Faculty advisory committee to honor system takes shape

The revival of a faculty advisory committee to the honor system is already starting to take shape as the University attempts to restore the faculty’s faith in the student-run system.

Less than a week after the educational policy committee approved a resolution for honor system reform, Jan Boxill, chairwoman of the faculty, is adhering to the resolution’s suggestions for immediate action.

The resolution is based on a report revealing faculty discontent with the honor system.

It highlights four major suggestions for the system. With the advisory committee, Boxill has already made headway on one of those suggestions.

The committee aims to integrate faculty into the honor system. Boxill suggested members for the five-person committee to Jonathan Sauls, dean of students, and Winston Crisp, vice chancellor for student affairs, on Monday, she said.

So far, three of the five faculty members invited have accepted. They are political science senior lecturer Donna LeFebvre, biology senior lecturer Kelly Hogan and French senior lecturer Valerie Pruvost.

The other two have yet to respond, Boxill said.

History professor Jay Smith said he is excited to see the implementation of the dormant committee.

“It is one of the most important, substantive and symbolic ways that the faculty can become more immediately engaged in the system,” Smith said.

Hogan said in an email that her direct contact with students will help her while on the committee.

“I look forward to being a link between faculty and the committee,” Hogan said.

Boxill has also begun constructing a six-to-eight-person task force to further examine the honor system after receiving recommendations from a subcommittee headed by Smith.

“I want to do a broader look than the subcommittee was able to do by looking at other units across campus, such as the academic center for athletics and the center for faculty excellence,” Boxill said.

On the task force will be the student attorney general and members of various departments on campus, including the departments of foreign language, English and the Office of the Dean of Students, Boxill said.

Boxill said she plans to include educational policy committee members on the task force, including Smith, and hopes to have it in place by the Oct. 14 Faculty Council meeting.

“Increased faculty participation is one of the biggest issues that I want to focus on with the task force,” Boxill said.

“The goal is to have faculty members be able to prevent honor system offenses, rather than react to them.”

Smith said members of the subcommittee and the task force must work to have a bridge between them.

“We want to see the task force instill in the University as a whole a greater sense of academic integrity and confidence in the honor system that polices academic integrity,” he said.

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