As an educational institution, Converse University has the responsibility and the opportunity not simply to punish violators of the Honor Tradition but also to equip them with effective coping skills and patterns of behavior. With this in mind, the Honor Board imposes sanctions that are relevant to the particular situation and that will promote growth for the individual involved. At times, however, the severity of the offense, or repeat offenses, requires punitive action.
Possible sanctions for all violations include but are not limited to: official warning, educational tasks, restitution and/or fines, failure on assignment(s) and/or failure of the course, suspension for a period of time, or expulsion from the University: often, sanctions include combinations of these. In the case of formerly enrolled students, if the Provost determines there is clear evidence of fraud or deception, a student’s grade may be changed. A change in the student’s grade may result in changes in academic status.
Faculty hold ultimate authority over final course grades. However, in the case of honor violations, the faculty grants authority to the Honor Board or Appeals Board to review evidence, determine responsibility, and develop sanctions.
Violations specifically connected to any academic work will include sanctions with direct impact on the course grade. The Honor Board shall ask the faculty member involved for a recommendation regarding the sanction for the student and will consider the recommendation when determining sanction.
- For a first offense of an academic honor violation, the recommended sanction may be, but is not limited to, a grade of zero (0) on the assignment involved, or a grade of F in the course. The Honor Board may impose additional sanctions which are not grade-related. Examples include, but are not limited to, writing a paper explaining the rationale for an Honor Code, performing community service, or a monetary fine.
- For a second offense of an academic honor violation, the Honor Board shall impose a sanction of a grade of F for the course in which the academic honor violation occurred and/or suspension from the university for no less than one long term.
- For a third offense of an academic honor violation, the student shall be expelled from the University.
Each Converse student is expected to respect and uphold the Honor Tradition of the University and thus abides by and completes any sanctions imposed upon them. Failure to fully and timely comply with and complete sanctions may result in additional action by the Honor Board, Appeals Board or the Dean of Students.
Dropping a Course with a Pending Honor Board Case
A request to drop a course will not be approved if a pending honor board case exists for the specific class. The case must first be resolved by the Honor Board.