Many students possess common misconceptions regarding how the Honor Board functions. Meghan Slate, Honor Board Chair, has detailed the Honor Board process and cleared up these misconceptions.
“Sometimes when a professor believes that a student violated the Stevens Honor System, they reach out to the student directly and try to complete what is called a “faculty adjudication.” This is where the professor themselves chooses the penalty based on the publicly posted Honor Board penalty matrix. The student can choose to sign it or instead opt to go through the Honor System. If the student does sign it, it is sent to the Honor Board, which can approve or decline the penalty, but once a student signs it, they admit that they are responsible for the violation.”
If the student does not sign the adjudication, an “incident report” is sent to the Honor Board. The Investigative Committee Chair (ICC) then sets up a meeting with the professor to ask about the exam or assignment conditions to gain clarity on the expectations. Afterward, the ICC has a meeting with the accused, followed by a meeting with any witnesses. After these meetings, the Honor Board determines if there is enough evidence to continue with the case.
“Then, the Honor Board sends an investigation notice to the accused. Once this is sent, the Procedural Assistant (PA), also reaches out to the accused. The job of the PA is to help the accused with the procedures confidentially. The ICC sets up a meeting with the accused to get their side of the story. After speaking with them, the Honor Board is updated and voters decide whether to proceed again. During the entire process, the accused is allowed to confess, ask for a stipulated confession, or plead not responsible. If the accused confesses, then the Honor Board votes on the penalty using the penalty matrix which can be found on our website.”
The accused can appeal the penalty as long as they do not ask for a stipulated confession. A stipulated confession means that the accused signs off on a punishment voted on by the Honor Board. If the accused pleads not responsible and the Honor Board has sufficient evidence, the case goes to a hearing. “Before the hearing, there is an evidence exchange where the ICC shares evidence they have found, and the accused shares their evidence. During the evidence exchange, the ICC, ICA, accused, and Honor Board Chair are present. This is where an Honor Board advisor, the ICC, ICA, PA, any Honor Board members designated to roles for the hearing, sometimes witnesses and a randomly selected jury of Stevens students meet. The accused and ICC make opening statements, share evidence, and closing statements to the jury. The jury must make their decisions based strictly on the evidence of the cases and nothing else. Then the outcome is announced. If the student is found responsible, then they must follow through with their penalty. Penalties usually consist of a grade reduction and an ethics course.”
Meghan believes that there are many misconceptions about the Honor Board and has heard that students are too scared to choose to go to the Honor Board and would rather sign the faculty adjudication. The Honor Board’s goal is to protect students who are accused with little evidence and works to regulate how professors conduct themselves as well. For example, professors are not allowed to excessively proctor students, and every student has the right to stand trial by the Honor Board if they are accused of a violation.
“The Honor Board is here to help both students and professors. A lot of people don’t know all the work that we do, and it can be frustrating when professors think we don’t do enough and then students think we do too much. The Honor Board is to ensure that students have a fair chance to explain themselves when a professor accuses them of a violation, and we also want to help professors too if a student is found responsible.”
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