Purpose: The Honor System permits a student to atone for his or her mistakes by filing a "Conscientious Retraction" (a "CR"). A valid and complete CR involves the admission of a possible honor offense and can be used as a full, exonerating defense against Honor charges. The CR is an opportunity and not a right, and it must meet certain conditions in order to immunize a student from Honor Committee proceedings.

A. A CR must be valid-it must be submitted before a student has reason to believe that the relevant act has come under suspicion by anyone.

B. A CR must also be complete-it must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1. The student has completely acknowledged committing an act that might be an Honor offense by:
a. describing the act in question, and
b. admitting that such act was committed intentionally.
2. The student has agreed to correct and/or make amends for the act in question, according to the following guidelines:
a. Cheating: admit to cheating to the instructor and comply with any conditions set by that instructor for academic reevaluation.
b. Lying: tell the truth to everyone to whom the misrepresentation was made.
c. Stealing: return all property (in its original condition, if applicable) to the rightful owner or provide monetary compensation if applicable.
3. The student has provided a signed statement from each affected professor or other individual, stating that the applicable corrections and/or amends have been made (except that, where the affected professor or other individual is unable or unwilling to provide such a statement, the student may explain the situation to the Vice-Chair for Investigations who may, in his sole reasonable discretion, decide to set aside such requirement in a particular case). Where corrections and/or amends are to be made in the future (i.e., following the Investigative Panel), failure by the student to make such corrections and/or amends will result in a determination that the CR was invalid, regardless of the outcome of any earlier proceedings before the Investigative Panel, and the Honor charges, if any, may be reported again reinitiated. (Language modified, October 16, 2005)

C. A student must submit the CR, in writing, to the Vice-Chair for Investigations. Where this requirement is not known by the student, or for other reasons the student is unable to make his initial admission in writing, a CR may be deemed to date back to the time that it was verbally given, if (i) it meets all of the other requirements of this section, (ii) it is followed by a complete written CR, submitted to the Vice-Chair for Investigations, and (iii) the person to whom the verbal CR was initially given signs a statement, to be attached to the written CR, explaining the circumstances of the verbal CR.

D. The Vice-Chairs for Investigations and Trials shall review the CR to see if the CR is complete, applying the criteria of this section. Then, if satisfied, the Vice-Chairs will sign the CR, and it will be considered complete. If the CR is not complete, the Vice-Chair for Investigations may send it back to the student for revision.

E. If the Vice-Chairs for Investigations and Trials have signed a CR, the student proceeds to the Investigative Panel if a case is reported initiated concerning the act in question. The question before such an Investigative Panel is whether, applying the criteria of this section, the CR is valid. If the Investigative Panel determines that the CR is valid, the student is not accused. If the Investigative Panel determines that the CR is not valid and a trial ensues, (i) the student may present evidence of the attempted CR to the jury in an effort to persuade the jury of its validity, and (ii) the accusation may offer the CR into evidence to establish the student's admission of the act in question. (Language modified, October 16, 2005)