College officials are looking for ways to combat a trend of academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism¬, that has been growing at the university over the past two years.

Two years ago, there were 17 violations. Last year, there were 32. And so far there have been 10 this semester, even before finals week when violations are expected to increase once final papers are handed in and exams are taken.

“We want students to rally behind [an honor code],” said Ramon Knox, assistant dean of students. “We could impose it upon students, but that’s less of what we would want to do.”

Knox is working with Colleen McCullough, Associated Students program coordinator, and a group of five students from A.S. to discuss the creation of a campus honor code. The proposal is in its early stages and nothing has been finalized.

Among other ideas, they may institute a new honor code that will outline academic ethics that students are expected to abide by. Recognizing that not all cheating is intentional, officials also plan to increase tutorials on how to avoid plagiarism and other academic-related violations.

An honor code could take the form of a written contract for students or just a motto that students swear to abide.

Chapman currently operates under an academic integrity policy, which leaves the sanctioning of violations to the discretion of the professor, said Jerry Price, vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students. The new honor code could put punitive action under administration.

One option, Price said, is a less-forgiving honor code, with mandatory consequences for each violation.

“The sanctions could be stricter,” Price said.

As part of the pledge to uphold the code, students would be required to report any violations by fellow students.

This could make refusing to report an incident a violation.

“There is currently no student report mechanism in the academic integrity policy,” said Knox, who manages the student conduct system. “If a student knows another is cheating and is setting the curve, they have no way to address it.”

However, none of the details of an honor code can be formulated until a decision is made to adopt one. Price, who raised the issue in last week’s online community question, doesn’t believe an honor code should be adopted until students show an interest in creating one.

“It’s hard to get on students’ radar with issues such as plagiarism,” Price said. “I personally don’t think students are dying to find a solution to this problem.”

Although an honor code was proposed in September, Knox says it is still in the developing stages.

Natalie Blalock, administrative assistant to the vice chancellor for faculty affairs and assessment, will speak with students about academic integrity with the hope of preventing violations during finals week.

She plans to set up a table and talk to students who pass by May 10 to14 about the issue.

“Approximately 70 percent of academic integrity cases involve plagiarism,” Blalock said. “In my experience, most of these cases have been unintentional.”

Unintentional violations of the academic integrity code include using the same paper for different classes or improperly citing referenced material. Blalock believes that simple tutorials could prevent violations occurring out of students’ ignorance of the proper procedures.

“I know they don’t cover [academic integrity] during new student orientation, so maybe it’s something they could focus on,” Blalock said.


Contact this reporter: alex.chamberlain@thepantheronline.com