All students are required to acquaint themselves with the provisions of the Honor System through the information in this Handbook. Undergraduate students may obtain further information from the dean of each school, from the Undergraduate Honor Council at Vanderbilt University, from the Honor Council website, from the Honor Council adviser or from Student Accountability, Community Standards & Academic Integrity (Student Accountability). Graduate and professional students may obtain information from the office of the dean of their respective schools.
Undergraduate students are subject to the jurisdiction of the Undergraduate Honor Council. The policies and procedures of the undergraduate Honor System stated in this Student Handbook apply to all students enrolled in undergraduate courses—including those that involve, in whole or in part, online learning—of all the schools and the Division of Unclassified Studies, whether full-time or part-time, or whether regularly enrolled, transient, cross-registered from a neighboring institution, or studying abroad. The Undergraduate Honor Council Constitution and Undergraduate Honor Council Bylaws, in addition to the Student Handbook, provide both policy and procedural information pertinent to undergraduate students and the Honor Code.
The Undergraduate Honor Council is an organization of students that seeks to preserve the integrity of the Honor Code at Vanderbilt University. It aims to secure justice for any student under suspicion of dishonesty, to vindicate his/her/their name if not responsible, and, if responsible, to protect the honor and standing of the remaining students by his/her/their punishment as set forth in the bylaws. The Honor Council bylaws use “guilty” or “not guilty” terminology. For the purpose of this section, “responsible” is used interchangeably with “guilty” and “not responsible” is used interchangeably with “not guilty.” The members of the Honor Council are selected from all classes and all undergraduate schools. Members are chosen through a system that includes a written application, interview, and election. Applicants must be currently enrolled, full-time students and must not be on academic or disciplinary probation. All Honor Council members must have and maintain at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA to remain in good standing.
The Honor Council elects its own officers during a general body meeting in the fall semester. The officers include a president, who must be either a junior or senior and who must have previously served a minimum of one year as a member of the Honor Council; three vice-presidents; and up to three recording secretaries.
Graduate and professional students are subject to the jurisdiction of the student body that implements the Honor System in the graduate and professional schools for the academic course in which misconduct is alleged to have occurred: Divinity School Honor Council, Graduate School Honor Council, Law School Honor Council, Owen Graduate School of Management Honor Council, Peabody Honor Council (for students in professional programs at Peabody College), School of Medicine Honor Council, and School of Nursing Honor Council. Graduate and professional students must check with their individual schools or advisers for further regulations beyond procedures cited in this Handbook, which may affect their studies and observances of the Honor Code. Student Accountability may investigate or consult on graduate and professional school Honor Council cases at the request of a school.