Lesslie Hitchcock, News Editor

Outdated and longwinded, the Appalachian State University Academic Integrity Committee has been charged with the task of revising the current Academic Integrity Code.

“The problem of academic integrity is not an epidemic, but from the statistics it could be construed as such,” said SGA Vice President Jake Parker.
 
Last revised in December 1989, the committee was designed to create a current code and implement honor codes for students to follow, said Parker.

“The current system is very cumbersome,” Parker said.  “It puts the responsibility of integrity on the faculty when it should be a community issue,” he said.

According to Parker there are two different types of honor codes being evaluated.

“First of all, the student should be responsible for their own integrity,” said Parker.

“The second type of honor code being discussed is the obligation that students have to turn in violators of the code,” he said.

The committee will rewrite the Integrity Code using ideas from other universities comparable to ASU, said SGA Chairperson of Student Affairs Stacey Bem.

In additon to writing an honor code to accompany the Integrity Code, the committee plans to  incorporate a university honor pledge, said Bem.

According to Bem, the pledge will be written by next week, and the revision of the Integrity Code should be finished by March.

After reforming the code, it will need to be approved by the SGA and passed on to Chancellor Francis T. Borkowski for final approval  Bem said.

Another option for approval is to take the issue through a student referendum, she said.
Dean of Students Barbara Daye feels that an honor code and an honor pledge speak about a university’s commitment to academic integrity.

“If it is not a commitment made by the whole university community, it won’t work,” she said.

Daye feels that students are in agreement with her in that an honor code will speak highly of Appalachian.

“There are a lot of good reasons and a lot of right reasons for having an honor code,” she said.

“It will only be as effctive as students make it.”

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