The University of Oklahoma Student Association (UOSA) Honor Council hosted its first-ever integrity forum Friday afternoon in Nielsen Hall. The forum featured a panel of six professionals in business, higher education, petroleum engineering, politics, religion, and law. The idea was to show students that ethics is something that's important not just during college but also for their whole lives.
"This event represents one of the many steps the University of Oklahoma is taking into spotlight on academic integrity in the university community," said Breea Bacon, co-advisor to Honor Council and assistant director of Academic Integrity Systems.
The directors and Honor Council members said they felt the need to host a forum like this because it has never been done. They believe that educating the community and showcasing successful professionals who have integrity is the best way to prevent academic misconduct.
"You will study your own profession's ethics, but it's not very often that we have a panel of folks from a variety of different professions to talk about what's different and what's the same in their respective fields," said Gregory Heiser, director of Academic Integrity Systems. Heiser is also co-advisor to the Honor Council and associate provost.
Hannah Morris, a political science sophomore, said it was helpful in reaffirming the idea that one has to have integrity in order to be successful and in order to be a good contributor to society.
According to its website, the purpose of the Honor Council is to affirm the academic integrity of the students, aspire to an environment of integrity created and upheld by the actions and values of students, recognize the urgency of a commitment to the highest standards of Academic Integrity and to resolve to make academic integrity a source of pride for the students.
The responsibility of the Honor Council members is to educate students about academic integrity, review academic misconduct cases and participate in academic misconduct hearings. The council is also a chapter of the Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium.
Although the Honor Council will change its name to the Integrity Council In the spring of 2010 due to previous confusion with the Honors College, its function will remain the same.
More information on the Honor Council can be found at www.ou.edu/honorcouncil.
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