Selection of Members

Students can submit an application to be a Voting Member, Student Academic Integrity Fellow (SAIF), or both (nominees can submit one application for both positions). 

Following the close of the application process, Honor Council members will review applications and interview candidates.

We are looking for as broad a range of representatives as possible on the Honor Council. Applicants do not need previous experience with Honor Codes; instead, we are looking for honest, mature, thoughtful, and responsible students who can handle one of the most important academic jobs in the College—building and maintaining Harvard’s culture of academic integrity. Successful candidates will demonstrate responsibility, commitment to academic values, attention to detail, empathy, and discretion.  

Please note, membership on the Honor Council entails significant responsibility and is expected to be the major extracurricular activity for student members.

Positions on the Honor Council:

Voting members of the Honor Council are representatives of a renewed culture of academic integrity at Harvard College, and participation in the Council is both a position of community leadership and of great responsibility. Students work as equals with faculty members, administrators, and teaching fellows on the student-faculty teams that review, deliberate, and determine outcomes (as necessary) for cases of potential academic dishonesty that come before the Honor Council.  Voting members commit to attending at least one monthly case meeting and a monthly training and organizing session. During periods of increased volume, voting members may be scheduled for two or more case meetings per month. Case meetings are ordinarily held on Monday afternoons and often involve significant reading and preparation. Training and organizing sessions last a maximum of two hours and may require an equal amount of preparation.

Supportive and empathetic students are needed to serve as Student Academic Integrity Fellows (SAIFs) for the Honor Council. SAIFs provide trained, structured support for students involved in Honor Council reviews. Duties include providing support to students going through an Honor Council review by explaining the Honor Council procedures, helping students understand their options during the Honor Council process, offering feedback on draft personal statements, connecting students to resources outside of the Honor Council, and remaining a point of contact for the student following the conclusion of the review. 

In addition to supporting students throughout the Honor Council process, SAIFs serve as academic integrity ambassadors, explaining the Honor Code and extending our commitment to academic integrity throughout the community.