125 Harvard Students Investigated In Possible Cheating Scandal
CAMBRIDGE (CBS/AP) — Dozens of Harvard University students are being investigated for cheating after school officials discovered they may have shared answers or plagiarized on a take home final exam.
"The Harvard College Administrative Board is investigating allegations that a significant number of students enrolled in an undergraduate course last semester may have inappropriately collaborated on answers, or plagiarized their classmates' responses, on the final exam for the course," the school said in an article in the Harvard Gazette.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports
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Harvard officials aren't releasing the class subject, and federal privacy laws prevent them from naming any students involved. School officials said Thursday that the undergraduate class had a minimum of 250 students and possible cheating was discovered in roughly half the take-home exams, which indicates the number of students in question to be around 125.
Harvard President Drew Faust said the allegations, if true, are troubling.
"These allegations, if proven, represent totally unacceptable behavior that betrays the trust upon which intellectual inquiry at Harvard depends," Faust said. "We must deal with this fairly and through a deliberative process. At the same time, the scope of the allegations suggests that there is work to be done to ensure that every student at Harvard understands and embraces the values that are fundamental to its community of scholars."
Each student whose work is in question has been called to appear before a review board.
Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences said there is no place for cheating at the school. "Academic dishonesty cannot and will not be tolerated at Harvard," he said.
Jay M. Harris, the dean of undergraduate education, said there's no evidence of widespread cheating. But he said it's clear Harvard needs to better emphasize academic integrity.
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