Dartmouth’s Honor Principle and Students’ Religious Observances

Dartmouth’s Honor Principle

The Committee of Chairs and the Committee on Organization and Policy requested that the Dean regularly write to all teaching faculty to urge them to discuss with each of their classes the operation of the Honor Principle and its specific relationship to the assignments of their courses. It is clear that there continue to be situations in which students express confusion about permitted activities. Specifically, these often include the degree to which discussion and collaboration is permitted on out-of-class assignments, the use and citation of sources, and the rules pertaining to examinations, notably take-home examinations.

I am requesting that you discuss the operation of the Honor Principle as it relates to your own specific course requirements with your classes. It is desirable that you do this in writing so as to reduce the possibility of any misunderstanding and to make certain that all your students are informed about your expectations. For your information, you can refer to Sources and Citation at Dartmouth College. All students will receive an announcement about it from the Dean of the Faculty and Dean of the College. Unlike its predecessor, Sources, this document does not give specific examples of how to cite in common formats, such as the MLA, APA, and Science styles. Although many disciplines represented at Dartmouth use these styles, citation styles vary among disciplines and even among professors within the same discipline. Departments, programs, and, if appropriate, individual professors may wish to adopt a style guide or handbook as a standard and indicate this selection on all relevant course materials. Two such style guides, The Chicago Manual of Style and Diana Hacker’s Research and Documentation Online, may fit the bill for most purposes.

If you have any questions about the honor principle at Dartmouth, please contact the Chair of your department or program or your Associate Dean.

Policy: Academic Honor Principle

Students’ Religious Observances

I am also writing to request that you provide students in your classes with written information regarding the ways in which you may accommodate students’ religious observances that conflict with participation in your course. I also encourage you to discuss such matters in a class meeting near the beginning of the term.

The Committee on Organization and Policy reviewed and recommended the following language for adoption on course syllabi:

“Some students may wish to take part in religious observances that occur during this academic term. If you have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please meet with me before the end of the second week of the term to discuss appropriate accommodations.”

I would also like to bring to your attention a calendar of religious holidays prepared by Global Service. This information may help faculty avoid, if at all possible, scheduling midterms, presentations, or other major class events on religious holidays that could affect the attendance of many students.

If you have any questions about appropriate accommodations, please contact the Chair of your department or program or your Associate Dean.

Policy: Students' Religious Observances