Academic Integrity in an Online Rice University Course

The purpose of the Honor System is to allow maximum freedom for Rice University students—including online Rice students—in the completion of all academic work, and to ensure the integrity of the work. When students accept this freedom and trust, they are placed on their honor to neither cheat on any assignment nor violate the trust placed in them in any way. Students demonstrate their responsibilities to their fellow students under the Honor System when they can pledge, in good conscience, that their work is their own and that they have neither witnessed nor suspect violations by others.

All assignments submitted by Rice University students—including online Rice students—related to coursework are covered by the Honor System. The instructor can and should decide how the Honor System applies to each assignment in their course and should clearly communicate this expectation to the students. It is, however, each student’s responsibility to understand how the Honor System applies to each individual assignment and the student should raise any questions with the instructor before submitting the assignment. It is the obligation of every student not to violate the system and not to aid in any violation. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of every student to report any violation seen or suspected.

For more information, including a non-exhaustive description of prohibited behaviors, please visit the “Academic Fraud and the Honor System” portion of the Honor System Handbook, available at honor.rice.edu. Keep in mind that, while the procedures for adjudicating accusations arising out of online Rice courses may differ from accusations arising in traditional undergraduate courses taught on Rice campus, the expectations for academic integrity are the same for all categories of Rice students.

Finally, note that the procedures outlined for alleged violations of the Honor System in online Rice courses are intended to aid Rice University in its efforts to ascertain the facts of a matter and to reach a just decision. They do not confer any contractual rights on the accused. Circumstances can differ greatly between cases, and Rice University may need to modify the procedures in any case in order to reach a timely and just decision.