About the Honor Council

The Duke University Honor Council is charged with informing the Duke community about the meaning of the Duke Community Standard and promoting honor, integrity, and ethical behavior in university life. The Honor Council is supported by Trinity College, the Kenan Institute for Ethics and the Office of Student Affairs.

The Honor Council is composed of approximately twenty-five undergraduates from all four classes. Students are chosen annually through an established application and interview process. Students remain on the Council through their graduation. Faculty members and administrators also provide support to the Council in various ways - many of the programmatic avenues taken by the Council are done taken in concert with faculty.

In the past, the Honor Council has sponsored a variety of activities including but not limited to: freshman orientation to the Duke Community Standard and the judicial system; dormitory discussions on academic integrity; university-wide symposia featuring leading thinkers on ethics; administrative lobbying on honor and judicial issues; surveys gauging the status of academic integrity at Duke; and town hall meetings to establish dialogue on issues of honor at the University. The Honor Council does not adjudicate cases of academic dishonesty. Students who violate the Duke Community Standard are referred to the Duke Undergraduate Judicial Board, a distinct entity.