Princeton Abandons Honor Code After AI Cheating Surge

Princeton University's faculty voted to reintroduce exam proctoring, effectively ending the 133-year-old Honor Code that allowed students to take exams unsupervised. The decision, made yesterday, follows a sharp rise in AI-facilitated cheating since generative AI became widely available in fall 2022. The Honor Code, adopted in 1893, had survived world wars, the 1960s upheaval, Watergate, and the internet, but could not withstand AI tools that mimic writing styles and produce unique essays. Data shows the Committee on Discipline found 82 students responsible for academic violations in 2024–25, up from 50 in 2021–22. A survey of 501 graduating seniors found 30% admitted cheating, 28% used ChatGPT on assignments when disallowed, and 45% knew of unreported peer cheating. Professors are also reducing take-home exams (down by two-thirds) and introducing oral defenses and in-class writing. The shift marks a return to what an 1876 Princetonian editorial called a "system of suspicion and surveillance."