Fox News
125 Harvard students caught cheating, dozens forced to withdraw
Dozens of Harvard University students have been academically disciplined in an investigation into cheating on an open-book, take-home final exam.
As many as 125 students were implicated in the exam-cheating scandal when the university addressed the issue last year. …
In an email sent across the campus Friday, a Harvard dean spoke about how the school’s academic integrity board resolved cases related to the cheating probe.
He said “somewhat more than half” the cases involved students who were forced to withdraw from the college for a period of time. Of remaining cases, half the students got disciplinary probation. The rest weren’t disciplined.
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Two questions.
How much does a Haavaaad degree cost?
How much is it worth?
Jeffster on February 2, 2013 at 11:49 AM
Ueerruuh…..how can you cheat on an open book, take home test?
“Ok class, take this test home over the weekend with your notes and the textbook….but no cheating”
A final exam is open book? Doesn’t sort of negate the entire semester? All I have to do, for the entire class, is not lose the “book”, and look up the answers at home.
Good lord.
BobMbx on February 2, 2013 at 11:49 AM
Smart enough to get into Harvard; dumb enough to get caught cheating.
America, I present to you your future leaders.
JimLennon on February 2, 2013 at 11:49 AM
A similar case happened a few years back at the Columbia University “School of Journalism”, graduate division. That was also an open-book, take-home final exam.
The course? “Journalistic Ethics”, which itself speaks volumes.
Del Dolemonte on February 2, 2013 at 11:52 AM
the best and the brightest
rob verdi on February 2, 2013 at 11:52 AM
‘
College is tooo haaaarddd!
–Obama speech in 4…3…2..
cntrlfrk on February 2, 2013 at 11:53 AM
Probably includes the prez of the Harvard Law Review.
Bishop on February 2, 2013 at 11:53 AM
Google “Adam Wheeler” some time. He was also a Harvard student, and not only managed to cheat his way into Harvard but also very nearly cheated his way thru all 4 years. He only got caught when he was applying to grad school.
Del Dolemonte on February 2, 2013 at 11:54 AM
Maybe if the final exam involved writing an essay of some kind. If you tell a class of 50 students to write a paper on any aspect of the American Civil War, and 20 of those essays are about the interpretation of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” from a post-modern, Marxist-lesbian point of view, then I would suspect cheating.
JimLennon on February 2, 2013 at 11:57 AM
The best and the brightest…
Our future political and business leaders.. Cannot wait to see what they cook up on Wall Street.
As for open book take home exams, I always found that they were more difficult than the in class ones.
Illinidiva on February 2, 2013 at 11:57 AM
school of mines make more than harvard grads school of mines
ChunkyLover on February 2, 2013 at 11:58 AM
What’s with the difference in the numbers, there?
And how many professors were caught? We already know that Harvard profs love to cheat, and they love to do so publicly. We’ve got Lawrence Tribe and Fauxahontas as the most famous examples (though they are generally given raises and promotions when they’re caught cheating).
The moral of this story:
At Harvard, cheating is cool, but only get caught if you’re faculty (in which case you’ll get more money and job security). However, even if you’re a student, you’ll still probably skate free, because Harvard loves cheaters. After all, Harvard specializes in training cheaters and frauds. The near-illiterate, first black Precedent of the Lawn Review shows the sort of slugs and idiots that Harvard loves to force on society.
Hopefully, Harvard will burn to the ground someday soon. It has already wreaked more than enough damage on this nation to cement its place in history.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 2, 2013 at 11:59 AM
the key phrase is forced to withdraw for ……..”a period of time”.
typical libs. no consequences to their behavior.
renalin on February 2, 2013 at 11:59 AM
“Find these people and get them an Organizing For America job application, stat!” -David Axelrod
visions on February 2, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Google Russian artist Nikolai Blokhin. There is still real genius in the world.
Seth Halpern on February 2, 2013 at 12:06 PM
…they can now ALL apply for a cabinet position in JugEars administration!
KOOLAID2 on February 2, 2013 at 12:09 PM
maybe some of them were burdened with the challenge of trying to breast feed while taking these exams… already they’re all qualified for the newly empty Kerry Seat in the Senate.
mittens on February 2, 2013 at 12:13 PM
Cindy Munford on February 2, 2013 at 12:15 PM
Exactly. This is going on the resume’.
forest on February 2, 2013 at 12:16 PM
Harvard. Training America’s politicians for over 375 years.
phreshone on February 2, 2013 at 12:23 PM
In the something to ponder category, other than the two athletes, I wonder how many of these folks got in based on being related to alumni?
Cindy Munford on February 2, 2013 at 12:23 PM
Open book take home exams? And people wonder why there’s grade inflation.
Cornell Conservative on February 2, 2013 at 12:26 PM
Further evidence of the “group think” mentality of education at all levels.
Nothing can be done without group consensus and approval. It doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to have group approval.
BobMbx on February 2, 2013 at 12:26 PM
In other words, they’ll be let back in after a year, like Teddy Kennedy after he had a ringer take a Spanish exam for him.
Wethal on February 2, 2013 at 12:27 PM
There go future senators and congressmen
Flapjackmaka on February 2, 2013 at 12:27 PM
I bet if Harvard passed some cheating control rules it would stop cheating.
Flange on February 2, 2013 at 12:31 PM
The Harvard Crimson reported in 2011 that Harvard’s “Legacy Admit Rate” was 30% of each class total.
At the same time, Yale’s was 20%.
Del Dolemonte on February 2, 2013 at 12:32 PM
Wethal beat me to the mention of Ted Kennedy…
So, I’ll just say no big deal at Harvard those expelled like Chappy can always buy their way into UVA.
Open book? Take home? I doubt Charles Eliot (head honcho at Hahvahd a century ago) would approve.
viking01 on February 2, 2013 at 12:32 PM
That’s the ticket. Exams must be BANNED !!!
viking01 on February 2, 2013 at 12:33 PM
Just continuing hr rich tradition of Edward Moore Kennedy.
myrenovations on February 2, 2013 at 12:50 PM
I’m interested in the number of people who have a stake in discrediting Harvard.
Harvard legacy admissions are quite high. But that’s part of what you’re applying when you/if you do apply, accept and attend. Upon acceptance you become part of Harvard’s legacy. This is a gift. This gift is transferable – if you marry well and your kid is also of Harvard Stock. Most legacy admits are still among the best students in the nation. At the highest levels of business, law and medicine Harvard hiring loops are damn near incestuous.
Here’s the deal, if you did not get accepted at your first choice school you will probably blame minorities or legacy admissions. Blame yourself.
How many of you backbiters got into Harvard or any Ivy? Better question, how many of you never earned a degree at all? How many think getting your mining certs will lead to a better quality of life than a Harvard undergrad or graduate degree?
Capitalist Hog on February 2, 2013 at 12:54 PM
I was accepted into my first choice school in September of my high school senior year.
Anyone bright enough to notice the freak-show picks by Obama coming out of Harvard (Kagan, Sotomayor, Obama himself) and the political awards jobs (Bernard Kalb at JFK School of Gummint, for example) can realize there’s a problem.
Anyone wishing to send their kid to the best and toughest school, by far, on the Charles River has an easy choice: MIT
viking01 on February 2, 2013 at 1:10 PM
I had a fair number of open book exams in law school (graduated last year), and two (I think) take-home open book exams. There was also one group project that served as the final exam.
The open book tests in the class-room were the best option because the professor needs to make the questions reasonable. Most of them were for subjects where it was more important to know how to apply the knowledge than to have the knowledge. After all, I will have all of the cases, treatises, etc. available online via Westlaw of LexisNexis once I get into practicing, so it’s a bit more representative of the real world to actually have access to the information.
The take-home exams were beastly though. Hardest tests I’ve ever taken, besides the Bar Exam.
The group project was for my estate planning class, and while it was challenging, it was also very rewarding (I learned a lot about how all the different estate planning tools fit together for a client), although I can honestly say that the CPA we had in our group was definitely the smartest guy at the table.
This was all at a Tier 3 law school, not one of them highfalutin Tier 1 schools like Hahvahd. They must’ve done something right though, because I passed the Bar on the first try.
Othniel on February 2, 2013 at 1:13 PM
I know I shouldn’t generalize but probably the 30% that caused the banking “crisis”.
Cindy Munford on February 2, 2013 at 1:15 PM
If I had a son, he would have cheated on his exams. (Hell, I paid someone to take mine yo!)
/Barky, (Harvard alum 1985, Magna Cum Lassie)
CorporatePiggy on February 2, 2013 at 1:18 PM
Lighten up, Wilbur.
Cindy Munford on February 2, 2013 at 1:23 PM
Agreed, Cindy. That “you peasants” tone he/she/it was striking was way too overwrought to be for real.
viking01 on February 2, 2013 at 1:28 PM
Yep, I don’t seen anyone getting that p.o.’d unless they cheated their way through Harvard. Nothing tickles me more than someone telling me to know my place.
Cindy Munford on February 2, 2013 at 1:30 PM
lol … what do you call CorporatePiggy ?
gh on February 2, 2013 at 1:46 PM
Yes, those whom scoff do chaff me.
Now I’m off to the palaestra for an invigorating game of squash thence to the Club for a cheery game of whist! The yacht’s at the sail maker’s for refit but no loss. It’s too cold out on Back Bay anyways. Ta ta.
(wink)
viking01 on February 2, 2013 at 1:48 PM
To be determined at a later date.
Cindy Munford on February 2, 2013 at 2:08 PM
Lulz.
You sound like an Ivy League grad who is angry that many of us non-Ivy plebes have better, more lucrative careers than you do.
In terms you might understand: Umad, bro?
Good Solid B-Plus on February 2, 2013 at 2:19 PM
Since their professors are known cheats and frauds then why would the students be any different…?
NeoKong on February 2, 2013 at 2:24 PM
How dare us plebs question the value of an Ivy League degree? Frankly, the incestuous hold that the Ivies have on economy and government is unAmerican. Only people who have the right connections get in there; it has little to do with the best and the brightest. And last time I checked the best President in the last thirty years went to Eugene College.
Illinidiva on February 2, 2013 at 2:33 PM
@Illinidiva: In fairness, Reagan was a Hollywood alumnus, and even in upscale America Hollywood’s mystique equalled or eclipsed the Ivy League’s.
Seth Halpern on February 2, 2013 at 2:46 PM
Thanks Cindy,
I’m doing great. I simply have a pronounced distaste for mediocrity and the dogged-pursuit thereof that seems to motivate so many. Basically this entire thread sounds no different than a bunch of union-bosses trying to poison workers’ minds against prosperity.
It’s as if a cheating scandal somehow proves the anti-collegians right. I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s regioinal or socioeconomic. But every person I grew up with knew the importance of going to and getting a degree. Sure, many, many, many, many liberals send their kids to school to study Post-2012 Mayan prophecies or other such nonsense. But are we really talking about those people in this discussion? I’m not.
Send your kids to college if you have them. There are great schools for those who don’t want to or cannot get into an elite university.
That being said, knowing what I now know about business I also think that the right kid with the right mentor or boss can skip post-secondary and jump right into work. Five years of list-building and making a name is enough to build a career. Tradesmen also may skip school successfully. I just don’t believe our economy can support a society of blue-collar workers.
Military service can displace but should never replace higher education.
I don’t consider ignorance to be symptom of peasantry. However, if you feel like you’re being called a “peasant” don’t let me let me stop you from proving otherwise.
Capitalist Hog on February 2, 2013 at 4:59 PM
Silly swine thought he saw a genius in the mirror this morning!
Sorry Biff but as the saying goes “that hog won’t grunt.”
Best to get that delusion of grandeur checked before you hurt yourself….it screams insecurity.
viking01 on February 2, 2013 at 7:19 PM
It’s hard to conger up sympathy of a group of people who are the source of our problems but still expect to be glorified because of their degrees. Everyone makes mistakes, let’s stop pretending that their mistakes have the same impact. I’ve got two kids doing blue collar work will they get their degrees in Engineering and Physics, I will not discount the experience and knowledge that they get from either path. Unfortunately you aren’t going to see this.
Cindy Munford on February 3, 2013 at 11:37 AM