Grading a student accused of an Honor Code violation
The Faculty Handbook (subsection 9.8.2.1) states that faculty cannot adjust a student's grade due to a suspected violation of the Honor Code. The Graduate Honor System (GHS) has the sole responsibility to review suspected violations of the Honor Code, as well as to impose any penalty for students who have been found guilty of a violation.
When you refer a student to the GHS, you have two options for grading the assignment in question:
- You can grade the work with the assumption that the student is innocent.
- You may give an incomplete grade for the course or assignment in question.
If the student is found guilty of a violation, the minimum penalty includes a grade of "0" (zero) for the particular assignment, which may impact the final grade in the course. In these cases the course instructor must initiate the grade change if the final grade becomes different as a result of the student receiving a zero on the assignment.
When the GHS penalty is less than h or i, the right to assign any final grade is returned to the course instructor. If the course instructor had a grading scheme (outlined in the syllabus) that allowed students to earn extra credit, the instructor may allow the student to do extra work to avoid a final grade penalty. This decision is entirely up to the instructor; students should not expect to be afforded this opportunity if the instructor chooses not to give it.
If you have questions about a specific grading instance, please contact the GHS advisor.
