Honor System Shifts Leadership from Students to Staff

Posted on July 19, 2024

UNC’s Honor System, student-led since its inception more than 100 years ago, is shifting to a model with “hearings and related processes guided by University staff,” campus officials announced in a July 17 email.

The email, signed by Provost Chris Clemens and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Amy Johnson, cited concerns about the workload of student adjudicators, the amount of time it takes to reach a resolution and a complex legal landscape as reasons for the switch.

The email said the change was made “to ensure consistency across cases and to reduce unreasonable burden on student adjudicators.”

The new Honor Court system will include an advisory board of students, faculty and staff that will provide counsel and feedback to Student Affairs and student conduct teams, according to the email.

The change will align the University with peer institutions in the UNC System and in the Association of American Universities. Currently, UNC and Virginia Tech University are the only two student-led undergraduate honor systems in the United States, according to UNC’s Honor System’s Instagram account.

“These changes would aim to resolve potential concerns related to institutional risk and precedence inconsistencies created by not having a University official involved in most hearings or decision-making processes,” according to information in a frequently asked questions page.

The current Honor System has two branches, undergraduate and graduate and professional schools, all of which handle infractions of the Honor Code and the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance. Each branch has its own attorney general, Honor Court and Honor System Outreach branch.

The respective honor courts deliberate on guilt or innocence and determine appropriate sanctions after hearings of Honor Code infractions, according to the Honor System website.

The new model will provide opportunities for campus community involvement, according to the FAQ page. Available roles include members of the Honor Court’s Hearing Board and student advisory positions, at the peer and professional levels. The Honor Court Hearing Board is essentially a jury for the Honor Court.

Changes will go into effect “following conversations with stakeholders,” according to the FAQ page.