GoKawiilKey Takeaways Princeton University will begin proctoring all in-person exams starting this summer, ending a 133-year tradition of unproctored testing under its honor code.
Cheating has become easier than ever, using tools like AI.
Recent survey data shows a disconnect between the honor code and behavior: about 30% of Princeton seniors admit to cheating.
For more than 100 years, Princeton University treated its honor code as sacred, to the point that outside monitoring during exams was essentially off-limits and a signed pledge was supposed to be protection enough.
Those norms are now changing, as administrators move to rewrite the rules in response to a wave of AI-enabled cheating.
Earlier this week, Princeton faculty approved a plan to bring proctors to every in-person exam starting this summer, rolling back a no-proctor policy that had been in place since Princeton adopted its honor code in 1893.
According to a letter from Princeton dean Michael Gordin, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the change arose after “significant numbers” of students and faculty encouraged it, “given their perception that cheating on in-class exams has become widespread.”
Gordin wrote that AI has made academic dishonesty far more accessible while also obscuring the usual telltale signs of cheating. He noted that students are reluctant to flag suspected cheating for fear of retaliation from their classmates. When students raise concerns anonymously, it often leaves administrators with too little information to follow up.
Princeton was one of a small group of universities that trusted students enough to let them sit for exams without a professor in the room, relying instead on a strict, student-run honor system. Another institution with a similar honor code is the University of Virginia.
Fighting against cheating
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