Honor Council adds transparency clause

By Sarah Rutledge     11/13/08 6:00pm

Due to student complaints about the vagaries of honor code violation notifications, the Honor Council voted Tuesday to specify the information in the initial e-mail sent to students under investigation. Students will now be notified of the class in which the honor code violation is being contested before their initial investigative meeting with the council. The council hosted a mock trial Tuesday to show students how an honor code violation is dealt with, the result of concerns raised at its Consensus Penalty Structure meeting in October, President Jackie Ammons said. After the trial, the floor was opened to discussion and afterward, the council voted on an issue raised by students in previous weeks about the transparency of the process, Ammons, a Brown College junior, said.

She said the change will help eliminate some of the mystery in honor code violation progressions.

"This will relieve students' minds and calm them down a little bit, get them a little more prepared," Ammons, a Brown College junior, said.

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She said the issue was not brought up to the council before this year.

Ammons said the council was initially concerned about students talking to and involving the professor from the class if they knew the course in which they received the violation. Contacting professors from the class during the investigation process is not allowed by the council. Previously, students did not learn the course in which they received the violation until after the investigation began. However, the council decided that during the investigation, students could still theoretically talk to the professor of the course, Ammons said.

She said the council's decision was influenced by a student opinion article and students petitioning for a change in its processes. At the trial, attendees were free to take copies of the council's report of penalties and cases for the 2007-'08 year, which includes the amount of time it took the group to reach a decision about each case.

Ammons said the council plans to host study breaks at the residential colleges next semester where college Honor Council representatives will explain more about their process. The council will also explain more about Article XII, which will be voted on in the spring Student Association elections. Article XII, known as the honor code loophole, allows students with honor code violations to temporarily leave Rice before beginning the investigation without having any record on their transcripts.

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