Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Developing Tomorrow's Leaders
Department of Psychology

Honor Code

The Psychology Department has adopted an Honor Code.  It is expected that students be familiar with, and abide by, the Honor Code.

Students who are testing, counseling, or otherwise performing psychological activities as part of their academic program are bound by the ethical standards of psychologists. You are obliged to familiarize yourself with these ethical standards. Copies are available for your review in the department office. Also, you should become familiar with the departmentally developed Guidelines for Ethical Use of Counseling Techniques by Students in the Department of Psychology and Guidelines for Courses which Utilize Experiential Teaching Techniques.

Under the Human Subjects Research Guidelines of Mansfield University, research projects undertaken by students or faculty must be approved prior to the involvement of human subjects. The review process is intended for the protection of human subjects in any study. Forms for initiating a review of proposals are available from your professor or in the department office. Students planning to undertake any research are generally advised to familiarize themselves with both the guidelines of the university and the standards of the American Psychological Association.

Students and faculty of the Mansfield University Psychology Department hold and publicly communicate shared beliefs in:

  • respect for all members of the learning community regardless of rank, academic level, status, or background and an appreciation for the intelligence and unique contributions of each member of the learning community

  • the integrity of the academic learning process and the primary responsibility each student has to maintain honesty and integrity in his or her own work

  • recognition of accomplishments honestly and fairly earned by each individual

  • appreciation for the mutual impact that all learning community members have on each other and on the success of the overall academic endeavor and that dishonesty and cheating diminish not only the individual but the integrity of the whole community

Based on these beliefs, we hold the following mutually agreed upon commitments:

  • It is a violation of this Honor Code to:
    • engage in plagiarism, defined as presenting as one's own the ideas, words, or works of another person without proper acknowledgment of the source,
    • use work submitted for one course in another course without the explicit approval of both instructors involved,
    • receive or provide assistance in a manner that is not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for academic evaluation including examinations, tests, quizzes, papers, class projects or reports. This includes giving or receiving information about a quiz, test, or exam, when there are multiple administrations of the same test at different times.

  • Instructors are expected to explain in class and on their syllabi their policies regarding acceptable types of help that can be used for assigned activities and tests. It is the responsibility of the student to know and understand those policies and this Honor Code.

  • If one student observes another student engaging in any academic dishonesty, it is the observer's responsibility to take appropriate action. Students are encouraged to first, if possible, speak directly to the person observed violating this honor code and both educate them about appropriate behavior and to ask them to cease the behavior. If the behavior persists students should discuss the situation with the professor who is directly affected by the violation. Professors agree to protect the confidentiality of any students who bring information about a breach of the Honor Code to their attention.

  • Students are encouraged to follow these guidelines by pledging at the beginning of each psychology course to: "recognize and fulfill my responsibilities, as defined in the Honor Code, and to maintain the integrity of both myself and the greater academic community."

To this end we have publicly reviewed and affirmed these commitments by vote of the members of this learning community, this 3rd Day of December, 1999.

*Portions of this Honor Code were adapted from the Allegheny College Honor Code

 
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