The department of exercise and sport science has become the first department at UNC to require students to complete an informational online assessment about the Honor Code.
In light of the recent academic scandals, this should be a University-wide program to ensure that students do not unwittingly violate the Honor Code.
While the assessment is also mandatory for incoming freshmen in all departments, students who enrolled before this year do not have to take the assessment.
All departments should also make upperclassmen complete the assessment as part of their major requirements.
The Honor Code is the academic law of the University. Violating it can have dire consequences, including suspension and expulsion.
But many students don’t know what the Honor Code requires them to do to avoid these consequences. There are a lot of gray areas where what is technically cheating might not be clear.
Obviously, this assessment won’t stop those who cheat intentionally.
But it might keep some students from unintentionally sinking their college careers.
Students in the department of exercise and sport science have expressed that for this process to be fair, the module should be a standard across all departments.