According to a recent report, cheating among college and university students is on the rise. However, Groveton College has successfully reduced student cheating by adopting an honor code, which calls for students to agree not to cheat in their academic en

Though adoption of honor code seems a good policy a first look, it is questionable on certain grounds. First, Policy given in recommendation relies heavily on students' ethic. Second, although dropping of cheating cases after adoption of honor code is a cogent factor, source of this reported drop must be conformed before reaching to any final conclusion. Third, direct student involvement in survey is also questionable thing.

Given policy relies heavily on student participation; therefore to conform the validity of honor scheme, it is important to know that are all students are following honor code or not ? In case if only few student or no student is following it, lobby of student may contrive a false deception, that they are following the honor code, but reality may be something different. Therefore, the first step to scrutinize this code is to have an ethical test of students participating in it. Once it is confirmed that this code is properly understood by students and they are convinced by it, then only, efficacy of this code can be further evaluated.

Besides this, evidence of decrease in cheating cases must be reliable; but, mere reporting of teachers doesn't seems to be compelling evidence for proving efficacy of this code. Perhaps, it is also possible that teachers may be concealing the truth to protect fame and name of their institute. Hence, background behind the teachers' statement must be evaluated; conformation that teachers' report is not affected by some other motives and gains.

Finally, we can not trust students' statements, because they are the actual one who would be held liable for cheating cases. Well, they may say that following honors code inspires them for not to cheat, but, they may be doing this to hide their involvement in cheating cases. You can't ask a suspect that whether he is criminal or not? can you? Actually, premises on which this recommendation is made, are based on doubtful assumptions. Thus, it becomes mandatory for recommender to provide necessary testimony and evidences that proves that reports and survey sources are trustful and reliable. In absence of this, given recommendation appears a deliberate canard developed by Groveton School for its publicity.