Persuasive Essay Sample: Waterbury Arts Magnet School Should Implement an Honor Code

Integrity and honesty have been an ongoing issue among higher levels of education and it is only increasing by the year. In particular, cheating is a growing issue even more so now with technology becoming more and more accessible every day. However, honor codes have been a huge factor in helping this issue by teaching students academic honorability and integrity. In my opinion, Waterbury Arts Magnet School should implement an honor code because it would benefit the student body by instilling integrity, equality, and  responsibility within each student.

Waterbury Arts Magnet School would benefit from the implication of an honor code system because it would allow students to understand the value of academic integrity and  responsibility as a student. “ Colleges where the academic integrity policy is basically dedicated to students and where students play little to no role in promoting academic integrity or adjudicating suspected incidents of cheating” (McCabe and Pavela). When the honor code is forced upon students and when there is little to no participation, incidents of cheating are reported. This shows the importance of an honor code and when it is not implemented, the rate of cheating incidents that are reported not only increase but make students respect the system less. Therefore, by allowing students to be involved, it teaches them to be responsible and to understand the importance of an honor code and how it does and will benefit them in the future.  “ Except for most cheating behaviors that most students consider trivial (e.g,, unpermitted collaboration on graded assignments), we see significantly less self-reported cheating on campuses with honor codes compared to those without such codes” (McCabe and Pavela). This shows the academic integrity that students are gaining from honor codes being in the syllabus because there have been much less cheating reports compared to schools without these systems. Honor code is teaching these students to not do unethical things and with these lessons, students are learning that there are serious ramifications such as suspension or expulsion if they naturally fall back on these habits in college or even in jobs. Educating students on how and why it can negatively impact their future is really why the honor code is effective. 

Waterbury Arts Magnet School should implement an honor code system because it also allows students to prepare for the harsher policies that higher education has while still being unbiased and dependable for students. “88% of students believe that failure on the assignment was a reasonable sanction for a violation of the honor code” (Sledge and Pringle). Out of 275 responses provided by students, 88% of students believe that failure on assignments is a fair reason for a violation of the honor code. This number is not a coincidence. It is because an honor code is and can be fair to all students. This shows that students can have a say in what they want in the code rules and that these types of punishments are what honor code is trying to teach students to avoid. “ 65% of students say that the honor system is discussed in class and on the syllabus” (Sledge and Pringle). Also from the responses, 65% of students say that this is discussed on the syllabus and in class. This also shows equality in the honor code because students have listened to the rules of the system and know what the purpose of the honor code is . This is to help students get on the right track, teach integrity, show the importance of the code, and how it is something that should be taken seriously by students. 

One might say that implementing an honor code system is excessive for its requirements and that students should not feel obligated to confront peers and create friction over something that is not their responsibility. However, honor code systems can always be revised to accommodate the student body. By the revision of an honor code, it allows students to be more involved in their educational rights. “After much discussion and debate in class and Senate meetings, the proposal was revised to eliminate any formal disciplinary actions, although the expectations to take action if one witnessed or knew about any dishonest behavior still existed” (Vangelli). This goes against the opposition of an honor code because it shows the inclusivity that it provides as well as the equality that goes into making decisions that involve changes to the code. It also shows the balance in the system and how even though there is going to be change in the way the rules are handled, it still does need to have violations that simply cannot be changed because it is still put in place to enforce integrity and structure. “ In signing this pledge of honor, students have reminders of these moral values and a responsibility to perform honestly in the school environment. The revised pledge of honor also helped gain student approval for the honor code” (Vangelli).  According to the statement, this revision allows students to trust the honor code more and with this trust the honor code will be more effective when students give it a chance. This also supports the initial claim of honor codes being inclusive and overall beneficial for students because this revision is a compromise of what students and administrators want with this system.

To conclude the thoughts provided in this essay, I believe that Waterbury Arts Magnet School should implement an honor code because it benefits the students in school and prepares them for real world consequences. Honor code has been proven to be effective through data based evidence and a multitude of responses from the students themselves. Therefore, Waterbury Arts Magnet School needs to place an honor code system in the syllabus and help students get back onto the road to success.