These Core Values encompass the spirit of IUHPFL: 

• Appreciation – Acknowledging the qualities and kind acts of others
• Diligence – Focusing with enthusiasm on academic and personal goals
• Discovery – Being open to new ways of looking at the world and oneself
• Empathy – Choosing words and actions that express compassion and create connection
• Encouragement – Helping others to reach their goals and see their unique talents
• Honor – Acting with integrity and adhering to the Honor Code
• Respect – Treating others with dignity at all times
• Unity – Fostering team spirit and trust

In making the Pledge of Excellence, students agree to abide by the IUHPFL Honor Code and to do so in a spirit of teamwork. Students recite the IUHPFL Pledge of Excellence at the mandatory Student-Guardian Orientation in April. Students and parents/guardians alike are expected to understand and respect all of the tenets of the Honor Code.

"As I embrace my IUHPFL journey and commit to the Honor Code, I pledge to speak only the target language, uphold the Eight Core Values, celebrate my host family experience, and remain self-disciplined. I will choose to discover the best in myself and others, foster team unity, represent my school, family, and community with pride, and be a good ambassador for IUHPFL."

The Language Commitment is a central tenet of the IUHPFL Honor Code and one of the Four Pillars of IUHPFL. It is the driving force behind the entire program. It is why participants live with host families, rather than in dormitories, and why they attend intensive academic classes. 

Students commit to speaking only the host language for the entire 4 to 5 weeks abroad. The Language Commitment is perhaps the most challenging aspect of the program; however, it produces remarkable results. It enables students to begin thinking, dreaming, and speaking in the target language. It is the key to achieving optimal linguistic gains and is fundamental to the total immersion environment of IUHPFL.

By pledging the Language Commitment, IUHPFL students agree to:

• Speak only the target language at all times during the program
• Give up their smart devices during the program and use program cell phones without internet capability for local calling and texting only
• Limit communication with family and friends back home to written (typed) messages (in English or the target language) via the internet during one hour per week (no phone calls or video chats permitted)
• Be patient with themselves, as each student will absorb the language at their own pace
• Encourage and help their peers to become more proficient in the language

Although the first week or two of the program can be extremely challenging, while students learn to navigate a new culture and to speak only the host language, each participant marvels at how well they can understand and speak the language by the third or fourth week. Furthermore, the high proficiency developed during the program, as a result of the Language Commitment, serves as a solid foundation that leads to ever-increasing fluency, as the student continues to study and use the language.  

As one of the Four Pillars of IUHPFL, the Host Family Experience is an aspect of the program that students often remember most fondly. It is also vital to the student's learning and ability to truly experience the local culture. Students generally spend their weeknights and weekends with their host families. 

Students are to treat their host families with respect, keep their space clean, and make every effort to follow household norms like a member of the family. Specific policies and procedures described in the Student-Guardian Handbook are designed to ensure that students have an optimal relationship with their host families.

Even though the laws of other countries may differ from those of the U.S. with regard to the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other substances, IUHPFL students are to conduct themselves abroad as minors from the state of Indiana. This means that participants are strictly prohibited from purchasing or consuming alcohol, tobacco, or other substances at all times. 

During the program, students become fully immersed in the target language and a new culture, which is quite challenging in and of itself. The IUHPFL Honor Code serves to ensure their time abroad is safe, enjoyable, and successful by preventing complications that could arise from risky behavior, staying out past curfew, traveling alone, and so on. Keeping students safe and happy in another country is no easy task - it takes hard work from the students themselves, as well as the instructors, host families and the IUHPFL Office. It requires in-depth training and dedication, which is why the IUHPFL application and orientation process is so thorough.

The Honor Code is also designed to help students maximize their language immersion experience, so they can gain the greatest results in their linguistic proficiency and academic growth. Once abroad, students need to be focused, self-aware, and diligent about abiding by the Honor Code, not only for their own benefit, but for that of their peers, too.

Depending on the infractions, students who deviate from the Honor Code typically receive an Incident Report, which is sent to their parents/guardians. Serious or multiple infractions result in an early return home at the expense of the student's family. Infractions committed by two or more students can result in the cancellation of an excursion or special event for the entire group, depending on the circumstances. In order to protect the safety and well-being of its participants, IUHPFL responds quickly and seriously to violations of the Honor Code, so it is important that every participant and parent/guardian understand the expectations of the program, as outlined in the Honor Code.