Academic Honor and Integrity
The Honor System
The honesty, trustworthiness, and personal integrity of each student are integral to the life and purposes of the Wake Forest community. This statement is embodied in one of our oldest traditions, and that is the honor system. When you signed your application for admission to Wake Forest, you agreed to live by the honor system at Wake Forest. In specific terms that means that you and every other student have agreed not to deceive (lie to) any member of the community, not to steal from one another, not to cheat on academic work, not to plagiarize academic work, and not to engage in any other forms of academic misconduct. It means that we can trust each other, and that we willingly accept responsibility for our own conduct and activities. This is a tradition that goes back to the founding of Wake Forest, and with your participation, it continues to be a cornerstone of our community and our interactions with one another.
- Wake Forest University Student Handbook
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Guiding Principles of the Wake Forest Community:
Honor
Wake Forest University is firmly committed to principles of honor and ethical conduct. The Honor Code embodies a spirit of trust that pervades all aspects of student life. Each student's word should be worthy of trust. A violation of this trust is an offense against the community. Membership in the student body signifies commitment to the Honor Code and the judicial system. It is the responsibility of every student to act honorably in all phases of student life, to understand student rights and responsibilities, and to preserve the integrity of the Honor Code.
- Guide to Wake Forest University Student Government
As such, we embrace an Honor Code by which all members agree to abide. Wake Forest expects its students to know the Honor Code, pledge to support and uphold it, endeavor to make it an integral part of their lives, and promote its reality in the community.
Integrity
Wake Forest is committed to the development of character, integrity and a set of values for life. Our purpose is to see that you regard the education you are given as a trust to be used for public advancement as well as private welfare. Intelligence must be united with goodness if education is to serve its purpose. Pro Humanitate is the motto of Wake Forest, and the University remains committed for the future, as we have been since 1834, to an ethically informed conception of education and the educated person.
At Wake Forest, we are a community, and the concept of community directs our activities. We were born in a village in the forest of Wake County where we lived for about a century and a quarter. We try to preserve the congeniality and concern for each other born of our small town origins. Wake Forest University is committed to building and preserving an atmosphere of mutual respect among all campus constituencies and to instilling ideals of civility in its students. Wake Forest aspires to graduate responsible, courteous and independent people who are able to address a problem and work maturely and cooperatively with others to find a solution. With this goal in mind, we call on all our students to share certain expectations of conduct, civility and cooperation. We expect parents as well as students to share our efforts to promote a spirit of dignity and cooperation among all members of this community in their day-to-day interactions.
For information regarding violations of these principles please visit the Judicial Affairs website.
