Comparison of Honor Code and Non-Honor Code Classrooms at a Non-Honor Code University

Abstract

The present paper examines the effects of a classroom honor code at a non-honor code institution by comparing a class with an honor code (HC) to a non-honor code (NHC) class. The HC class had a peer-reporting requirement and unproctored quizzes and exams. The NHC class used traditional methods of enforcing academic honesty. Surveys were distributed to the students in both classes asking for self-reports of cheating and beliefs about the instructors’ attitudes toward academic dishonesty. Despite the increased ease and temptation of engaging in academic dishonesty in the HC classroom, results showed that there was no difference in number of students who reported cheating or in number of students who witnessed cheating in the two classes. A greater proportion of students in the HC classroom than in the NHC classroom perceived the instructor to be trusting and respecting of students, and to hold academic integrity as more important than other instructors. These results suggest a classroom honor code may be a viable mechanism for promoting academic integrity through improvement of the student-instructor relationship.