The College Fix

Have you heard of Harvard’s latest cheating scandal?

Nearly half of the incoming Class of 2017 at Harvard University have admitted on an online survey to cheating in some form or another before arriving at one of the most prestigious universities in the nation.

Reports the Harvard Crimson:

After going public a year ago with their investigation into Harvard’s largest cheating scandal in recent memory, administrators went to great lengths to promote a culture of academic integrity in the Harvard community. But the results of a Crimson survey of the Class of 2017 conducted last month suggest that some of the newest members of that community are already guilty of academic dishonesty.

Ten percent of respondents admitted to having cheated on an exam, and 17 percent said they had cheated on a paper or a take-home assignment. An even greater percentage—42 percent—admitted to cheating on a homework assignment or problem set.

The results found this year’s class had a much higher tendency to cheat than last year’s, the student newspaper reported. What’s worse, the results – based on data collected by The Crimson in an online survey conducted in August – found “recruited athletes were even more likely to admit to cheating—20 percent admitted to cheating on an exam, compared to 9 percent of students who were not recruited to play a varsity sport at Harvard. Twenty-six percent of recruited athletes said they had cheated on a paper or take-home assignment, compared to 16 percent of non-recruits,” the Crimson reported.

Bad news considering the Ivy League institute’s other cheating scandal, which put a black cloud over the school’s basketball program and added fuel to the already-heated discussion of just how much influence college athletics has over academia. In February as many as 60 students were forced to withdraw for cheating on a final exam in 2012.

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