Ecclesiastical Leaders & Honor Code Office
Board of trustee policy requires ecclesiastical leaders and Brigham Young University Hawaii to act independently from one another. Ecclesiastical leaders determine a student's status in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The BYUH Honor Code Office determines a student's status in the university. Though the Honor Code Office works cooperatively with ecclesiastical leaders and strives to weigh their recommendations heavily in determining its actions, it must make its decisions consistent with its specified action-selection criteria and independent from bishops' and stake presidents' recommendations.
Ecclesiastical leaders, of course, are responsible to work with students who have transgressed, counseling and encouraging them through the processes of repentance, including restitution to those whom the students have offended. The university recognizes this responsibility of ecclesiastical leaders, and it recognizes that there are several appropriate ways for the students to make restitution to the campus community. Therefore, in no instance, as ecclesiastical leaders work with students who have broken the university's Honor Code, are they obligated to have these offending students report their misconduct to the Honor Code Office. But in those instances when they are impressed to have the students report to the Honor Code Office, both the students and their ecclesiastical leaders should understand that the Honor Code Office will consult and cooperate with the ecclesiastical leaders. At the same time, it will preserve the distinction between the university and the Church, making its decisions consistent with prior decisions and with its written policies.
Source: Statement read by Elder Neal Andersen at the Annual Meeting of the Area Authority, Ecclesiastical Leaders, and BYU Administrators on September 27, 1997.
