Galveston Aggie Honor System
It is the mission of the Galveston Aggie Honor System Office to serve as a centralized system established to respond fairly to academic violations of the Aggie Code of Honor.
Integrity is a core value of society that offers hope, the promise of security, and meaning to individuals within that society. Within the university, academic integrity is the most critical core value of the learning community. Integrity makes trust among people possible. Without trust--and honesty that breeds trust--our society and our universities cannot flourish.
Learning depends on honesty and trust among students and faculty. Trust and integrity cannot exist in the face of academic dishonesty. Apathy or acquiescence in the presence of academic dishonesty is not a neutral act -- failure to confront and deter it will reinforce, perpetuate, and enlarge the scope of such misconduct. Academic dishonesty is the most corrosive force in the academic life of a university.
Truthfulness is also fundamental to the learning process. Academic dishonesty degrades the learning process; it depreciates the meaning of grades; it deprecates achievements of individuals. In an institution which has no academic integrity, the value of its degrees and the claims of its research achievements are bogus.
The Honor Code, based on the long-standing affirmation that "An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do", is fundamental to the value of the A&M experience.
Texas A&M joins other universities in affirming that honesty, truthfulness, trust, fairness, respect, moral conduct, and individual responsibility form the pillars of academic integrity. These ideals guide the conduct of the university community. They are critical to a community that values academic achievement. Cultivating integrity in the academy aids the lifelong pursuit of integrity. Commitment to integrity develops in each of us the will to make difficult choices, to accept responsibility for our actions and their consequences, even at great personal cost.
Thus, the Honor Code becomes the fundamental social contract within which the university community--its faculty, staff, and students--agrees to live. This contract requires from all of us the conviction, the commitment, the practice that the personal and academic integrity of each individual validates the intellectual work of the entire academic community.
The TAMU Aggie Honor System Office (AHSO) shall administer the Texas A&M University Honor System. The AHSO shall have the authority to create processes and operating procedures to implement the Honor System and to enforce the rules described in the following sections. In Galveston, the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs will serve as the administrator. This position shall create processes and operating procedures to implement the Honor System in Galveston and enforce the rules described in the following sections.
The Office of Student Affairs shall be the central office responsible for maintaining records and for coordinating communication, prevention, training, remediation, and adjudication efforts for the Texas A&M University at Galveston Honor System. Additionally, it shall provide assistance to members of the University community when questions or concerns arise pertaining to academic misconduct. Finally, it shall oversee the operations and functioning of the Honor Council, a body of students and faculty established to hear and adjudicate honor cases.
Maintaining Records and Providing Assistance
The Office of Student Affairs will be the central office for maintaining records and providing assistance with cases. Students and instructors may call the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs for clarification and assistance when reporting, or in the case of instructors, when adjudicating an alleged violation of the Honor Code.
Q-Drop and Withdrawal Policy for Alleged Students
Students who are accused of an Honor Code violation may not Q-drop or withdraw from the course in which the alleged behavior occurred. After a case is adjudicated and the student is found not responsible, the student may be allowed to Q-drop or withdraw from the course. A class previously Q-dropped or a class from which the student has previously withdrawn may be reinstated in a student’s record if a violation is found to have occurred after the student successfully Q-dropped or withdrew from the course.
Deadlines
The Associate Vice President for Student Affairs has the option of extending deadlines for extenuating circumstances.