By enrolling at Notre Dame of Maryland University, every student accepts and is bound by the Honor Code. The Honor Code is based on respect for the individual, personal responsibility, and honesty. It requires students, faculty, staff and administrators to uphold Honor Code procedure including the reporting of violations. Under the Honor Code, examinations have been unproctored since 1936. The Honor Code expects academic honesty.
The membership of the Honor Board shall include student representatives from Notre Dame's graduate programs. These representatives will be appointed by the governing council or School for each program. These students will sit with the Honor Board in all cases involving graduate students and in all meetings where Honor Board procedures and policies are reviewed. A faculty member who teaches in the graduate program will also have a seat on the Honor Board.
The Honor Code assumes that all work submitted is one's own, and, therefore it is agreed that:
- examinations and tests are generally unproctored;
- a signed pledge on the admission application, on all tests, and all term papers confirms the student's intention of academic honesty. Students write: "I hereby affirm that I have neither given nor received help on this exam, paper, or assignment." (Signature);
- class materials are not permitted in the testing area;
- cell phones may not be used in testing locations; and
- the student hands all exams to the faculty member in charge of administering the exam.
Violations of the Honor Code include, but are not limited to:
- cheating on tests, examinations or other class or laboratory work;
- plagiarism: unacknowledged appropriation of another's work, thoughts, or ideas, and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one's own written work offered for credit. This includes submitting work that was created, researched or produced by someone else;
- falsification of records or data: knowingly and improperly changing grades on transcripts, grade sheets, electronic data sheets, class reports, projects and other academically-related work;
- unauthorized reuse of work: turning in substantially the same work to more than one class without consent of the instructor involved;
- misrepresentation in bibliography and footnotes; and
- dishonest use of computer facilities: unauthorized or unacknowledged use of a computer file, program, account or log-in name or password.
Students taking courses at other colleges or universities are required to acquaint themselves with the academic and non-academic regulations of that college or university.
Faculty members who have reasonable proof of a violation of the Honor Code are to approach the student, learn the facts and report the incident within 48 hours to the Dean in the School of Education, Program Director/ Chair in the School of Arts, Science, and Business, and Associate Dean in the School of Nursing, who will advise the faculty member on the next course of action.
Graduate students are expected to adhere to Notre Dame's Code of Behavioral Standards (section in Honor Code). Refer to B08.01 Disruption of the Educational Process which prohibits “Disruption or obstruction of teaching, studying, research, administration, sponsored social programs, fire policy, emergency services, and other University activities.”