Harvard Cheating Scandals

 This week in class, we talked about the existence of honor codes and their impact on student bodies, whether positive or negative. But cheating scandals have unfortunately plagued even the most prestigious academic institutions, and one of the most notorious incidents occurred at Harvard University in 2012. The scandal took place during a government class's take-home final exam, where suspicions arose due to a high percentage of similarities in essay responses submitted by nearly half of the 279 enrolled students. The scale of the alleged cheating shocked both the university administration and the wider academic community, because Harvard University, as well as other Ivy Leagues, are supposed to be held at a high standard.

Following a very thorough investigation and hearings by Harvard's administration, about 70 students were forced to withdraw from the university. However, they were offered the opportunity to re-enroll after serving a disciplinary hiatus ranging from two to four semesters, in accordance with Harvard's policies. Additionally, the university refunded tuition payments for the semesters during which the students were cheating.

The repercussions extended beyond mere academic consequences. Students found guilty of cheating faced not only the stigma of dishonesty but also the disruption of their academic trajectories— and the scandal severely tarnished Harvard's reputation, as it was deemed the "most wide-spread cheating scandal" in the university's history by school officials.

Incidents like this highlight the ongoing challenges institutions face in upholding academic integrity, especially because of this new era of ChatGPT and other AI assistants. If higher level institutions also suffer from this, how will we, at high school levels, ensure academic honesty?