The Honor Code

In matters involving academic dishonesty, the faculty member usually arranges a meeting with the student during which he/she notifies the student of the charge and presents him or her with a penalty. A standardized form that is available from the Provost Office should be completed for each instance of academic dishonesty. If the student admits responsibility and accepts the penalty, the outcome must be reported, and the form forwarded, to the Provost who may pursue further sanctions on behalf of the community. If the student contests either the charge of academic dishonesty or the penalties prescribed, or at the discretion of the faculty member involved, such matters will be referred to the Honor Board, which may hear the matter and determine the outcome. If the student is found responsible for a violation involving academic dishonesty, the Honor Board has access to the full range of sanctions, including recommendation for suspension or expulsion. Any student who has a pending charge of academic dishonesty may not drop the course in which the academic dishonesty is alleged to have occurred.

Each instance of academic dishonesty is treated as an individual violation of the Honor Code. While there will always be room for discretion by the Honor Board in awarding sanctions, a repeat (i.e., second) violation will normally trigger a suspension from the college; understandable exceptions may include inadvertent plagiarism in a course in which students are still learning directly about plagiarism and proper citation, such as in ENGL 1101: Rhetoric and Composition I, ENGL 1103: Critical Reading and Writing, or GEN ED 1200: First Year Seminar.

1. Faculty and staff members will use the Settlement Form to report all academic instances of lying, cheating, or stealing to the Office of the Associate Provost for Student Academic Success on a timely basis. Individual faculty members determine the consequences for violations in their courses, which may range from a 0 on an assignment, to an additional partial or full- letter final grade reduction, to an “F” in the course. A second violation of the Honor Code—in any course—results in a hearing with the Honor Board. The Honor Board may assign additional penalties—up to and including suspension from the College—as it sees fit. Typically, a second violation leads to suspension for the remainder of the semester in which the violation occurs, an “F” in the course in which the violation took place and a “W” in all other classes. Suspended students must apply for re-admission to the College and be approved by the Honor Board. The Board and Associate Provost for Student Academic Success maintain detailed records of all Honor Code violations and subsequent hearings and penalties.
2. The Honor Board consists of two faculty members and a staff member appointed by the Associate Provost for Student Academic Success and two students appointed by the SGA president. The Board convenes as needed throughout the school year when a student declines to admit responsibility on the Settlement Form and requests a hearing to dispute an accusation or commits a second violation and faces suspension. Final appeals of Honor Board decisions will be directed to the Associate Provost for Student Academic Success. Honor Board verdicts are based on whether the accused student is more likely than not to have violated the Honor Code. Only members of the Honor Board will be present for deliberations after pertinent evidence has been introduced.
3. Accused students may request that a trusted member of the college community serve as an advocate and advisor in Honor Board hearings, which are not courts of law and may not be attended by parents, legal counsel, or other witnesses.
4. Faculty members have the option of requiring students to write out and sign the Pledge on their examinations or written projects.

The Honor Code does not condone dishonorable actions within any sector of Catawba College. Such actions include academic dishonesty as well as social disrespect and any action harmful to the Catawba College community and its members. Violations of federal, state, and local law are also violations of the College’s Honor Code.