University of Virginia Library

Shift of Emphasis

The Honor System established itself in
the 19th century when the University of
Virginia possessed a decidedly
undergraduate orientation. During the
past two decades, however, there has
been a significant shift by the
administration towards emphasis on
graduate and professional study. From
the fall of 1964 to the fall of 1970, total
graduate and professional enrollment
increased by 77 percent (from 2410 to
4265), while total undergraduate
enrollment increased by 57 percent (from
4190 to 6576). And yet from 1956 to
1971 there was a remarkable numerical
consistency in the dismissals of graduate
students: 3 from 1956-57 to 1960-61; 4
from 1961-62 to 1965-66; 3 from
1966-67 to May 1, 1971. Honor
Committees over the years have
recognized and acknowledged a higher
degree of difficulty involved in the
orientation of new graduate students than
in the orientation of first-year
undergraduates. Leaving aside here any
attempt to explain the differences in
attitudes toward the Honor System
between graduate and undergraduate
students, this writer has reached the
definite conclusion that the more
pronounced the University's relative
stress on graduate and professional study
has become, in parallel fashion the
University-wide effectiveness of the
Honor System has diminished
accordingly.