The Honor Code

The University’s Honor Code

“The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.”

The History of the Honor Code

There had been interest in creating an honor code for some time, but it culminated in a collaborative effort between the Senate of College Councils, Student Government, the Graduate Students Assembly, the Faculty Council, the SFAI, and the President’s Office during the spring of 2004. A proposed honor code was presented to President Larry Faulkner and Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson during the 2000-01 academic year after a resolution of support passed the Cabinet of College Councils. Support mounted when President Faulkner stated his support for a University-wide honor code in his 2003 State of the University address. Rusty Ince, the SFAI chair who proposed the first-draft, and who was later the Chairman of the Cabinet during the adoption of the Honor Code, attributed the measure’s success to the “coalition building” effort put forth by various student leaders and administrators.

President Faulkner announced the adoption of the official honor code in April of 2004, which states:

“The core values of the University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect towards peers and community.”

After the creation of the Honor Code, President Faulkner created the Honor Code Implementation Committee, which presented its final report in January of 2005. Its recommendations can be seen throughout campus: the presence of the honor code on syllabi, ScanTron forms, Blackboard, and admissions applications. The Academic Integrity Committee continues to promote the Honor Code through integrity-based legislation, as well as events such as IntegrityUT Week. The Honor Code has brought together all members of the UT community under a common statement of core values.

Links About the Honor Code
Announcement of the Honor Code by President Larry Faulkner
Report of the Honor Code Implementation Committee

The University’s Core Values

Discovery – Expanding knowledge and human understanding
Freedom – To seek the truth and express it
Leadership – The will to excel with integrity and the spirit that nothing is impossible
Learning – A caring community, all of us students, helping one another grow
Individual Opportunity – Many options, diverse people and ideas; one university
Responsibility – To serve as a catalyst for positive change in Texas and beyond