Introduction

Rights and Responsibilities

Faculty

Students

Honor Code Violations

Cheating

Fabrication

Unauthorized collaboration

Multiple submission

Sabotage

Plagiarism

Unfair advantage

Facilitation of academic dishonesty

Tampering with academic records

False testimony

Improper disclosure

Duties of the dean

Responsibilities of the officers of the honor board

Initial review of charges

Procedure for hearings

Penalties

Procedures for appeals

Procedures for rehearing a case

Amendments and revisions

STATEMENT OF THE CODE

Every person enrolled in a course in the Liberal Arts and Sciences division of Tulane University shall do honestly all work assigned by instructors of Newcomb and Tulane Colleges, acquire credit of any kind by legitimate means only, and assist no one to obtain credit to which they are not fully entitled. Every faculty member will work to nurture an environment which fosters adherence to these standards, in part by ensuring fair testing and learning conditions for all students. For the purpose of assuring adherence to these standards, and of providing guidelines for alleged transgressions thereof, the student bodies of Newcomb and Tulane Colleges have adopted the Honor Code. When student and faculty of Newcomb and Tulane fulfill their responsibilities under the Honor Code, they uphold the honor and integrity of the academic process.

INTRODUCTION

The integrity of Newcomb College and Tulane College is based on the absolute honesty of the entire community in all academic endeavors. As part of the community, students have certain responsibilities regarding all independent work that forms the basis for the evaluation of their academic achievement. Students are expected to familiarize themselves in a manner that complies with it at all times.

The scholarly community of the university depends on the willingness of both faculty and students to uphold the honor code. When a violation of the honor code is observed it is the duty of every member of the academic community who has evidence of the violation to take action. Students should take steps to uphold the honor code by reporting any possible offense to the instructor or the honor board. Students should under no circumstances tolerate any form of academic dishonesty

In all work submitted for academic credit, students are expected to represent themselves honestly. The presence of a student's name on any work submitted in completion of an academic assignment is considered to be an assurance that the work and ideas are the result of the student's own intellectual effort, stated in his or her own words, and produced independently, unless clear and explicit acknowledgment of the sources for the work and ideas is included. This principle applies to papers, tests, homework assignments, artistic productions, laboratory reports, computer programs, and other assignments.

In the event that an honor board hearing uncovers evidence of a violation of any university rule or principle, the chair or vice chair of the honor council shall notify the appropriate vice president or dean. This instruction applies to acts of faculty and staff as well as to those of students.

All new students in Newcomb and Tulane Colleges shall receive a copy of this honor code at orientation. Lack of familiarity with this code or with the precise application of its principles to any specific instance is not an excuse for noncompliance with it.

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RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Faculty--Each instructor, advisor, teaching assistant, and academic associate shall foster an environment which encourages adherence to the principles of honesty and integrity. Each faculty member shall give specific directions concerning the nature of examinations and assignments, stating, for example, when collaboration is permissible.

Each faculty member shall be familiar with the principles and procedures of the honor code. He or she shall report all suspected violations so that, for example, multiple offenders can be detected. Each faculty member shall also appear and testify when called upon by the honor board.

When investigating a suspected violation, each faculty member shall endeavor to ensure fairness. A suspected violation shall be reported to the appropriate dean or deans within five working days after the faculty member becomes aware of the offense. The complainant shall present in writing reasons for suspecting a violation has occurred.

If he or she so requests, the complainant will be informed by the student's dean of the progress of the investigations, the decision taken, and the reason for that decision. Faculty members are bound by the findings of the honor board.

Students--Students are expected to adhere to the principles of the honor code. All academic work must be the result of the student's own efforts, except when collaboration has been explicitly allowed. If a student is unsure how a particular assignment is affected by the honor code, it is his or her responsibility to consult the instructor. This applies not only to the student's own behavior but also to the behavior of others.

If a violation of the honor code is suspected, the associate dean will provide the accused student with a copy of the formal charge in writing: the nature and occasion of the alleged violation, the name of the complainant, copies of the documents pertinent to the allegation and a copy of the honor code. He or she will be allowed four working days to prepare his or her case; an extension to this period will be granted by the dean if necessary. The student may seek the counsel of a faculty advisor in preparing for the hearing ; a list of potential advisors will be provided. The faculty advisor may be present at the hearing but may not testify. Because the hearing is an administrative procedure internal to the workings of the university, the student shall not be represented by legal counsel. The student is expected to attend the hearing but non-attendance by the student and/or witnesses will not in itself prevent a hearing or the imposition of appropriate sanctions. The accused student may make a statement before the honor board, testify, present evidence, call witnesses, examine or dispute any evidence submitted with the charge, make no statement, or decline to respond to any questions. The student is entitled to a fair and confidential hearing and will be presumed not guilty.

If the student is judged not guilty, there will be no report of the case on his or her college record. If the student is judged guilty, he or she will have the right to appeal the verdict and/or recommended sanctions to the Chair of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee within seven working days of the hearing. The appeal must be in writing and must provide evidence of substantial procedural error, excessive penalty, or new evidence.

It should be noted that the hearing is not a legal procedure, so formal rules of evidence and courtroom procedures do not apply. Polygraph tests are not admissible as evidence.

The purpose of the hearing is to provide the student with an opportunity to be heard and to supply the hearing panel with the relevant information necessary to reach a decision. Honor board procedures are of grave importance and are to be taken seriously by all concerned. All persons appearing before the honor board are obligated to be completely honest. Charges can result in suspension or expulsion from the university. It is every student's duty to ensure that the principles of the honor code are upheld and that the procedures are properly followed.

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HONOR CODE VIOLATIONS

Any student behavior that has the effect of interfering with education, pursuit of knowledge, or fair evaluation of a student's performance is considered a violation. The following are defined as violations:

Cheating---Giving, receiving, or using, or attempting to give, receive, or use unauthorized assistance, information, or study aids in academic work, or preventing or attempting to prevent another from using authorized assistance, information, or study aids. Possible examples of cheating are included in, but not limited to, the following definitions:

Fabrication---Submission of contrived or altered information in any academic exercise.

Unauthorized collaboration--Collaboration not explicitly allowed by the instructor to obtain credit for examinations or course assignments.

Multiple submission--Presentation of a paper or other work for credit in two distinct courses without prior approval by both instructors.

Sabotage--Destroying or damaging another student's work, or otherwise preventing such work from receiving fair graded assessment.

Plagiarism--Unacknowledged or falsely acknowledged presentation of another person's ideas, expressions, or original research as one's own work. Such an act often gives the reader the impression that the student has written or thought something that he or she has in fact borrowed from another. Any paraphrasing or quotation must be appropriately acknowledged. (Examples of plagiarism and inappropriate citation may be found here).

Unfair advantage--Any behavior disallowed by an instructor that gives an advantage over other fellow students in an academic exercise.

Facilitation of academic dishonestyKnowingly helping or attempting to help another student violate any provision of the code.

Tampering with academic records--Misrepresenting, tampering with, or attempting to tamper with any portion of a student's academic record.

False testimony--Knowingly presenting false accusation or testimony before the honor board or its representatives.

Improper disclosure--Failure of an honor board member or participant in an honor board hearing to maintain strict confidentiality concerning the identity of students accused of honor code violations.

COMPOSITION AND JURISDICTION OF THE HONOR COUNCIL

The honor council, composed of the members of the honor boards of Newcomb College and Tulane College, shall have jurisdiction over any infringements of the honor code by students in courses offered by the Liberal Arts and Sciences division. When students in Newcomb College or Tulane College are enrolled in a course offered by another college of the university, the honor board of that college will hear the case, and the procedures for the hearing and any appeal will be governed by the charter of that honor board.

The honor council shall determine the rules of procedure for its hearing panel, subject to the approval of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee. The hearing panel, constituted from members of the honor council (by rules specified below), shall hear cases and determine the guilt or lack of guilt of the accused student, and shall recommend appropriate penalties for implementation by the student's dean. The panel shall maintain fair procedures for hearings to ensure the rights of the complainant and the accused student.

The honor council is composed of members of the honor boards of Newcomb College and Tulane College. The honor boards of each college with consist of twelve students and eight faculty members. Each case will be heard by a hearing panel composed of students and faculty drawn from the appropriate honor board. When a case involves one or more students in one college, the hearing panel shall consist of three student members and two faculty members of the board of that college. Cases involving students from both colleges or from colleges of the university other than Newcomb or Tulane shall include student representatives from the honor boards of both liberal arts colleges; once again there will be three students and two faculty members. Such joint panels shall by chaired by a Tulane College student in the fall semester and by a Newcomb College student in the spring semester. If the student is enrolled in a college of the university other than Newcomb or Tulane, the student's college may send a non-voting faculty or staff representative to the hearing. This representative may observe the proceedings, answer questions by the hearing panel, and report back to the student's college, but may not comment on the merits of the case or otherwise participate in the hearing.

New student members of the honor boards shall be chosen as needed by the continuing members of the honor board; these students shall serve until graduation, interruption of residency, or until resigning their positions. Among the student members representing each college, at least two ordinarily will be from each class. No student who has been convicted of a violation of the honor code may serve on the honor board. Two student members of each board shall serve one year terms as president and vice president. Selection of the presidents and vice presidents will be made each spring by majority vote of the board. The presidents of the honor boards will jointly convene the honor council for joint meetings to review procedures.

Faculty members of the honor boards shall be chosen by the LAS Committee on Committees. Since the Student Academic Judiciary Committee will function as the appeal board for honor code cases, members should not serve concurrently on both the Student Academic Judiciary Committee and the honor boards.

If a student or faculty member exhibits continued inability to attend meetings, upon recommendation from the appropriate board the Student Academic Judiciary Committee shall have the right to remove that member and select a new member in accordance with the provisions for selecting honor board members.

Students and faculty are voting members of the hearing panels; the chair of the panel has a vote.

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DUTIES OF THE DEAN

The student's associate dean shall notify the president of the honor board of the reported violation within three working days after receiving the written complaint. The president shall contact persons involved in the case within four working days of being notified by the associate dean. The accused student(s) shall be notified and provided with copies of the charge, other pertinent documents, and a copy of this honor code at least four working days of being notified by the associate dean (and at least four working days before the hearing). The associate dean may receive from the complainant and the accused student the names of witnesses who should be called to make testimony at the hearing.

The colleges shall maintain a permanent record of all honor board convictions involving their students. The record shall included a copy of all evidence submitted to the hearing panel, the report of the chair of the hearing panel to the dean, and the dean's final action. Copies of the latter two documents shall be maintained in separate, permanent records of the honor board. The tape recording of the hearing should be preserved only until all appeals have been exhausted.

From the permanent record, the dean shall note in the college records any conviction and the sanction imposed. This information shall be available only to that student (or to the parents of that student if he or she is under eighteen years of age), unless the student waives his or her right of exclusive access under the provisions of the Buckley Amendment. Access to the tape recording and other information concerning a case during the process of adjudication shall be reserved for members of the hearing panel or, if necessary, the Student Academic Judiciary Committee. The right to borrow these materials or copies of them from the dean's records shall be restricted to the president of the honor board, the dean, and the chair of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee. The original or one copy of all documents shall remain in the dean's records at all times.

The student's dean shall review all pertinent materials. If the dean is inclined to disagree with the recommended penalty, the dean must provide the panel with the reasons for his or her disagreement. The dean, having reviewed all pertinent information, shall notify in writing the student, the instructor, and the chair of the hearing panel of his or her decision within three working days after receipt of the hearing panel's report.

At the start of each academic year, the dean of the Faculty of the Liberal Arts and Sciences shall send a letter to all faculty, including teaching assistants, instructors, and adjunct faculty, familiarizing them with the honor code.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OFFICERS OF THE HONOR BOARD

The president of the honor board in each college shall call and preside over all meetings of the hearing panels in that college, and one of them (Tulane College in the fall, Newcomb in the spring) shall preside over joint hearing panels in cases involving students from more than one college. He or she shall see that a tape recording is made of all testimony. The president shall notify all participants of the date and time of the hearing, which shall be held no more than five working days after the accused student is notified. The president shall submit a written report of the hearing , accompanied by a tape recording of all testimony and a copy of all evidence presented, to the student's dean within two working days after the hearing.

The vice president shall act on behalf of the president in case of the latter's inability to serve for any reason.

INITIAL REVIEW OF CHARGES

The person making a complaint of a violation of the honor code (hereafter the complainant) may be a faculty or staff member or a student; the complaint and all supporting evidence and information must be given in writing. Once an alleged violation of the honor code has been reported, the written report shall be reviewed by the associate dean of the college of the accused student to confirm that the charge being made falls within the scope of this code and that all documents have been prepared according to its provisions. The associate dean shall consult with the complainant and the accused student if necessary to ascertain what witnesses should be called in the hearing, and to make sure that all concerned understand the workings of the code. The associate dean shall also inform the accused student of his or her rights under this code, including the right to be accompanied to the hearing by a counselor (to be selected from a list of faculty members familiar with the workings of the honor code). This initial review shall take place if possible within two working days of the time when the formal charge is made. If, in the considered opinion of the associate dean, the charge is improper and should not be taken to a hearing, that decision shall be communicated to the president of the honor board and then to the complainant, who retains the right to have the associate dean's decision reviewed, the chair of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee and a designated faculty member and student from that committee. The reviewers may set aside the associate dean's decision. If the charge is brought to a hearing , the student shall be allowed four working days to review the written documents before the date set for the hearing.

If the accused student is not a Newcomb College or Tulane College student, this initial review will be performed by the associate dean of Tulane College (in the fall semester) or Newcomb (in the spring).

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PROCEDURE FOR HEARINGS

The honor board will make every effort to process cases in a timely manner. Within ten working days after the accused student has been apprised of the charges, the president will convene a hearing panel to review the charges brought against the student. Copies of the complaint and all evidence pertinent to the case shall be provided for each member of the panel. All materials submitted to the panel for the hearing shall be held in strictest confidence and returned to the president at the conclusion of the hearing.

In order for a case to be heard, a quorum must be established and shall consist of five members of the honor board including, whenever possible, two faculty members and three student members. One of the student members will be the president or vice president of the honor board, or an acting president if both officers of the board need to recuse themselves. If the honor board president or a sufficient number of board members are unavailable to hear a case, the student's dean shall form an ad hoc panel composed of two faculty members and three students. If the offense is reported at the end of the semester and must be heard by an ad hoc panel, the case should be heard as soon as possible and no later than fourteen working days after the end of final exams, unless the accused student asks to have the matter deferred until the beginning of next semester. If more than one student is accused in the same case and at least one of the accused students desires to postpone the hearing, it shall be deferred until the beginning of the next semester, unless any of the accused students is expected to graduate before the hearing is to take place or will be on a study abroad program in the fall semester. In either event, the hearing will take place within the fourteen day period stipulated.

Honor board hearings will be conducted in a fair and impartial manner. In the event that a board member has any conflict of interest with the case, the said member shall be excluded from the case. If the president should choose to remove him or herself from the case, he or she shall be replaced by the vice president or, if necessary, shall appoint an acting president for the case. In addition, any faculty member in the department in which the complaint originated shall be excluded from the case.

At the beginning of the hearing, the president of the honor board shall read the charges against the accused student. Normally the complainant will give testimony first, followed by supporting witnesses, followed by the accused student and supporting witnesses, and then by other witnesses, if any. Any of the preceding may be recalled for further testimony if clarification is necessary. The president shall inform the accused student of the following before testimony begins. (Witnesses shall also be informed of the first three points).

1. False testimony given in an honor code hearing is a violation of the honor code.

2.All testimony given in an honor board hearing is to be held in the strictest confidence.

3.All witnesses must be called to give substantive testimony rather than as character witnesses.

4. The hearing panel determines guilt or innocence and, if warranted, recommends a penalty to the student's dean. The student's dean shall inform the accused, the instructor in the course, and the president of the honor board of the final disposition of the case.

5. The accused student may make a statement before the honor board, examine or dispute any evidence, make no statement, or decline to respond to any questions.

The complainant, the accused student, and any witnesses will be brought before the hearing panel independently of one another to give testimony. If any principal in the hearing cannot be present, written testimony will be accepted. A tape recording shall be made of all testimony given in the hearing but not of the deliberations of the panel. After hearing all evidence and witnesses in the case, the panel will vote to determine the guilt or lack of guilt of the student based on a preponderance of the evidence; a majority is necessary for a finding of guilty. All members vote, and abstentions will be counted as votes of not guilty. No member of the panel will be allowed to vote unless he or she has been present to hear all the evidence in the case. Should a guilty verdict be reached, the president will inform the board of any previous honor code violations by the student. Information on whether there were previous honor code violations or not will be conveyed to the president of the honor board by the student's dean in a sealed envelope; this envelope is to opened only if the student is found guilty. If a student has a previous honor code violation in any division of the university, the information in the envelope will include the nature of the violation and the penalty assessed. The penalty to be recommended to the dean for the offense shall be decided by a majority vote of the panel.

PENALTIES

Penalties for honor board violation are imposed on the basis of the infraction and any history of repeated violations by the student. In all cases of findings of guilt, the offense is noted in the academic file of the student. One or more of the following penalties may be recommended:

a.) honor board probation, signifying that a student is not in good standing for a specified length of time;

b.) lowering of a grade for an assignment or test; the honor board may stipulate that if a student chooses to withdraw from a course after receiving a grade penalty for an honor code violation, the student's record will reflect a grade "WF" for the course in which the penalty was assessed.

c.) a "WF" in a course;

d.) suspension from the university for a period of time;

e.) expulsion from the university.

Students should be aware that conviction of a second honor board offense warrants expulsion from the university. In addition, the university reserves the right to withhold institutional support from a student's application for graduate or professional school if honor board violations are noted in the student's academic record.

PROCEDURE FOR APPEALS

If a request is made for an appeal, the chair of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee shall convene a panel of three, including a student and a faculty member of that committee, to review the request. Only at the recommendation of the chair of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee may any decision of the hearing panel or of the student's dean be appealed. A student may appeal a decision of the hearing panel or the dean on one of more of the following grounds: procedural error, new evidence, and inappropriateness of sanction. Grounds for appeal by a complainant in an honor board case shall be procedural error only. Procedural error is defined as any violation of the procedures stated in this honor code.

A complainant or accused student who wishes to request an appeal of a decision of the honor board may do so by notifying in writing the chair of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee within seven working days after being notified of the dean's decision, except when the appeal is on the basis of new evidence, in which case more time may be granted by the chair of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee. Students requesting an appeal on the basis of new evidence may, with the permission of the Chair of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee, listen to a copy of the tape recording of the original hearing in the presence of an officer of the Honor Board or a member of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee. Access to the tape recording will not be provided to any other individual. Within five working days of the formal request for an appeal, the chair shall notify the person(s) involved of his or her decision and, if necessary, after that will convene the Student Academic Judiciary Committee within five working days to hear an appeal.

The Student Academic Judiciary Committee may uphold the hearing panel's decision, recommend reduction of the penalty, or set the decision aside and return the case to the honor board for a new hearing. The Student Academic Judiciary Committee shall present its decisions to the student's dean and to the president of the hearing panel that originally heard the case.

Appeals heard by the Student Academic Judiciary Committee will be governed by the following procedures: an appellate hearing is not a retrial but rather a careful examination of points raised in a letter of appeal. A quorum of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee shall consist of five members, including whenever possible two students and three faculty. Other persons who may be present during an appellate hearing include: the accused student, who may state his or her reasons for appeal, and material witnesses, who may appear if the accused is presenting new evidence. The chair of the hearing panel that originally heard the case shall summarize the case as heard by the panel and address the grounds for the appeal. The complainant in the original case may not be present unless he or she is making the appeal. All information presented or discussed at an appellate hearing shall be confidential.

All members of the committee present for the appellate hearing shall receive a copy of all pertinent information and a copy of the student's letter of appeal. A tape recording shall be made of all testimony and placed in the files of the student's dean. An accused student shall present his or her letters of appeal and may call material witnesses if new evidence is submitted.

The committee shall deliberate in private. Decisions of the committee shall be by majority vote and shall be communicated in writing to the student's dean and to the president of the honor board within one working day. If sufficient procedural error or new evidence is found to exist, the case shall be returned to the honor board for a rehearing without further action by the Student Academic Judiciary Committee. If the committee finds the sanction to be inappropriate, the committee shall transmit to the student's dean a recommendation for an appropriate penalty.

The student's dean shall inform the student of the decision within three working days of receipt of notification by the chair. All printed material distributed during the appellate hearing shall be collected by the chair, who shall deposit one copy of the printed materials and the tape recording in the files of the student's dean. A copy of the report of the committee and the action of the dean shall be included in the records of the honor board.

PROCEDURES FOR REHEARING A CASE

A rehearing shall be held within seven working days of notification of the decision of the Student Academic Judiciary Committee. No member of the hearing panel who initially heard the case may take part in the rehearing. A rehearing is a retrial in which all former evidence and any new evidence will be considered. Procedures for the rehearing will be the same as those for initial hearings.

AMENDMENTS AND REVISIONS

These regulations may be amended or revised with the approval of the student senates of Newcomb College and Tulane College, the Student Academic Judiciary Committee, and the Faculty of the Liberal Arts and Sciences.