The Trinity Collegiate Honor System

Having an Honor System to correspond with rules to govern a student body is one of the most time honored traditions in the academic realm.  From the university level to the most prestigious of private schools, an Honor System is a tradition that not only holds students accountable in their academic pursuits, but also gives them specific moral guidelines which can assist in molding their young lives. 

Trinity Collegiate School is an example of an institution that holds a student’s honor, loyalty, and integrity above all else and seeks to maintain an environment that produces morally grounded individuals.  Therefore, Trinity Collegiate maintains an Honor Pledge that each student must sign at the beginning of every academic year that subsequently binds them to the words in the Pledge.

The process of dealing with accusations of honor violations through an Honor Court is a matter that is taken very seriously.  Each member of the Honor Court is nominated by his or her peers and is ultimately appointed by the Head of School.  If a student is suspected of an honor violation, then the student is referred to the Dean of Students and potentially the Honor Court.  If the Dean of Students feels that the Honor Court is necessary, then the following procedures are enacted and are strictly adhered to for the purpose of maintaining the academic integrity of Trinity Collegiate School.

HONOR COURT

COMPOSITION

The Honor Court (Court) is comprised of three seniors, two juniors, two faculty members, the Dean of Students (Dean), and the Honor Court Chair (Chair).  The student members of the Honor Court are nominated and endorsed by both faculty and other students and appointed by the Headmaster.  The faculty members are nominated by the Honor Court Chair and appointed by the Dean of Students.  Student member elections are held at the beginning of each school year, and once elected, the student will serve in this capacity until his/her graduation and/or reason is presented for him/her to no longer maintain this role.  Faculty members are selected at the beginning of each school year with their term running until the conclusion of the school year.  Both the Honor Court Chair and the Dean of Students are roles appointed directly by the Headmaster.

ROLES

Each student and faculty member of the Honor Court is responsible for hearing and rendering a verdict of guilt or innocence in cases concerning alleged Honor Code violations.  The Honor Court Chair has the primary role of ensuring that the court proceedings are fair and just, but has no vote regarding innocence or guilt.  The primary role of the Dean of Students lies in the prosecution of the case, and upon the rendering of a guilty verdict, will present the recommendation to the Headmaster for the final consequences.  Due to the “assumed guilt” in prosecuting a case, the Dean must not have a vote in the final verdict.  Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, it is understood that all members of the Honor Court are bound by the strictest of confidentiality in all matters concerning the proceedings of an Honor Court case.

PURPOSE

The Trinity Collegiate School Honor Code states: “As a member of the Trinity Collegiate School community, I believe that a commitment to personal integrity is critical to my own development and to that of our school.  I, therefore, pledge to abide by the principles of the honor code which are not to cheat, lie or steal, nor to tolerate these activities by others.”  The purpose of the Honor Court is to hear accusations of any violation of the Honor Code when called by the Dean of Students when no resolution can be reached between the Dean and the accused.

PROCEDURE

First and foremost, all persons accused of alleged violations of the Honor Code are to be presumed innocent by the Court.  The Court is only called into session if the Dean of Students has requested a trial due to evidence that indicates an Honor Code violation but that the student has maintained a standing of innocence.  Once the Court has been initiated, the following procedures will be adhered to:

1)  With all members of the Court present, the Honor Court Chair will present the charges to the Court.  The accused may have a faculty representative from their respective House present for the purposes of having an adult presence for their benefit.  However, this adult cannot be a parent of the accused and therefore will not be allowed to participate in the proceedings in any way.  It is at this stage that a member of the Honor Court must recuse him/herself if there is any personal knowledge or relation that would serve to damage the credibility of the proceedings and potential decision and/or undermine the authority of the Honor Court.

2)  Upon completion of the presentation of the charge, the accused will have the opportunity to present a plea of guilty or innocent.

3)  If the accused enters a plea of guilty, the Court will be immediately dismissed and the student will again meet with the Dean of Students for rendering of consequences.  If the accused enters of plea of innocent, then the Dean of Students will begin a presentation of the investigative process and relative facts concerning the case.  It is at this juncture that witnesses, evidence, and other relevant details may be presented to the Court by the Dean of Students.

4)  After the presentation of the evidence by the Dean of Students, the accused will have the opportunity to speak on his/her own behalf with the purpose of rebutting the evidence and witnesses that were presented against the accused.  The accused will be afforded the same amenities as the prosecution, with the ability being maintained to call witnesses, demonstrate evidence, and provide other related details for the purposes of defense.

5)  After the rebuttal presentation by the accused, there will be a final summation by the Dean of Students to the Court followed by a final summation to the Court by the accused.

6)  At the completion of the summations, the Court will then retire to deliberate the verdict.  The Chair will accompany the Court to such retirement, but will have no say or vote in the proceedings.  The deliberation process will consist of the members of the Court weighing all testimony and evidences presented to the Court in the case; nothing outside of such presentations should be considered.  The conclusion of the deliberation process will occur when the members of the Court cast a final vote of guilt or innocence that will determine the status of the accused.  It is essential that the vote is not cast until all possible avenues of deliberation have been taken to their logical conclusion.  The vote will be by secret ballot and a unanimous vote for decision is not required, only a majority of votes is required for conviction or acquittal.  The Chair will be responsible for the collection and final tallying of the votes.

7)  The Court will once again be called to order by the Chair for the purpose of declaration of the verdict.  The Chair will read the verdict with the accused, the House faculty member, and the Dean all present.  If the accused is indeed found guilty, he/she will have a final opportunity to address the Court and all present.  The convicted student and the faculty House representative will then be excused from the proceedings.

8) After the departure of the student and faculty representative, the Court will then have the opportunity to address the Dean in a recommendation of consequences.  This is only a consideration, as the Dean will make his/her final recommendation to the Headmaster, who is ultimately responsible for any final decision.  Additionally, as an informed observer of the proceedings, the Honor Court Chair will also be consulted by the Dean of Students for any recommendation to the Headmaster.  The Dean and Headmaster may consider many factors, including prior offenses, when considering the recommendation and final consequences for the convicted student.

9)  The process will be concluded with the Chair writing a brief review of the deliberation process for the purposes of elaborating on the affirming and dissenting opinions of the members of the Court.  This document will then be placed within the student’s official file to accompany other official documents that are affiliated with this case.  Finally, it is the role of the Chair to inform the members of the Honor Court of the final decision regarding the outcome of the proceedings.