The Honor Principle and Course Ethics

DISABILITIES Any student with a physical or learning disability or a chronic health problem for whom special accommodations would be helpful is encouraged to discuss with the course instructor the types of assistance the instructor might be able to offer.
HONOR PRINCIPLE It is vital that you understand the role of the Dartmouth Academic Honor Principle in all aspects of this course. Please inquire if you have questions or feel you need clarification on any of the following explicit dictums of the Honor Principle for your course. In particular, you should be aware that the Honor Principle is a two-way agreement: you agree, by enrolling in Dartmouth, to uphold it, and your instructor agrees, by accepting employment on the Dartmouth Faculty, to enforce it. You can also find the instructor's duties regarding the Honor Principle. Read them. Your instructor will follow them if need be. Bottom line: a failing grade is always preferable to a trip before the Committee on Standards. Don't screw up.

For these courses, there are specific aspects of the Honor Principle you must keep in mind:

Examinations Any of the numerous activities normally considered cheating is a violation. Examinations are in general not proctored; however, the instructor may be present from time to time during exams to answer questions that arise. Since exam graders do not have perfect records of accuracy, claims of injustice in grading will be carefully considered. The changing of an answer followed by the return of the paper to the instructor for reconsideration is a direct violation of the Honor Principle.

Laboratory The principle of academic honor is at the very heart of experimental science. Unless permission is granted by the instructor, use of another student's laboratory data is a violation. When use of another's data is allowed, the source of the data must be indicated. Fabrication of data or alteration of your own data to secure some desired result is also a violation. In the case of experiments where two or more students work together and data have been recorded in one student's notebook, a copy of the data may be made in the other student's notebook with an appropriate citation to the location of the original data. Any other material in the notebook which has been copied from any source whatever must also be provided with a source citation. The laboratory report must represent your independent calculations and individual conclusions. Of course, direct copying of any portion of another student's laboratory report is a clear violation of the Honor Principle.

Homework The problems you may be assigned that do not come from the text and that you are to submit for a grade must be your own, independent work and are governed by the constraints of the Honor Principle. These problems help you learn the material and help your instructor learn what you are finding difficult. They carry so little academic weight that submitting solutions that are not your own is the most foolish form of academic suicide.