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 f...