The debate over the undergraduate honor code took a significant step forward yesterday, when two faculty committees approved the creation of a new Academic Integrity Council to focus discussion of student cheating and plagiarism.
In a rare joint meeting, the Arts and Sciences Council and the Engineering Faculty Council almost unanimously passed a resolution creating the new council to facilitate discussion and education on academic integrity.
Although most of the professors who spoke during the meeting expressed reservations about the new group, its supporters described the resolution as an affirmation of the important role professors have in promoting honesty.
"We have over the past several years generated some real energy and commitment on this issue... What this resolution does is bring faculty into that process," said Elizabeth Kiss, director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics and co-chair of a committee that has been studying academic integrity.
The joint meeting of the two faculty councils was only the second of its kind, following on the heels of last month's meeting that focused on data from faculty and student surveys on academic integrity. This meeting centered around faculty feedback.
Professor of Philosophy Edward Mahoney, the lone vote in dissent of the resolution, said the proposal was not specific enough in describing how the new council will work. "It seems like signing a blank check," he said.
But the council is necessary to progress discussion on issues of honesty and fairness, said Owen Astrachan, professor of computer science. "It seems to me that the only reason not to endorse this [resolution] is that it creates another council. But it needs to exist because right now the discussion is really spread out," he said.
The resolution included a suggested model for the Academic Integrity Council-a fourteen-member committee appointed by the provost and consisting of seven professors, two administrators, three students and two representatives from the Kenan Institute for Ethics.
The new council will be expected to submit annual evaluations of academic integrity and any proposed changes back to the Arts and Sciences and Engineering Faculty Councils.
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