How do you folks feel about UVA's student honor code system?

[bluestateguy]

Single sanction of expulsion for violators? Seems to violate the principle of proportionality in our justice system.

Entirely student run? I don't feel comfortable with the idea that students can expel other students. Expulsion is a power that only senior administrators should have.

I have also heard that the system functions in a racist way, albeit that may not be the intention. A disproportionate number of people charged are non-white and nearly all of the elected members of the honor council are white.

[Captain Hilts]

1. UVA isn't necessarily a sexist, or racist university....

but, like my beloved football team in Washington, they certainly have a lot of racism and sexism in their surprisingly recent history.

It was interesting to read how Lady Bird Johnson attended and graduated from the University of Texas. She could not have attended the University of Virginia until 1973.

I agree students should not have the final say in expelling other students. Anywhere there is discretion, there will various 'isms' at work. The vast majority of grievances filed by students against teachers are filed by young men against female faculty. So, a couple of 'isms' work there.

[Hoooweee]

2. It's standard practice at decent universities.

I went to William & Mary and we had the exact same policy.

It's more lenient than the professional or academic world, where if you're caught cheating or plagiarizing, you can lose your job or face jail time.

[Cabcere]

3. Go Tribe!

:hi: I'm an undergrad there now - just getting ready to start my senior year. :) Personally, I like the honor code we have, although I can see how some people might feel differently.

[spooky3]

5. Not necessarily. Here's Georgetown's info:

http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/hc/

Faculty, staff and students--not just students--decide. The process is complex. The punishments are proportionate.

I think that many universities have honor councils, but they don't all have the same (or even similar) processes.

[VADem11]

4. The honor code

is a pretty good thing overall. While I don't agree with the single sanction, the honor code is effective and an integral part of UVA. I think having it being entirely student run is a good thing as well. The students on the honor committee take their duties very seriously.

[Eurobabe]

6. Ah my alma mater

where I received my Masters. Honor system worked well during my short tenure there. I think most universities have adopted this system of peer-review anyhow. Nothing out of the ordinary. Villanova had it as well in the early 90s.

Go HOOS! :woohoo:

[Duppers]

7. Go HOOS!

My son is a grader for a physics prof. He recently lost his recorded grade sheet for a problem set which he needed in order to enter the grades into the dept's computer system.

Unfortunately he had already given the papers back to the students and had to email each one of them for their grades.

Later he found the missing grade sheet and found that each of them had emailed their CORRECT grade; not one cheated.

Says a lot for the integrity of the student body at UVa. There are other stories to support my statement about the integrity of UVa's student body but I cannot remember them at the moment.

Of course, there's always some assholes every where, even UVa, where the pResident's future son-in-law attends.



Go Hoos!