Harvard Students in Cheating Scandal Say Collaboration Was Accepted

Peter G. Neumann neumann at csl.sri.com
Sun Sep 2 17:12:03 PDT 2012


  [An early mention of this case stated: ``Harvard University is
  investigating what it calls an `unprecedented' case of cheating.  College
  officials say around 125 students may have shared answers and plagiarized
  on a [Introduction To Congress] final exam.''  Source: Curt Nickisch, NPR
  31 Aug.]  The exam in question was an open-book take-home exam from a
  professor reportedly inclined to give mostly high grades based in part on
  factors such as the number of citations!  Perhaps many of the 125 students
  were citing the same sources from the Internet?  Is that collusion or
  collation collision?  We await details.  PGN]

Richard Perez-Pena, *The New York Times*, 31 Aug 2012

Harvard students suspected in a major cheating scandal said that many of the
accusations are based on innocent - or at least tolerated - collaboration
among students, and with help from graduate-student teachers who sometimes
gave them answers to test questions.

Students said they were tripped up by a course whose tests were confusing,
whose grading was inconsistent, and for which the professor and teaching
assistants gave contradictory signals about what was expected. They face the
possibility of a one-year suspension from Harvard or revocation of their
diplomas if they have already graduated, and some said that they will sue
the university if any serious punishment is meted out.

In years past, the course, Introduction to Congress, had a reputation as one
of the easiest at Harvard College.  Some of the 279 students who took it in
the spring semester said that the teacher, Matthew B. Platt, an assistant
professor of government, told them at the outset that he gave high grades
and that neither attending his lectures nor the discussion sessions with
graduate teaching fellows was mandatory. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/education/students-of-harvard-cheating-scandal-say-group-work-was-accepted.html

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