Orientation Week: Honor Code

For this assignment, read through the information on this page carefully, and then follow the instructions for the Gradebook Declaration that you will find at the bottom of the page.

The Class Honor Code: Do Your Own Work

In this class, there is an Honor Code that should govern all of your assignments. You will be working with a great deal of independence in this class, and I need to be able to trust that you are making honest representations of the work you do.

Reading Quizzes. The reading quizzes are meant to help you check on your learning, in order to make sure you are mastering the material presented in the course. You can consult your reading materials and notes while you are taking any quiz, but you should not ask another person to give you the answers to a quiz. Likewise, if someone asks you to give them the answers to the quiz, you must not do that: every person needs to complete the quizzes on their own.

Writing. Your writing assignments must be written in your own words. You should not copy from another source word for word. You also should not paraphrase sentence by sentence, making only minor editorial changes; that is also a form of plagiarism. To make sure you are writing in your own words, do your writing without looking at any other source other than your own notes and rough drafts. If you turn in plagiarized work for this class, serious penalties will apply; see below.

Gradebook Declarations: Your Honesty is Essential

In addition to the reading quizzes every week that you take using Desire2Learn, you will also have a special kind of quiz called a Gradebook Declaration. A Gradebook Declaration is not a quiz to test your knowledge. Instead, a Gradebook Declaration is a simple true-false declaration of the work you have completed for class. When you answer "true" to a Declaration, the points for that assignment will be recorded for you in the Gradebook. It is essential that you are honest in completing these Declarations, only taking credit for work that you have completed.

Make sure you READ THE DECLARATION carefully. I strongly recommend that you read the Gradebook Declaration OUT LOUD before you answer "true" and take credit for your work. When you answer "true," you are taking personal responsibility for your statement. If you have made a false statement - even by accident - the consequences are serious (see below). To make sure your answer is accurate, you should read the Declaration out loud, paying attention to each word and phrase in the Gradebook Declaration. If you realize after reading the Declaration that you have not completed the assignment, do NOT make the Declaration. You can simply shut the browser window, and come back and do the Declaration later, after you have finished the assignment.

You should NEVER do a Declaration before the assignment is finished. There are no circumstances of any kind that justify completing a Declaration before you are done with the assignment. I repeat: under NO CIRCUMSTANCES OF ANY KIND should you complete a Declaration without having finished the assignment first. If you have a question, problem or doubt about the Declaration, send me an email explaining the situation (and I will record the points for you manually if needed) - but do NOT submit the Declaration until you are sure that your work is complete.

There is EXTRA CREDIT for assignments you miss or if you forget to do a Declaration. If you are unable to complete an assignment or if you forget to do a Declaration, don't worry about it! Missing a few points here and there will not affect your grade, plus there are lots of extra credit options you can use to make up missing points. So, give yourself plenty of time to finish the work and do the Declaration before the deadline - then, if for some reason you don't get the Declaration done in time, you can do extra credit to make up the missing points.

Violations of the Honor Code

Violations of the Honor Code are subject to serious penalties in this class, as governed by the procedures outlined by the University of Oklahoma's Office of Academic Misconduct.

For a FIRST violation of the Honor Code - cheating, plagiarism or a false Gradebook Declaration - you will receive a zero on the assignment and/or you may be required to do some kind of additional assignment, depending on the specific incident.

For a SECOND violation of the Honor Code - cheating, plagiarism or a false Gradebook Declaration - you will receive a zero on the assignment and, in addition, a formal ADMONITION will be filed with the Academic Misconduct Office. You may also be required to do some kind of additional assignment, depending on the specific incident. The Academic Misconduct Office may also choose to apply an additional penalty, and the Provost's Office will keep the Admonition in your permanent file. You can read more about the academic ADMONITION process at the OU Provost's website.

For a THIRD violation of the Honor Code - cheating, plagiarism or a false Gradebook Declaration - I will file a report of academic MISCONDUCT with the Provost's Office. Once an academic misconduct report is filed, the Campus Judicial Coordinator will handle the complaint. Academic misconduct may result both in a grade penalty for this class and also in penalties assigned by the Provost, up to and including expulsion from the university. You can read more about the academic MISCONDUCT process at the OU Provost's website.

I hope the information on this page has been helpful. If you have any questions about this important subject, please send me an email. After having read this page, you can now complete your first Gradebook Declaration! Here is the text of the Gradebook Declaration you will find at Desire2Learn in the Week 1: Orientation section of the Quizzes & Declarations: