DEVELOPING: Harvard Investigating “Unprecedented” Plagiarism Ring Involving More than 100 Undergraduates

by | August 30, 2012 at 3:28 pm

UPDATE: The Crimson has updated its article to include the name of the course: “Government 1310: “Introduction to Congress.”

The Crimson reports that Harvard College is investigating an enormous plagiarism ring involving more than 100 undergraduates:

Harvard College’s disciplinary board is investigating nearly half of the more than 250 students who enrolled in one undergraduate course last spring for allegedly plagiarizing answers or inappropriately collaborating on the class’ final take-home exam.

Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay M. Harris, who declined to name the course in question, said the magnitude of the case was “unprecedented in anyone’s living memory.”

Questions, questions, questions. Which course? Which students? Which professor? If you know, you have our email.

 
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  • J

    Heard about this long before the press release broke. The professor did not make it clear what constituted appropriate collaboration

  • lol

    i bet they’re scared shitless hahaha

  • John Mack

    Plagiarism and collaboration are two separate things (although collaboration, when forbidden, is considered a form of plagiarism). As someone has pointed out, the professor may not have given adequate instructions on the allowable amount of collaboration. This is not as clear cut as your headline makes it to be. I find it hard to believe that 125 students would decide to cheat. Today so many assignments require collaboration; collaboration has become the dominant learning mode. I think the students will be cleared.

  • Tick Tock

    Collaboration on exams is more often than not just a PC term for plagiarism. I doubt 125 were involved but I would not be shocked if so many involved were involved. All it takes is each student communicating with 1 or 2 other students and quite quickly you have a network of idea sharing. In any case can anybody explain how two can collaborate on a final exam? The concept of collaboration for a final exam without utilizing the seemingly better response (hence plagiarism?) does not quite make sense to me, especially if it is for an essay-based exam, which I suspect it was being a government class and all.

  • rick131

    Cheating is rampant at Harvard. This is even after they instituted the”ethics pledge” for freshman because there was so much cheating. They all should be thrown out or it will never stop.

    • joe131

      you’re an idiot. cheating is everywhere. schools across the nation could expel half their student body for this kind of collaborative cheating if they actually looked into it/ had any common sense.

      • Mike Conrad

        Can’t imagine why the ‘everyone does it’ defense or your puerile insult has any bearing on the issue at hand. Have fun though.

  • Ben

    garbage in; garbage out