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Upholding Academic Integrity: The Writing Center Helps Educate Honor by Brian Fitzpatrick, MA TA While the main function of the Office for Academic Integrity may appear to be to punish students caught in the act of cheating, its mission statement explicitly states that its goal is to “promote and support academic integrity throughout the university community by educating its members, fostering an environment where students can be recognized for high levels of integrity, and upholding the university honor code through a student based honor committee.” This mission works to everyone’s benefit, Donna Fox, Associate Dean in the Office for Academic Integrity, explained, as the task of “promoting and supporting high standards of academic integrity on campus” involves educating students about Mason’s standards and what exactly constitutes academic dishonesty. “In many cases of plagiarism, the student simply does not understand what it is,” Fox said. “We always hope that students will act with great integrity. But, in those cases where there is a lapse in judgment, our Honor Committee can impose sanctions that stress the importance of integrity.” “Plagiarism is the most common type of charge that is brought to the Honor Committee for review,” according to Fox. “Students who plagiarize will often receive a sanction of working with the Writing Center to better understand what constitutes plagiarism and how to cite appropriately. Our goal is to educate these students so that they don’t violate a second time. Over the last academic year, no student who worked with the Writing Center was found guilty of a second violation. This tells me that the association between my office and the Writing Center is working effectively!” A wealth of information and resources for faculty and students, along with a link to the Writing Center, is available on the Academic Integrity website: http://academicintegrity.gmu.edu/.
Steps to take if you suspect an Honor Code violation
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