Every university and place of higher education has an honor code â a list of rules of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in academia. Here are some of things that a student at Baylor can do that is considered a violation of the honor code: altering documents, invading security, not obeying instructions of the professor, using another studentâs work, witnessing dishonorable conduct (and choosing to not report it), plagiarism and using notes for an exam. These are just a few out of many, and they all make sense, right? Outright cheating and disobeying a professor are pretty cut and dry. But there are some on here that I believe warrant further conversation.
The first of these is plagiarism. It seems black and white, but that is far from reality. When looking at the reports of plagiarism listed on Baylorâs Office of Academic Integrityâs website from 2007-2020, almost all the instances reported were described as âstudent submitted an essay for credit in containing passages taken from the work of another without properly identifying said passages or crediting the original author(s).â You can replace âessayâ with âdiscussion board postâ or âreflectionâ and it would still be the same thing.Â
Just think about this. How many times have you forgotten a parenthetical citation? How many times have you forgotten to introduce an author or source? And how many times has your professor pointed it out with no tangible penalty?
Isnât it just a little bit crazy that someone who outright copies someoneâs work word for word is being punished just as much (or little) as someone who simply forgets a citation? Those two things are not the same. So why is the punishment the same for both?
It is worth noting that not all decisions for penalties are decided by the Honor Council and that the majority are actually left up to faculty. Most punishments end up with the student receiving a â0â or failing grade for the assignment â which to some, may seem totally fair.
But donât we go to college to learn? We are paying money for a degree, to learn. How does it make sense to punish students when they make a mistake? Especially if they are paying to be here? How does it make sense to kick a student out of Baylor for two honor code violations when they are paying to be here? What if those violations were as simple as forgetting something?Â
If college is for us to learn (and if we have to pay to be here), shouldnât the university prioritize helping students understand their mistakes rather than punishing them for something that could be as small as leaving out a citation?
I am not here to say that there are no instances of legitimate plagiarism. I am just here to point out that there are multiple levels to what plagiarism is,and it’s unfair that all these instances are treated the same despite the varying magnitude of these violations.
This begs the question: why do universities insist on treating these things the same if they are so clearly different? I believe it is because they are trying to protect themselves and uphold their reputations. Rather than being an institution where learning can actually occur, they would rather uphold their status in academia. Obviously, this line of thinking is not applicable to every rule of Baylorâs honor code. But I think it is worth pointing out that the honor code does not actually benefit the students in any way and punishes them for making a mistake that can easily be fixed with the right guidance.Â
As of now, the honor code can be severe and sees no difference between big and small offenses. It takes accountability away from the professors who are supposed to teach these things and punishes students while they are the ones paying to attend the university.
I think that there is a much larger discussion to be had surrounding Baylorâs policy, and this article is just the start of it.