Honor Codes: Evidence Based Strategies for Improving Academic Integrity

Abstract

Although there is evidence of cheating at all levels of education, institutions often do not implement or design integrity policies, such as honor codes, to prevent and adjudicate academic dishonesty. Further, faculty members rarely discuss academic integrity expectations or policies with their students. When cheating does occur, faculty members often ignore it or do not penalize students. In this article, we discuss the predictors of cheating and how honor codes can provide the structure needed to reduce both the perception and prevalence of cheating. We include a discussion of honor codes and their effectiveness. We provide evidence-based strategies to administrators and faculty to improve academic integrity across campus and in the classroom.