What are the origins of the Pledge?

The University of Maryland Honor Pledge was initiated by students. Hundreds of students signed a campus-wide version of the Pledge before it was officially adopted by the University Senate. The Pledge language approved by the Senate was jointly sponsored by the Student Honor Council and the President's Student Advisory Council. It was also endorsed by majority vote of the Student Government Association.

What other colleges and universities use honor pledges?

Students sign honor pledges on academic assignments at many leading universities, including Princeton University, the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina, Wesleyan University, Vanderbilt University, Rice University, Oberlin College, and the University of Michigan (College of Engineering), among others. Students also sign matriculation honor pledges at institutions such as Duke University, Georgetown University, and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

What is the Maryland Honor Pledge designed to accomplish?

The Honor Pledge is a community building ritual, designed to encourage teachers and students to reflect upon the University's core institutional value of academic integrity. Professors who invite students to sign the Honor Pledge signify that there is an ethical component to teaching and learning. Students who write by hand and sign the Pledge affirm a sense of pride in the integrity of their work.

In a recent course syllabus, University of Virginia sociology professor Jeffrey Hadden identified similar aims for the University of Virginia Honor Pledge:

Do honor pledges suggest students cannot be trusted?

No, student leaders at Maryland would not have developed the Pledge if it had that connotation. People who enter a profession or assume public office often sign an oath or affirmation. Doing so is considered an honor, not an insult. Likewise, Maryland students endorsed the Honor Pledge because they feel a growing sense of pride in the quality of the University. For them, the Pledge reflects their public statement of support for academic excellence, including the highest standards for academic integrity.

Is there any evidence pledges or public affirmations make a difference in attitudes or behavior?

Yes. The February 2001 issue of the Scientific American contains an article titled "The Science of Persuasion" (p. 76) by Robert Cialdini (Regents Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, and President of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology). Dr. Cialdini found that making "public commitments, even seemingly minor ones, direct future action." In other words, people who make public commitments usually endeavor to fulfill them. Additional support for this perspective can be found in national research showing that schools with traditional honor codes - including pledge requirements - have significantly lower rates of academic dishonesty than schools without honor codes. See "Some Good News About Academic Integrity" in the September/October 2000 issue of Change Magazine.

In researching the honor pledge concept, the University Senate Committee on Student Conduct also found that pledges generate strong support from graduates of honor code schools. Princeton graduate Don McCabe (Professor of Management at Rutgers University, and founder of the National Center for Academic Integrity at Duke University) wrote the Committee that:

This perspective has been consistently echoed by University of Maryland faculty members who are graduates of honor code schools.

How can an honor pledge deter someone who has already decided to engage in academic dishonesty?

Honor pledges aren't likely to deter determined cheaters. Most students, however, do not fall into that category. They cheat because they developed the habit of cheating in high school, or because they think "everyone does it" in college. One of the values of an honor pledge is regular reiteration of a campus-wide commitment to academic integrity. That campus-wide commitment can be reinforced by frequent reminders that the Maryland honor pledge was student initiated. Writing and signing an honor pledge - and seeing other students do the same - sends the powerful message that academic dishonesty is not considered acceptable behavior among students, and that promoting academic integrity is a responsibility students share with faculty members.

Why are students asked to write the Pledge by hand, as well as to sign it?

The purpose of asking students to write the Pledge by hand is to promote a period of serious reflection at the end of an academic exercise. The few moments required to write the pledge by hand reminds students that the paper of examination they are submitting is governed by the ethical rules of a scholarly community. Alumni from schools with honor pledges remember the wording of the pledge not only because it is reiterated, but because the practice of writing the pledge creates an unusual and deliberate context.

Are honor pledges burdensome to administer?

Administration of honor pledges is not unduly burdensome, as evidenced by long-standing faculty support for honor pledges at many sister institutions. The wording of the Pledge (with appropriate space to write and sign) is being printed on all University examination booklets and electronic grading forms. Faculty members simply need to explain the pledge requirement on the first day of class, and remind students to write by hand and sign the pledge when submitting examinations and papers. Experience elsewhere and at Maryland indicates that very few students will neglect to write or sign the pledge. Those who do should be given an opportunity to comply. Voluntary participation should be widespread once the pledge becomes an established custom.

The Pledge does not have to be included on all laboratory exercises and minor homework assignments. Instead, faculty members are urged to include the Pledge on all assignments worth 20% or more of the course grade.

What if a student refuses to write or sign the pledge?

Preliminary testing indicates that the vast majority of students will readily write and sign the Pledge, especially if they are reminded to do so in advance. The absence of a Pledge or a signature usually indicates an accidental omission, which the student should be given an opportunity to correct.

The Maryland Honor Pledge was reviewed by legal counsel, and is carefully crafted to respect the autonomy of individuals who might object to a pledge requirement on religious or ideological grounds. The University Senate resolution on the Honor Pledge states that "[s]igning or non-signing of the Pledge will not be considered in grading or judicial procedures."

If a handwritten Honor Pledge and Pledge signature do not appear on a paper or examination, faculty members should ask the student for an explanation. Doing so has the added value of encouraging teachers and students to discuss the importance of academic integrity, and the best ways to promote it. Students remain free to decline to write or sign the Pledge, and should not be penalized for exercising that right. Students should be reminded, however, that they are subject to the requirements of the Code of Academic Integrity, whether or not they write and sign the Honor Pledge.

How can a pledge be effective if it isn't compulsory?

The highest forms of moral development require freedom to choose, influenced by example and suasion, not compulsion. The Honor Pledge is meant to reflect a personal commitment. It should spark thought and debate. A principled decision not to write and sign the pledge - discussed and explained in an atmosphere of mutual respect - would likely do more to promote the University's core value of academic integrity than ritualistic compliance.

What if a faculty member is opposed to administering the pledge?

The Honor Pledge was adopted in conformity with the structures of University governance, after thoughtful debate. Faculty members are urged to implement the Pledge in good faith, as they would any other properly adopted University policy.

Furthermore, University Senate adoption of the Maryland Honor Pledge was the culmination of a significant student movement to promote academic integrity on the College Park campus. Cooperation with student leaders in this endeavor will promote a partnership in teaching and learning that can enrich the entire community.

The University Senate Honor Pledge resolution states that students should be asked to write by hand and sign the Pledge "[o]n every examination, paper, or other academic exercise not specifically exempted by the instructor" (emphasis supplied). Although it would violate the spirit of University policy to routinely exempt all examinations, papers, or academic exercises, faculty members have discretion to limit the Pledge to the most substantial academic work - such as assignments worth 20% or more of the course grade.

Finally, any faculty members who have reservations about the Maryland Honor Pledge are invited to discuss those reservations with students, and to encourage a diversity of views. The University's commitment to academic integrity is enriched - not inhibited - by reasoned consideration of alternative approaches.

What kinds of academic exercises should include a Pledge statement?

The University Senate Committee on Student Conduct, with approval by the Senate Executive Committee, has urged faculty members to include the Pledge "on all assignments worth 20% or more of the course grade." The Pledge may also be included on lesser assignments.