Memoria College takes academic integrity very seriously since compromises to academic integrity undermine the whole fabric of everything that we are doing as an institution.

Standards

In the context of studying and writing about the Great Books, the principal concern is that students accurately represent themselves and their own work in the following ways:

• Accurate presentation of credentials.
• Observing the standards, rules, policies and guidelines established by the community for assignments.
• Honestly presenting one’s own work versus the work of others.
• Reporting violations an appropriate Memoria College official.

All these standards are outlined in greater detail in our official Honor Code, which must be signed by every Memoria College student.

Enforcement

Memoria College uses several techniques to ensure that the person who actually completes work is the same as the person who receives credit:

• A valid form of photo identification must be submitted during the application process, which is checked visually against the identity of the student whom we interview.
• Cameras must be on during class, ensuring the identity of the attendee
• Multiple core courses require a proctored exam at the end.
• The comprehensive exam at the end of the program requires a live video defense, ensuring that the student who can competently present all the material learned through the whole program is identical with the student whose photo identification we have on record at the beginning.

Instructors also stay alert while grading written assignments to ensure that work is honestly presented by students. They monitor written work for the following:

• Proper citation of primary and secondary sources—part of teaching students to be scholars involves coaching them in the application of professional citation standards using the Chicago Manual of Style, SBL, or MLA as appropriate for academic discipline. Given the texts-based nature of our program, we discourage the use of APA because it is less precise in directing readers to the exact location of a paraphrased quotation. 
• Text that looks like it might come from Wikipedia, generative artificial intelligence, or similar sources. Suspicious sentences can be checked against Google or artificial intelligence tools. 
• Third parties completing assignments. Instructors should consider whether there are sudden changes in a student’s writing style or ability from one assignment to the next or whether there is a marked difference in the communication of the student between live discussions and written work. 

Violations to any of the above carry, at a minimum, the consequence of a zero for any relevant assignments. In severe cases or in the case of multiple infractions, students may be expelled from the program. Judgments of all cases are made by the Academic Dean in consultation with any involved faculty.

Honor Code

All students at Memoria College agree to sign an Honor Code, which you can see below or download here.