The following are letters sent to students who came before the Honor Council during Term 2, 2004.
March 31, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for plagiarism on your paper in ______ with Professor ______. The entirety of your paper was taken verbatim from an internet source. By plagiarizing, you have attempted to unfairly advance your academic performance in this class.
As discussed and agreed upon during the sanctioning conference on March 31, 2004, your sanction will be 0 on the assignment and an F in the course. This sanction is consistent with past cases of extensive plagiarism of this sort.
*Be advised that should you be found in violation of the Honor Code again, this letter will be used in determining an appropriate sanction.
*The Council wishes to remind you of the importance of confidentiality. Details from the hearing may not be released without the consent of all individuals involved. This includes students and professors.
*Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. The Council trusts that you recognize the seriousness of the violation and the threat it poses to the Lawrence University Honor system. Please do not hesitate to contact any member of the Honor Council or Dean Hemwall with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 1, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for collaboration on your final exam in ______ with Professor ______.
______, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends. There were too many similarities between your exam and the exam of ______ which could not be accounted for merely by common preparation. The answers were very similar in language, style, and format. In some cases the common mistakes were not only similar, but identical and incorrect. Because this is your second violation, you have been assigned a sanction of zero on the exam and an F in the course. The sanction represents the severity of the violation and is consistent with the sanctions attached to similar violations in the past.
***
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 1, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for collaboration on your final exam in ______ with Professor ______.
______, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends. There were too many similarities between your exam and the exam of ______ which could not be accounted for merely by common preparation. The answers were very similar in language, style, and format. In some cases the common mistakes were not only similar, but identical and incorrect. Consequently, you have been assigned a sanction of zero on the exam and a one-letter grade reduction in the course. The sanction represents the severity of the violation and is consistent with the sanctions attached to similar violations in the past.
***
You may appeal this decision to the President of the University within one week of receiving this letter.
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 1, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code on your final exam in ______with Professor ______.
______, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends. There were a number of instances on your exam where the answer could not have been the result of the calculations demonstrated or as a result of your explanation during the hearing process. Consequently, you have been assigned a sanction of zero on the exam and a one-letter grade reduction in the course. The sanction represents the severity of the violation and is consistent with the sanctions attached to similar violations in the past.
***
You may appeal this decision to the President of the University within one week of receiving this letter.
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 1, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for plagiarism on your term paper in ______with Professor ______. Your entire paper was taken verbatim from sources you found on the internet which you did not quote or cite. In addition, we found that what quotations you did use were attributed to the wrong authors. By doing so, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends.
As discussed and agreed upon during the sanctioning conference on April 1, 2004, your sanction will be 0 on the assignment and an F in the course. This sanction is consistent with past precedent of extensive plagiarism of this sort.
***
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 2, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for collaboration on your 4th problem set in ______with Professor ______.
______, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends. Your collaboration on your problem set with ______violated the parameters established by the Professor. Furthermore, collaboration of this sort is unfair to the other students in the class who followed the guidelines outlined in the syllabus.
Consequently, you have been assigned a sanction of zero on the assignment. The sanction represents the severity of the violation. The council is sensitive to your medical condition, however, we expect you to take appropriate measures to avoid situations like this in the future. You should consult with the course instructor, Dean Hemwall, or Dean Gajewski regarding appropriate work with classmates or other students. In the future, this medical condition will no longer be considered a mitigating circumstance if you should come before the council again.
***
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 2, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for collaboration on your 4th problem set in ______with Professor ______.
______, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends. You actively pursued assistance that was explicitly prohibited in the syllabus, and this was reflected in your work. Please note that this sort of collaboration is unfair to the students in the class who followed the guidelines outlined in the syllabus.
Consequently, you have been assigned a sanction of zero on the assignment and a one-letter grade reduction in the course. The sanction represents the severity of the violation and is consistent with the sanctions attached to similar violations in the past.
***
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 2, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for plagiarism on your paper in ______ with Professor ______. Almost your entire paper was copied verbatim from an outside source which you failed to cite at all. By doing so, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends.
As discussed and agreed upon during the sanctioning conference on April 2, 2004, your sanction will be 0 on the assignment and an F in the course. This sanction is consistent with past precedent of extensive plagiarism of this sort.
***
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 6, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for plagiarism on your term paper in ______with Professor ______. The majority of your paper, including the argument, was taken from a number of sources. There was evidence that you took verbatim quotes from the articles and attempted to make them appear as your own words. The council understands that you faced extraordinary circumstances while writing this paper, but we also believe that you failed to use the resources available for students in your situation. By plagiarizing, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends.
As discussed and agreed upon during the sanctioning conference on April 5, 2004, your sanction will be 0 on the paper and an F in the course. This sanction is consistent with past precedent of extensive plagiarism of this sort.
***
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 9, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for receiving inappropriate assistance on your essay in ______with Professor ______.
______, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends. You violated the course guidelines by not acknowledging the help on your essay and the help you received gave you an unfair advantage. The work in your paper is a false representation.
Consequently, you have been assigned a sanction of zero on the assignment and a one-letter grade reduction in the course. Additionally, there is an educational sanction. You must meet with Dean Gajewski by May 1, 2004, to discuss use of appropriate forms of assistance for your writing. In the event that you fail to meet with him, your sanction will be changed to a two-letter grade reduction in the course. The sanction represents the severity of the violation and is consistent with the sanctions attached to similar violations in the past.
***
You may appeal this decision to the President of the University within one week of receiving this letter.
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
April 14, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for violating your exam parameters in ______with Professor ______.
______, you have unfairly violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends. Despite clear instructions from the professor to take the exam in ______, you chose to leave the room with your exam for almost one-half hour.
Consequently, you have been assigned a sanction of a half-letter grade reduction on the exam. Additionally as an educational sanction, you will be required to take all your mid-terms and finals under proctored conditions under consultation with the Student Academic Services office for the remainder of this term and the entirety of Term I, 2004. Failure to make these arrangements will result in reconsideration of your sanction by the council. We want to warn you that any further violation of the honor code will result in suspension from the university.
***
You may appeal this decision to the President of the University within one week of receiving this letter.
Sincerely,
The Honor Council
June 11, 2004
Dear ______,
You have not been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code
Though you have not been found in violation of the Honor Code, we hope you understand that it is every Lawrence community member’s responsibility to uphold the Honor System. By doing so we protect every student’s right to a fair and honest academic environment.
The Council also wishes to remind you of the importance of confidentiality. Details from the hearing may not be released without the consent of all individuals involved. This includes students and professors.
Sincerely,
Ann Miller, chair
June 11, 2004
Dear ______:
You have been found in violation of the Lawrence University Honor Code for plagiarism on your final paper in a ______tutorial with Professor ______.
______, you have unfairly advanced your academic performance and violated the mutual trust between students and faculty upon which the University depends. Your entire paper was taken verbatim from another student’s historiography paper. Considering the egregiousness of the plagiarism and the fact that you jeopardized the honor of another student, you have been assigned a sanction of zero on the paper and an F in the course. Additionally, because this is your second violation, we are recommending to the Faculty Subcommittee on Administration that you receive a two term suspension. This tutorial was specially designed by a professor to make up a required course, which you failed due to a previous violation. Because you exploited this opportunity, we are also recommending to the Faculty Subcommittee on Administration that you not be allowed to participate in Commencement. The sanction represents the severity of the violation and is consistent with the sanctions attached to similar violations in the past.
***
You may appeal this decision to the President of the University within one week of receiving this letter.
Sincerely,
The Honor Council