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Taking Care of Ourselves & Each Other

Health & Well-Being

Palo Alto, California, United States - August 13, 2018: aerial view of the fountain and Memorial Auditorium of Stanford University Campus seen from Hoover Tower Observatory. Summer season.

Previous Honor Code

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 Here you can access the previous Honor Code. The Honor Code below applies to cases filed before September 1, 2023. 

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 Access the Current Honor Code Here

Honor Code

  1. The Honor Code is an undertaking of the students, individually and collectively:
    • that they will not give or receive aid in examinations; that they will not give or receive unpermitted aid in class work, in the preparation of reports, or in any other work that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of grading;
    • that they will do their share and take an active part in seeing to it that others as well as themselves uphold the spirit and letter of the Honor Code.
  2. The faculty on its part manifests its confidence in the honor of its students by refraining from proctoring examinations and from taking unusual and unreasonable precautions to prevent the forms of dishonesty mentioned above. The faculty will also avoid, as far as practicable, academic procedures that create temptations to violate the Honor Code.
  3. While the faculty alone has the right and obligation to set academic requirements, the students and faculty will work together to establish optimal conditions for honorable academic work.
Decorative accent featuring eight dots representing the eight Neighborhood colors.

Sanctions for Violating the Previous Honor Code

Most student disciplinary cases have involved Honor Code violations; of these, the most frequent arise when a student submits another’s work as their own, or gives or receives unpermitted aid. The standard sanction for a first offense includes a one-quarter suspension from the University and 40 hours of community service. In addition, most faculty members issue a "No Pass" or "No Credit" for the course in which the violation occurred. The standard sanction for multiple violations (e.g. cheating more than once in the same course) is a three-quarter suspension and 40 or more hours of community service.

Sand stone pillars in the Main Quad of campus.