An Action Learning Perspective on Effective Implementation of Academic Honor Codes

Facing mounting evidence of academic dishonesty on America’s college campuses, many schools in the 1990s implemented academic honor codes to stem the tide. Previous research concerning academic honor codes and other ethics codes highlight the importance of enacting a more ethical organizational culture as well as involving many organizational members in the process. Through the illustrative case of a major public university that struggled to meet this normative goal as it implemented an academic honor code, this article introduces an action learning perspective on how the design and implementation of ethics codes can help effect change in the ethical culture by instilling and reinforcing the values of honesty and integrity. It is argued that codes must be designed with full acknowledgement of the traditions and culture present in the student body, with the involvement of virtuallyall organization members, to elicit a full understanding of the ethical culture system.