WHEN THE Honor Committee met for the first time last March, oneword dominated discussion of plans for this academic year: transparency. Early on, we knew that we wanted to make communication and interaction with the University community top priorities for our term.
We began honor discussions for this academic year before classes began. Each incoming student received an introduction to the honor system at his or her orientation. More extensive information was distributed upon students' return to Grounds in late August: We held presentations to dorms and co-sponsored a cookout with the Minority Rights Coalition.
We did not end outreach to new students with the start of classes. Honor educators worked with University Judiciary Committee support officers in the dorm liaisons program. This provided the opportunity for small-group discussion of these two student governance bodies.
At the same time, we offered the opportunity to try out to be honor support officers. Through this recruitment process, open to any graduate or undergraduate, we accepted about 100 new students; they immediately began a rigorous training session that lasted the entire semester.
September brought a first-hand view of the honor system's procedures during the open trial of Stephanie Garrison. Within the press leading up to the trial, we encouraged students to attend the hearing. Many who did told us afterwards that they gained valuable insight into honor's trial process.
Internally, the Honor Committee developed three subcommittees targeted at university-wide issues.
First, we resurrected the formerly inactive Diversity Advisory Board. We brought students and administrators from all areas of Grounds to the table to discuss ongoing issues of spotlighting and underrepresented students' involvement in the honor system. Currently, the D.A.B. is developing plans to work with peer mentoring groups to develop education and discussion programs to engage incoming students.
Second, the Academic Integrity subcommittee tackled several issues this fall. First, the group sponsored a successful dinner to promote discussion of academic integrity -- not limited to the honor system -- among faculty. The group also reached out with a poster campaign advertising various students' comments on the benefits of the honor system. Finally, the committee is working on a program to provide research aid to students. This will be a highly beneficial tool that we look forward to releasing in the spring or fall.
Third, the sanction subcommittee took up debate of the benefits and drawbacks to the single sanction. This committee also brought in students from outside of honor to contribute to discussion. They will be especially active as elections approach.
The Honor Committee wants to be accessible. Our Sunday meetings are open to the public, but we rarely see anyone outside of honor attend. Hoping for better, we held a meeting in the Dome Room of the Rotunda with an extended question-and-answer period; nearly 60 people attended. Many left noting their increased understanding of our work. We're planning to do this again.
The "town hall" meeting was followed by a strong campaign to increase awareness of the conscientious retraction. This offers students the option of admitting to an honor offense and remaining within the community. The C.R. must be filed, however, prior to a student's suspicion that a report has been filed against him or her. Fliers, cups and Facebook advertisements increased questions about this option from students.
The end of the semester was extremely busy. The Committee released the long-awaited faculty survey, a project begun to gather data regarding faculty opinion of, experience with, and understanding of the honor system. We are currently analyzing the data to present our thoughts on what the numbers mean for future work.
Finally, we closed with the passage of a new set of by-laws. Most of the change involved clarifying language. Substantial changes to investigations will bring less stress to students and more timely decisions about accusations. The changes took effect immediately.
Now, as we face the last stretch of our term, the Committee has not slowed down. We are analyzing faculty survey data. We are planning a public panel discussion of the single sanction. We are scheduling an open house for students to visit the office. We are preparing for another town-hall-style meeting. We are working to meet students' needs for better understanding of how we work.
We can't do this without you, though. Let us know what you think.
Alison Tramba is chair of the Honor Committee and a Cavalier Daily contributor. She is a fourth year in the Engineering School.
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | 4 days agoThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | 5 days agoAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | January 9, 2025Every student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
