Professor Emeritus Dewey Grantham said in an address on the Honor System:
 

The Honor system has contributed to the health and vitality of another tradition at Vanderbilt--the emphasis on and the continuing quest for understanding teaching.  Where faculty members are genuinely committed to the ideal of excellence in teaching, and where the administration is willing to make that objective a priority, as at Vanderbilt, the Honor System greatly enhances the process of teaching and learning.  I am convinced that it facilitates professor and student working together in pursuit of answers and solutions and new questions.  In short, the two traditions--Honor System and superior teaching--are mutually supporting and reinforcing.

A general orientation of new Vanderbilt students in the meaning of the Honor System is undertaken by the Honor Council each year.  It falls to the faculty, however, to make the System a day-to-day reality in the classroom.  An instructor may accomplish this task in four basic ways:

1.  At the start of the semester's work in a course, a statement demonstrating the instructor's support of the Honor System is most beneficial.  In this statement, the instructor should make clear what constitutes a violation of the Honor Code in the course.  If such matters are stated explicitly, cases resulting from misunderstanding about assignments may be eliminated (see below).

2.  The instructor should remind students of the Honor Code policy throughout the semester, especially before assignments and tests.

3.  Although the primary responsibility for Vanderbilt's academic honesty is in the hands of each student, the faculty member is expected to make every effort to provide a classroom atmosphere that is conducive to effective operation of the Honor System.  For example, during a test, it is quite in the spirit of the System to seat students in any manner to minimize the possibility of a student accidentally seeing another's paper.  Also instructors might avoid giving identical examinations to different sections of classes, thus decreasing the opportunities for passing information either intentionally or unintentionally.

4.  Instructors can help to keep the Honor System uppermost in their students' minds by requiring them to sign the Pledge on every assignment.  The Pledge states, "I pledge on my honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment."

A SAMPLE SYLLABUS STATEMENT

"Vanderbilt Honor Code governs all work in this course (e.g., tests, papers, homework assignments)."

{Here a faculty member could insert examples--specific to the course--of actions that are (a) impermissable (e.g., a failure to properly credit sources in a research paper, copying homework solutions from previous semesters' graded homeworks) or (b) permissible (e.g., student cooperation on homework or lab assignments, discussing paper topics with other students).}

"For each assignment in this course, I will explain how the Honor Code applies.  If you have any doubts, please ask me --not another student or the TA --for clarification.  Uncertainty about the application of the Honor Code does not excuse a violation."

REPORTING SUSPECTED VIOLATIONS

If an instructor has any reason to believe a violation of the Honor Code has occurred, he or she should report these suspicions to the President of the Honor Council at 322-3056.

The Honor Council requests that the instructor not consult the accused before notifying the Council.  Vanderbilt students conceived the Honor Council as the judicial branch of the Honor System, and it is from this group of selected student representatives that the accused should hear the charges that have been made.

The instructor should neither punish nor excuse cheating, but should refer the case to the Honor Council immediately upon suspecting that a violation of the System has occurred.

Any questions or comments about the role of the faculty in the Honor System at Vanderbilt should be directed to the Honor Council President at 322-3056, or the Honor Council Advisor (Associate Provost for Student Affairs) at 322-2436.