Spring Break
Aggies with alibis
A&M aims to be consistent toward cheating with recent Task Force policies
By: Kirk Ehlig
Issue date: 10/25/04 Section: Aggielife
The Task Force compared A&M's punishment system to similar systems from other schools with the same amount of cheaters. It found that A&M was more lenient than other colleges, such as the University of Virginia, where students are kicked out of school with their school records deleted the first time they are caught and found guilty of academic dishonesty.
"Both faculty and students told us of wide inconsistencies between punishments across different departments and also in the 'tolerance level' among professors," Loudder said.
This and other complaints directed toward the old academic honor system led the Task Force to make a few changes.
One of the first changes led to the creation of the Honor Council, a collection of students and professors. The Council's creation has led to an increase in consistency when it comes to punishments. Instead of professors making the final decision on punishments, students who have cheated go before the council with a suggested punishment. The final decision is ultimately left up to the Council, which hears every case of academic dishonesty.
Instead of varied grade punishments, each convicted cheater will either receive a zero or an F* on his transcript. The asterisk stands for "Failure Due to Academic Misconduct."
"When (you) are assessed that F* on your transcript, you're also considered to be on Honor Violation Probation," said Dr. Nicole Bradford, director of the Aggie Honor System Office, which was created by Gates in 2004 after results of the Task Force were released. "(This) can have bearing on your financial aid, your ability to represent the university in any capacity and your ability to receive your Aggie Ring."
For details on the sanctions, students can visit the Aggie Honor System Office at www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor.
The only way to remove the asterisk is to take a five-week remediation course, where students learn about what constitutes cheating and the ethics and integrity involved in academic honesty. When finished with the course, students may have the asterisk removed, although the F will remain.
"Both faculty and students told us of wide inconsistencies between punishments across different departments and also in the 'tolerance level' among professors," Loudder said.
This and other complaints directed toward the old academic honor system led the Task Force to make a few changes.
One of the first changes led to the creation of the Honor Council, a collection of students and professors. The Council's creation has led to an increase in consistency when it comes to punishments. Instead of professors making the final decision on punishments, students who have cheated go before the council with a suggested punishment. The final decision is ultimately left up to the Council, which hears every case of academic dishonesty.
Instead of varied grade punishments, each convicted cheater will either receive a zero or an F* on his transcript. The asterisk stands for "Failure Due to Academic Misconduct."
"When (you) are assessed that F* on your transcript, you're also considered to be on Honor Violation Probation," said Dr. Nicole Bradford, director of the Aggie Honor System Office, which was created by Gates in 2004 after results of the Task Force were released. "(This) can have bearing on your financial aid, your ability to represent the university in any capacity and your ability to receive your Aggie Ring."
For details on the sanctions, students can visit the Aggie Honor System Office at www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor.
The only way to remove the asterisk is to take a five-week remediation course, where students learn about what constitutes cheating and the ethics and integrity involved in academic honesty. When finished with the course, students may have the asterisk removed, although the F will remain.
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