecting the rights of the accused;
  6. to carry out other duties prescribed under the Honor System and as may be determined by the general membership of the Council.

Vice-President
The Vice-President shall be similarly elected from the regular membership and will carry out the full role of the President when the President is unable to do so. When not substituting for the President, the Vice-President is a full voting member of the Council. Regular duties of the Vice-President are:

  1. to initiate and coordinate the education activities of the Honor Council;
  2. to insure the confidentiality of all violation hearings by requiring all participants to sign a confidentiality pledge before being admitted to the hearing;
  3. to carry out other duties as may be assigned by the President of the Honor Council.

Recorder
The Recorder shall be a voting member elected from the regular membership. Duties of the Recorder are:

  1. to electronically record all violation hearings and associated penalty determinations; to compile a written summary of the recorded hearings; to provide for safe and confidential storage of such records; to provide such records to University administrators and/or Appeals Committee upon written request by the President of the Honor Council;
  2. to destroy in a timely manner all records of hearings resulting in a verdict of “not guilty”;
  3. to take minutes of all other official meetings of the Council.

Voting
Voting at all meetings of the Council shall be by a show of hands, and the tally shall be entered into the minutes or the record by the Recorder. The specific votes of individuals shall not be recorded in any format during hearings. A simple majority shall constitute an affirmative vote on any issue.

Attendance
Attendance at regular meetings and violation hearings (when a member is called by the president) is mandatory. In case of a conflict of interest or personal emergency, a member of the Council may be excused from a violation hearing by the President, who will appoint another member to serve in the place of the excused member.

Confidentiality
All matters related to violation hearings shall be kept forever confidential by the participants, who will be required to sign a confidentiality pledge prior to participation. Persons accused of a violation are exempt from this requirement. All members of the Honor Council shall sign a general confidentiality pledge as a condition of their appointment.

Removal of Honor Council Members
The Honor Council, as a body, may petition the Selection Committee to remove and replace any member for cause, including breach of confidentiality. Using the authority granted to it here, the Selection Committee may remove the member and appoint a replacement by whatever means are deemed appropriate by the Committee.

Faculty Advisor
The Faculty Advisor to the Honor Council shall be appointed by the University President after consultation with the Speaker of the Faculty Senate and the Honor Council, and shall serve at the President’s pleasure for no more than a two-year term, and may not succeed him/herself. The Advisor must have served at least one semester as a Co-Advisor as a pre-condition of appointment. The Advisor shall function as a liaison between the Administration/Faculty and the Honor Council and shall attend all violation hearings and shall attend other meetings as appropriate, in an advisory role only. The Advisor shall assist the Council in all matters, but shall have no authority to vote or otherwise influence decisions in violation hearings, other than to advise the Council relative to past decisions and existing rules of procedure. The Advisor shall also function as the Budget Officer for the Council. The University President shall also appoint one or more Co-Advisors who shall function to assist and substitute for the Advisor when needed, and are hereby granted the authority to be present during violation hearings and penalty deliberations.

Violations of the Honor Code

All students are considered bound by the Honor Code upon admittance to the University. Violations of the Honor Code fall mainly within the categories of cheating, plagiarism, and lying related to any academic matter. Some examples of these categories of violations are presented below, but are by no means an exhaustive list.

  1. Cheating – the unauthorized usage of notes, books or other materials on a test, quiz, or examination; also copying ideas or facts from another’s paper, giving or receiving any pertinent information during testing, or giving or receiving, without authorization, test questions or other related information prior to the test. Also, giving or receiving unauthorized assistance on a paper, project or other assignment is considered cheating.
  2. Plagiarism – the use of facts, ideas, phrases, charts, etc. from any source without giving credit for the information. In a paper, report, or similar graded submission, all un-acknowledged material is assumed to be the original work of the writer. The down-loading of papers from the Internet and submission of the material as work done by the student is one of the most blatant examples of plagiarism. Individual professors are responsible for explaining their referencing policies in each class.
  3. Presenting false information or lying in connection with any academic activity.
  4. Aiding and abetting a violation of the Honor Code is a violation in itself.

Reporting Honor Code Violations

Reporting violations of the Honor Code is a responsibility of all members of the University community, including all students, faculty and administration. Any tolerance shown for such violations is, in fact, assisting in the violation.

Violations are to be reported in writing to the President of the Honor Council, following the procedure set forth by the Honor Council. In the President’s absence, violation reports may be submitted to any active member of the Honor Council, who shall immediately transmit the report to the President. Violation reports should provide full information on the violation and must be signed.

Upon receipt of a violation report, the President of the Honor Council shall convene a meeting of the Screening Committee to determine whether or not the reported violation has merit to proceed to Honor Council hearing. The person reporting the violation shall be timely notified of the scheduled Screening Committee meeting and shall be given the opportunity to present evidence at the meeting. Violation reports may also be submitted online, following procedures provided on the Honor Council web site.

Screening Committee

The Screening Committee is composed of four members:

  • President of the Honor Council (Chair of the committee)
  • Faculty Advisor to the Honor Council
  • University Division Chair not from the Division in which the reported violation occurred (selected by the President of the Honor Council)
  • A voting member of the Honor Council (selected by the President of the Honor Council)

Should any member of the Screening Committee not be able to serve due to a conflict of interest, the President of the Honor Council may appoint a replacement as follows:

  • President of the Honor Council – may be replaced by the Vice-President of the Honor Council.
  • Faculty Advisor to the Honor Council – may be replaced by a Co-Advisor.
  • University Division Chair - may be replaced by another division chair.
  • A Member of the Honor Council - may be replaced by the other Alternate Member.

The Screening Committee may, on its own initiative, excuse a committee member for cause, and may function with a quorum of three members when necessary.

The Screening Committee shall function to determine whether or not a reported violation of the Honor Code has merit for transmittal to the Honor Council for a hearing. The committee makes no determination of guilt or innocence.

Upon receiving a report of a violation, the President of the Honor Council shall, within five class-days, notify the membership of the Screening Committee. A meeting of the committee shall occur within five class-days of notification. Other persons may be called to participate at the discretion of the committee. All portions of the committee meeting are to be held confidential, except:

  • Upon determination that a reported violation has insufficient merit for hearing, the President of the Honor Council shall so notify the reporting person and shall immediately destroy all records relating to the reported violation. There is no further action taken.
  • Upon determination that a reported violation has sufficient merit to proceed to hearing, the President of the Honor Council shall immediately notify all Council members and schedule the hearing within the next fifteen class-days. The President of the Honor Council shall also immediately notify the accused student via registered letter to the student’s address on file at the University, or by documented hand-delivery, giving notice of the alleged violation, date and time of the scheduled hearing, all rights of the accused under the Honor Code, and the opportunity to meet with the President of the Honor Council for further clarification prior to the hearing (especially as regards procedures of Honor Council hearings, the possible effect of admitting the violation prior to hearing, the calling of witnesses, access to evidence, and the right of the accused to have a non-participatory advisor from within the University community present with the accused at all proceedings). A copy of the Screening Committee's report shall be provided to the accused student. The accuser shall also be notified of the hearing.

Honor Council Hearings -  General Proceedures

Upon notification of the accusation, if the student admits the violation in a written statement to the Honor Council, only a penalty hearing shall be conducted. If the accused student, being duly notified, refuses to participate in the Honor Council hearing process, the hearing shall be held without him/her and shall be based upon all other evidence properly submitted for consideration.

All Honor Council Violation Hearings shall be convened by the President or the Vice-President acting in behalf of the President. A minimum of five Council members (in addition to the President) is necessary to conduct any hearing. Attendance by Council members is mandatory. No public notice of the hearing shall be promulgated. The hearing shall be closed and shall be conducted in secret insofar as reasonably possible. No one shall be present other than the Honor Council members, the Faculty Advisor, the accuser, the accused, the accused’s advisor, if any, and witnesses. Witnesses may be present only while giving testimony.

No person other than the accused shall be present in the hearing room without a signed confidentiality pledge which shall be retained for the record by the Recorder.

The President shall chair the hearing and shall be responsible for ensuring fairness in the proceedings. The President shall call all witnesses, including (in order): the accuser, witnesses for the accuser, the accused, witnesses for the accused, followed by a final statement which may be made by the accused. All witnesses, the accuser and the accused may be questioned by the members of the Honor Council and by the accused. The accused, the accused’s advisor, if any, and the accuser may be present for the entire hearing, except during the verdict deliberation by the Council. The President shall be responsible for having these procedures followed in the hearing and shall conduct the hearing generally following Robert’s Rules of Order.

The Recorder shall electronically record the hearing and shall provide a written summary to accompany the recorded version, including the names of all witnesses and Council members present.

Witnesses in Honor Council Hearings

Both the accused and the accuser may call witnesses to testify in the hearing.

Witnesses called by the accused:

  • It is the responsibility of the accused to provide the President of the Honor Council with a list of witnesses that the accused intends to call to testify in the hearing. The list of witnesses must be provided no later than 24 hours prior to the hearing and must specify whether each witness is a material or character witness. All character witnesses must be members of the University community.
  • Material witnesses must have specific knowledge of facts related to the accusation.

Witnesses called by the accuser:

  • It is the responsibility of the accuser to provide the President of the Honor Council with a list of any witnesses that the accuser intends to call to testify in the hearing. The list of witnesses must be provided no less than 24 hours prior to the hearing.
  • Only material witnesses with specific knowledge of the facts related to the accusation may be called.

General provisions related to witnesses:

  • It is the sole responsibility of the person calling witnesses to insure their presence at the hearing.
  • All witnesses to be called for either side shall be required to sign a pledge guaranteeing confidentiality of all aspects of the hearing. The accuser shall be required to sign the pledge as well. Violation of the confidentiality pledge is in fact a violation of the Honor Code and subject to penalty. The accused is exempt from this requirement, but is urged to consider the value of maintaining the confidentiality of the proceedings.
  • Witnesses shall be present in the hearing only while testifying.
  • All witnesses may make statements and may be questioned by the Honor Council and by the accused.
  • The accused may request, in writing, that the President of the Honor Council provide a list of witnesses for the accuser. Upon receipt of the witness list from the accuser, the President (if so requested) shall provide the names of these witnesses, including the accuser’s name, to the accused.
  • If two students are accused of related violations (for example, a student writes a paper and provides it to another student who copies all of part of it and submits it as his/her own work), it is mandatory (at the discretion of the Council President) that each student be present to give testimony at the hearing of the other student. Failure to do so will constitute a separate Honor Council violation, resulting in having "REFUSED TO PARTICIPATE IN HONOR CODE VIOLATION PROCESS" noted of the student's academic record (transcript) for a period of three years.

Violation Hearing Verdicts

Following completion of all testimony, the Honor Council will address the verdict. No one other than the Honor Council members and the Faculty Advisor may be present during the verdict deliberation. The President shall continue to chair the hearing, but shall not participate in the deliberations and shall not vote on the out-come. A simple majority vote of the participating Honor Council members present shall determine guilt or innocence.

Verdict of Not Guilty
Upon determination that the accused is not guilty of the violation, the President shall instruct the Recorder to destroy immediately all records of the hearing and shall inform the accused via letter to the address on file with the University. In this circumstance, the fact of the accusation shall not be held against the accused in any manner by any member of the University community.

Verdict of Guilty
Immediately upon reaching a guilty verdict, the Council shall determine the penalty for the violation. The President shall continue to chair the hearing, but shall not participate in the deliberation or the vote. A simple majority vote shall determine the penalty. Within five class days following the hearing, the President shall notify the accused by sending a registered letter to the address on file with the University. The letter shall state the verdict, the penalty for the violation, and the appeal option available. The President shall also notify, via copy of the letter, the Dean of the university the Registrar, and the Office of Enrollment and Student Affairs (which shall evaluate the student's eligibility to receive university scholarships in light of the Honor Code violation), and any pertinent professor if action related to the penalty is required of the professor. The accuser may be notified of the finding of guilty or not guilty (only) upon request to the President of the Honor Council.

Penalties

Penalties that may be assessed by the Honor Council are as follows:

  1. Immediate expulsion with “Honor Code Expulsion” noted permanently on the student’s academic record.
  2. Suspension for one semester with “Honor Violation” noted on the student’s academic record for a stated time, pending certain conditions, and “F” in the course in which the violation occurred.
  3. "F” in the course in which the violation occurred with “Honor Violation” noted on the student’s academic record for a stated time, pending certain conditions.
  4. “F” on the test or assignment on which the violation occurred.

The Honor Council may attach such conditions to the penalties as it deems justified, within the general context of the Honor System. Conditions may include completion of a course in ethics, a specified number of meetings with a designated faculty mentor and other, similar provisions.

In no case shall any penalty assessed by the Honor Council for a violation of the Honor Code justify any refund of tuition or fees paid to the University by the offender, nor shall it relieve an offender of any debt legally owed to the University.

Expulsion is a penalty normally reserved for especially egregious offenses (such as stealing and selling copies of exams) and for some repeat offenders, however, the decision belongs to the Honor Council and the University has placed great trust in the members of the Council.

All penalty assessments shall include a statement of the length of time that the Honor Council shall maintain the record of the violation hearing in its secure files. In its consideration of penalty assessment, the Honor Council may consider factors such as the student reporting him/herself, and the student admitting the accusation upon being accused.

No grades, including class withdrawals, are considered final until any and all pertinent Honor Code issues have been completely resolved in accordance with procedures described herein.

Appeals of Honor Council Verdicts

Appeals Committee
The Appeals Committee shall be composed of the following members:

  • President of the Honor Council (who shall chair the committee)
  • A member of the Honor Council who did not participate in the hearing, appointed by the Chair.
  • Dean of the University
  • Assistant Dean of the University
  • A professor appointed by the Dean

Although every effort shall be made to have a full committee, when necessary the committee may function with a quorum of three members, two of which must be students. All issues before the committee shall be determined by simple majority vote and all members of the committee are required to vote.

Any student found guilty of an Honor Code violation may appeal the verdict and/or the assessed penalty. The student must file the appeal in writing with the Chair of the Appeals Committee (the Honor Council President), stating what is being appealed and the justification for the appeal, within 10 class-days of being notified of the Honor Council verdict. Upon receipt of the appeal, the Chair shall convene the committee within 10 class-days to address the issue. The Recorder of the Honor Council shall be directed by the Honor Council President to provide a summary record of the pertinent hearing to the committee. The committee shall hear the reason for the appeal from the student, shall review the summary record of the hearing, may review the entire record of the hearing, and shall make a judgment based on this information. The committee may decide to hear and consider testimony not presented at the hearing, but it has no requirement to do so. The committee shall deliberate its decision in private.

No person may be present during the appeal hearing other than the Committee and the student, except that any person called to give testimony may be present for that purpose only. The Committee may refuse to hear an appeal, if justification for it is found lacking, and the Committee may also refuse to hear any testimony that it deems not relevant. Confidentiality of the appeal process shall be identical to that of violation hearings.

Upon compelling evidence, the Appeals Committee may reverse an Honor Council verdict and/or may alter an assessed penalty. Upon reaching a decision, the Chair shall, within two class-days, send notice of the decision to the student via registered mail and shall formally notify the Honor Council. Since an environment of trust is vital for success of the Honor System process, if the Appeals Committee alters any decision of the Honor Council, it shall appear before the Council within 10 class days to explain the reasons for its action.

The Chair of the Appeals Committee shall immediately notify the Dean, the Registrar and any pertinent professor, in writing, of any change in the verdict/penalty determined by the Honor Council.

Appeal to the President of the University
Upon unsuccessful appeal to the Appeals Committee, a student may appeal directly to the University President, as the final authority. The President will not consider any appeal that has not been previously denied by the Appeals Committee. The President may, for compelling reasons, alter a decision of the Appeals Committee. If this is deemed necessary, the Honor Council, the Appeals Committee and all other appropriate parties shall be notified, in writing, and the President shall timely meet with the Honor Council to explain his reasons. If the President denies the appeal, he shall also notify the parties accordingly. Appeals to the President must be submitted through the Honor Council President in writing and within 10 class-days of denial of the appeal by the Appeals Committee. The appeal letter must state the basis for the appeal.

After a period of a minimum of five years following the imposition of a penalty for an Honor Code violation, a student may petition the President of the University to have all reference to the violation removed from the student’s academic record. The President will review the student’s justification for requesting this action, but he/she is under no obligation to act upon it.

Education Program

An important role of the Honor Council is to educate existing and in-coming students concerning academic integrity, the Honor Code, and the University’s general Honor System. The Honor Council shall design and carry out programs throughout the academic year to instruct and motivate the student body in matters of academic integrity. The Honor Council shall also carry out instructional programs for in-coming students during the orientation period and in various courses required of all new students.

The Faculty Advisor, with the assistance of the Vice President of the Honor Council, shall carry out programs to advise the Faculty, Administration and Staff of the University in matters relating to academic integrity and the Honor System.

The Vice-President of the Honor Council shall head the Education Program with the assistance of the Faculty Advisor and all other Council members.

The Council shall meet annually with the Faculty Senate to discuss the status of academic integrity on the University campus and future needs relating to the issue.

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