The Harvard Business School Community Values support the HBS learning environment and are at the heart of a School-wide aspiration to make HBS a model of the highest standards essential to responsible leadership in today's business world.
Community Values
It Is Essential to Foster a Supportive Online Learning Environment.
At Harvard Business School Online, we believe it is essential for all participants to exemplify and uphold the HBS Community Values in order to foster a supportive online learning environment where individuals can have open discussion, reflect on their thinking, and learn from each other.
The mission of Harvard Business School is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. Achieving this mission requires an environment of trust and mutual respect, free expression and inquiry, and a commitment to truth, excellence, and lifelong learning.
Students, program participants, faculty, staff, and alumni accept these principles when they join the HBS community. In doing so, they agree to abide by the following Community Values:
- RESPECT FOR THE RIGHTS, DIFFERENCES, AND DIGNITY OF OTHERS
- HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN DEALING WITH ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
- ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PERSONAL BEHAVIOR
HBS can and should be a living model of these values. To this end, community members have a personal responsibility to integrate these values into every aspect of their experience at HBS.
Through our personal commitment to these values, we can create an environment in which all can achieve their full potential.
Harvard Business School Online Honor Code
A Commitment of Honor, Honesty, and Stewardship.
The Harvard Business School Online Honor Code supplements the statement of Community Values and reflects the commitment participants make as members of the learning community to participate in, foster, and uphold the Harvard Business School Online Learning Model.
By participating in a Harvard Business School Online course or program, you agree to:
- Complete all work associated with the course and final exam with your own work and only your own work.
- Maintain only one Harvard Business School Online account and not let anyone else use your login and/or password.
- Not engage in any activity that would dishonestly improve your results, or dishonestly improve or hurt the results of others.
- Not reproduce problems or answers for quizzes, exams, or any other means of assessing participant performance.
- Not post Harvard Business School Online materials outside your course or program (e.g., publish screenshots of or videos from course pages).
- Act as a steward of the Honor Code and encourage others to do so as well.
If you engage in or have engaged in conduct that violates the Harvard Business School Online Community Values or fail to abide by the Harvard Business School Online Honor Code, you may be removed from a Harvard Business School Online course or program and be ineligible to earn a certificate.
Examples of Honor Code Violations
The following list highlights current situations and scenarios that are not permissible under the Honor Code; it is meant to be illustrative rather than comprehensive:
- Unauthorized aid in completing coursework. Widely available tools such as Grammarly or generative AI such as ChatGPT, Bing, Claude, etc, are allowed for help with grammar and spelling only.
- Representing work generated by others or by AI tools as your own. All sources must be cited; see this guide for examples.
- Inappropriate use of notes, including:
o Distribution or sharing of notes
o Sharing or receiving notes or write-ups from past participants - Plagiarizing, copying (or allowing another to copy), or in any way giving or receiving unpermitted aid on an exercise or examination. Participants should not share questions or responses with other participants, nor should they use any materials shared by past participants.