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Advice and Guidance from the Boulder Honor Code Advisory Board

Old Main at night

The following text is from an email sent by the  Boulder Honor Code Advisory Board to the Boulder Faculty Assembly regarding guidelines for how to handle honor code violations during the abrupt change to remote learning. This message was reviewed and approved by the Joint Information Center, and was sent to BFA members on 4/28/2020.

"The mid-semester transition to remote instruction has created unusual circumstances, but the Honor Code is as important as ever.  As we head into finals week, the following advice and reminders may be helpful for both faculty and students.

  1. Remind your students about the standards to which they are held and consider forwarding the following to your students:

I sincerely appreciate your effort these last weeks to adapt to remote learning and its challenges.  Remote learning and the end of the semester can be very stressful—please ensure a strong finish to your semester:

  • review ’s Honor Code and the standards to which you are held at .
  • recognize that faculty have a responsibility to report academic misconduct.
  • recognize that engaging in academic misconduct can negatively affect others too.
  • recognize that preserving your integrity and character are more important than your semester grades.

 

  1. Help your students be clear about what Honor Code violations might look like in your class:

Use specific examples that are related to your course when discussing what an Honor Code violation looks like. For example:

o   During the final project or exam…

  • is it okay to talk to a classmate via Zoom or another platform while screen sharing?
  • is it okay to upload course material to Quizlet or another study site and access that material during the exam? It may be okay to study from those websites or create notes in an online platform, but are those student “Notes” on an open-note exam?
  • is it okay to get real-time online or in-person tutoring/assistance during the exam?

Be clear in your expectations

  • Is the final project or exam…
    • can students collaborate with classmates?
    • open-note, open-book, or open-internet?

Tell students the academic consequences for students who cheat or otherwise violate the Honor Code

 

  1. If you suspect that your student has engaged in misconduct, . Keep in mind:
  • The process is straightforward and is designed to respect to your valuable time.
  • Reporting academic misconduct does not impinge on your freedom to give your students the grade you feel is appropriate.
  • The Honor Code needs to be consistently applied—do your part to promote academic integrity at ."

If you have questions about the Honor Code and would like someone to call you, please email: honorcode@colorado.edu

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