Academic Rights and Responsibilities

Current Students Registrar Office of the Provost

Academic Honor Code

To foster individual responsibility, Guilford College subscribes to the principles of an honor system and encourages a mature understanding and acceptance of the code.

The statement, "I have been honest and have observed no dishonesty," gives testament to the honor system and may be affirmed in wring on all academic work. Compliance is assumed even if the statement does not appear on College work. Faculty members may insist that the statement be written on all academic work and may refuse to extend credit for work on which it does not appear.

  • Student Responsibility to the Honor Code. In addition to adherence to the honor code, students are expected to confront other students who have apparently violated the code and to report such violations. A failure to confront or report such violation may be considered a violation of honor code.
  • Violation of the Academic Honor Code.  Academic honesty and integrity represent central elements of the liberal arts education at Guilford College. As scholars pursuing knowledge and truth, informed by the Quaker testimony on integrity, we seek a community where each member acts responsibly and honorably in all activities and at all times. Acts of dishonesty represent a serious offense at Guilford College. The academic honor code is violated when anyone claims credit, implicitly or explicitly, for work and ideas that are not her or his own. Violations of the academic honor code include, but are not limited to, the list below:
  • Plagiarism. Guilford defines plagiarism broadly as presenting the interpretations, wording, images, or original conceptions of others as one's own without appropriate acknowledgement. Individual faculty members determine what constitutes "appropriate acknowledgement" within the context of their courses, either by specifically stating requirements or by acknowledging the standard practice within a given discipline. The charge of plagiarism applies to any and all academic work whether done inside or outside of the classroom and whether submitted as a rough draft or a final product.
  • Unauthorized Collaboration. Students may not combine efforts on any and all academic work, done inside or outside the classroom, submitted to an instructor as a rough draft or a final product, unless specifically permitted by the instructor. Although instructors should clearly define the limits of collaboration allowed, the absence of any instructions indicates that collaboration is not permitted. When uncertain, the student should seek clarification from the instructor.
    • In cases of unauthorized collaboration, any student giving aid is as responsible as the recipient, unless the former is unaware that they have provided aid. A student who seeks unauthorized aid is responsible for participating in unauthorized collaboration whether the aid was given or received. The charge of unauthorized collaboration applies to any and all academic work whether done inside or outside of the classroom and whether submitted as a rough draft or a final product.
  • Unauthorized Use of Materials. It is the student's responsibility to ascertain what materials may be used in any and all academic work whether done inside or outside of the classroom and whether submitted as a rough draft or a final product. The submission for credit of the same written work in more than one course is not permitted without the prior permission of both instructors.
Academic Honor Code Process
  1. When a Guilford College faculty member, student, or staff member observes or learns of a violation of the honor code as defined in the Student Handbook, they shall report this observation or discovery to the instructor of the course in which the alleged violation has supposedly occurred.
  2. The instructor shall, by College e-mail or otherwise, endeavor to contact the student who allegedly violated the honor code to ascertain whether the student admits or does not admit responsibility for an honor code violation. At any me during the initial meeting or discussion between the student and an instructor or administrator, the student may request that the meeting be suspended for up to one week so that they may invite another Guilford College student or employee to this meeting to serve as their advisor for any or all subsequent meetings. The instructor or administrator may invite a Guilford College employee to any or all meetings. If the instructor becomes aware of an alleged honor code violation after the last day of classes for that semester, after making an effort to reach the student by telephone or email, the instructor may proceed without conducting an initial meeting or discussion with the student, if the student fails to respond within two days before grades for the class and/or for that particular student are due.                                                                                   
  3. If the instructor considers the alleged violation to be an academic honor code violation, the instructor must report and describe the incident in full to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, regardless of whether the student admits responsibility.
  4. If the student admits responsibility for an academic honor code violation, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall take the steps outlined in paragraph 6 below.                                                                                                                    
  5. If the student does not admit responsibility for an academic honor code violation, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall conduct an investigation to obtain the necessary information from the instructor, the student, and others to determine whether the student has committed an academic honor code violation. If the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs concludes that they have a conflict or should otherwise remove themselves from the matter, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall transfer the matter to the Provost, who shall, in turn, appoint a hearing panel to proceed as described in paragraph 7(c) below. If the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs does transfer the matter to the Provost, or if the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs concludes after investigating that no violation occurred, they shall notify both the student and the instructor in wring by College e-mail or campus mail.
  6. If the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs concludes that an Honor Code violation has occurred, either because the student has admitted to responsibility or because the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs has so concluded after investigation, the following steps apply:
    1. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall check the student’s record for any prior violations of the honor code.
    2. If the student has no record of a previous honor code violation, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will consult with the instructor and ordinarily impose one of the three standard sanctions (see Standard Sanctions section below), or a more serious sanction if one is stipulated in the course syllabus.
    3. If the student does have a record of one or more honor code violations, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs must impose at least the standard sanction based on the number of prior violations (see Standard Sanctions section below).
    4. In all cases, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs enters an honor code violation in the student’s academic record.
    5. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs reports this outcome in wring, by College e-mail or campus mail, to both the student and the instructor.                                                                                     
  7. The student may appeal a decision by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs that finds them to have committed an honor code violation. If the student chooses to appeal the decision, they have ten (10) business days from the delivery date of this decision to submit such an appeal, in wring, to the Provost. On the basis of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs’ written decision and the student’s written appeal, the Provost will decide, in their sole discretion, whether the appeal has sufficient merit to proceed to a hearing panel. Typically, sufficient merit to proceed to a hearing panel would require new, relevant information obtained after the decision by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or some procedural error so substantial that it interfered with the student’s right to a fair decision.
    1. If the Provost, in their sole discretion, does not conclude that the appeal has sufficient merit to proceed to a hearing, then the case is closed and the decision of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will remain in effect and will be followed.
    2. If the Provost, in their sole discretion, concludes that the appeal has sufficient merit to proceed to a hearing, or if the Provost has assumed responsibility for the case due to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs stepping aside under paragraph 5 above, then the Provost shall convene a hearing panel of three faculty (appointed pursuant to faculty governance procedure) and three students (appointed pursuant to student governance procedure). This panel shall investigate the case and collect evidence, including any statements, to determine whether the student is responsible for an academic honor code violation. Once it has made its determination, the panel shall report its conclusion to the Provost in wring. A copy of this report shall be available to the student and the instructor upon request.
    3. The Provost shall make the final determination, after considering the Assistant Dean‘s report (if any), the transcript from and evidence presented in the panel’s hearing, and the panel’s final report. Because the decision of the Provost is final, no appeal may follow their decision.
    4. If the Provost finds the student responsible for an academic honor code violation, the Provost shall affirm the decision of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or, in cases where the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs has stepped aside, shall impose a sanction under the procedure outlined in paragraph 6 above.
    5. The Provost shall inform the student in wring of their decision, by College email or campus mail, and send a copy of this notice to the instructor, chair of the hearing panel, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who will update the student’s record to reflect this decision and sanction.
    6.  If the Provost finds the student not responsible, they will inform the student in wring and send a copy of this leer to the instructor, chair of the hearing panel, and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who will update the student’s record by deleting from it all references to this alleged violation.
Honor Code Caution 

As an exception to the foregoing rules, certain instances of plagiarism may be addressed under their own procedures, as follows: Specifically, in a case of plagiarism where an instructor concludes (a) that the violation was due to the student’s genuine incomplete understanding of standard acknowledgment practice or of what constitutes plagiarism and (b) that the student has accepted an appropriate level of responsibility for the plagiarism based on the circumstances involved, the instructor may choose to report, but is not required to report, to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs that an honor code caution is appropriate. Upon receiving such a report, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the instructor, shall conclude whether to issue an honor code caution.

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall maintain an updated list of such cautions, including a description of the type of each incident. Entries in this list will not be considered part of a student’s permanent academic record. However, if a student is alleged to have committed a violation of the honor code that is the same as or similar to a previously reported academic honor code caution, this subsequent offense will be treated as an academic honor code violation with no possibility of resulting in a caution. The Assistant Dean will determine whether an alleged violation will be considered the same as or similar to one that previously resulted in a caution. The Assistant Dean’s determination will be final and may not be appealed.

In cases of plagiarism, the instructor should offer to work with the student to address the relevant honor code issues in an educational fashion, and will grade the student’s work as the instructor considers appropriate and as is consistent with the course syllabus.

Instances of plagiarism that the instructor concludes are not the result of the student’s genuine incomplete understanding of standard acknowledgment practice or of what constitutes plagiarism, or instances of plagiarism for which the student does not accept an appropriate level of responsibility based on the circumstances involved, shall be handled as all other alleged violations of the honor code, and the provisions of paragraphs 1-7 above shall be followed.

Standard Sanctions

First offense: F or zero on the assignment Second offense: F in the course Third offense: F in the course and Suspension or Dismissal from Guilford College

NOTE: Instructors may direct specific, even if more severe, penalties for academic honor code violations in any particular course that they are teaching. Such penalties should be specified in the course syllabus or in some other written form of communication from the instructor to the students in that course.

Excerpted from the Guilford College Student Handbook 2018-19, pages 12-17.