Honor Council Initiatives
Throughout the course of the year, in addition to our regular activities such as sitting on Student Conduct Hearing panels, we have various initiatives aimed at promoting academic integrity or achieving other goals.
Current and Past Initiatives:
Academic Integrity in the Greek Community
I-week and Speakers
Faculty Attitudes and Positions Survery
Undergraduate Assembly Presidential Elections Debate on Academic Life, Integrity and Honor, and Residential Life, co-hosted by the Honor Council
High School Student Conference
Town Halls
Current Initiatives
Academic Integrity in the Greek CommunityBackground: Each year, hundreds of students choose to join Penn's Greek Community. It is a vibrant, exciting, and immensely rewarding environment for the thousands of students who participate. With all of the benefits of Greek life also come potential ethical dilemmas. Greek communities across the country have long held a reputation as havens for cheating and unethical behavior. We here at the University Honor Council started the Greek Initiative as a means of educating new members of the Penn Greek Community about possible scenarios they might encounter during their years as members of a fraternity or sorority. Topics include, but are not limited to: study drugs, test files, dealing with a friend whom you believe is in violation of the Code of Academic Integrity, and the implications of violations of the code for a fraternity or sorority's chapter at Penn.
The initiative: The Greek Initiative was first introduced in Spring 2010. The program included a series of one-hour presentations and thought experiments aimed at the new members of various fraternities and sororities. The first iteration of the program saw immediate success, with over 50 participants who gave great reviews and helpful criticism.
What the future holds: Over the next few years, we plan on making the Greek Initiative a year-round affair, educating fall new members of fraternities and broadening our reach during the spring. New, targeted videos and presentations will help to promote interest among the Greek Community in the University Honor Council and spread awareness of the University's Code of Academic Integrity. Fraternities and sororities are an essential part of the University community and provide valuable social and academic possibilities to the University. With time, we are confident that we can engender a spirit of academic honesty throughout the entire Penn Greek Community.
I-week and SpeakersThis is an ongoing initiative. More details to come.
Faculty Attitudes and Positions SurveryUHC will be surveying the Penn faculty this semester to discover how prevalent cheating occurs across campus. Additionally, the results will hopefully indicate the average faculty response when they believe a student may be in violation of Penn's Honor Code. This survey will serve as a bridge between Penn Faculty and UHC members and will provide greater transparency regarding the academic environment at Penn.
Past Initiatives
Undergraduate Assembly Presidential Elections Debate on Academic Life, Integrity and Honor, and Residential Life, co-hosted by the Honor CouncilBackground: This year was the first year in which the leader of the student body was directly elected by the entire student body. For this election, several important organizations on campus sponsored presidential and vice-presidential debates to inform students about the proposals of those running for the Undergraduate Assembly's top executive positions. Students could view these discussions by attending the debates or by viewing them live through the Daily Pennsylvanian's website. The University of Pennsylvania Honor Council questioned our future student leaders about their commitment and their proposals regarding academic integrity at Penn. Our intention was to both voice our concern about the pressing issues regarding this topic while informing constituents about our organization and the steps being taken to tackle this sensitive issue.
The initiative: On March 20, 2010, in conjunction with the Residential Advisory Board, the UHC hosted a presidential debate between candidates Matt Amalfitano and Grant Dubler. During this heated debate, Amalfitano expressed his intention of making the UA "really partner with integrity week" and making sure "that professors are well aware of the services that the Honor Council provides." On the other hand, candidate Dubler "would propose requiring professors to have a section on academic integrity on their syllabus." In addition, both candidates acknowledged the value of having the UHC represented in UA Steering (a UA policy-making body) and promised to work closely with us in the future.
What the future holds: In the coming years, the UHC looks forward to hosting a wide array of both presidential and vice-presidential debates to ensure that Penn's student government is involved with UHC activities. The newly elected president, Matt Amalfitano, has stated that "the UA president has an obligation to place the Honor Council's priorities and programming on the highest level," and we look forward to further partnering with him and the rest of the UA administration to advance integrity at Penn.
To view the full debate online, please visit the Daily Pennsylvanian's website at http://www.thedp.com/node/64796.
High School Student Conference
Details Coming Soon. [??]
Town HallsTown Halls are open forums for discussion between students, faculty and administration. They are informal, small-group-based discussions that focus on relevant academic integrity issues. Town Halls are usually held individually within each of the undergraduate schools.
