The number of honor investigations increased over the past year, according to case statistics released by the Honor Committee Sunday.
The 2003-2004 term case statistics reported that the total number of investigations rose from 48 during the 2002-2003 Committee's term to 76 during the 2003-2004 term.
"The most notable characteristic [of the statistics] is the increased number of case initiations," Outgoing Committee Chair Carey Mignerey said. "This year demonstrates a continued belief by both faculty members, students and other members of our community that the honor system is important."
According to Logan Moncrief, outgoing Committee vice chair for investigations, the average number of investigations each term is around 60, rendering the number of investigations in 2003-2004 higher than normal and the prior term's number of investigations below average.
Mignerey also attributed the increase to a decreased number of investigations during the 2002-2003 term because of a heightened awareness of the honor system, following the fall 2002 open trial of Adam Boyd and charges brought against over 100 students by Physics Prof. Lou Bloomfield in 2001.
"The students and the community were very much on notice on how active the Honor Committee is in protecting our community of trust," Mignerey said. "We have seen a return to a more normal number of case initiations."
During the 2002-2003 term, 20 of the investigations were against international students and during 2003-2004 term 25 were against international students.
According to Mignerey, there has been a steady increase in investigations against international students over the past several years. He attributed this increase to language barriers and other cultural differences and said the Committee has been targeting efforts specifically toward international students.
"Next year's Committee is also interested in this issue and will be taking our educational efforts for international students to a new level," he said.
The case statistics also reflect a decreased number of students voluntarily leaving the University after admitting guilt to an honor offense with statistics of 13 percent for last term as compared to 27 percent during the 2002-2003 term.
"I think that that is an anomaly," Mignerey said. "I don't think there is trend. It's more a reflection of the personalities and characteristics of the Committee members."
During the last term, more students were investigated for using the Internet to plagiarize, Mignerey said.
"The bottom line is that the Internet is not only making cheating easier, but it's making it easier to catch cheating," he said.
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