Take home exams?

[Gob]

Harvard asks dozens of students to leave for cheating

The students were taking an undergraduate course in politics Harvard University has imposed academic sanctions on dozens of students for cheating in a final exam, a dean said in an email to students.

"More than half" of 125 students under investigation were asked to leave for a period of time; others face probation.

An inquiry began when a tutor noticed identical answers to a take-home exam for an undergraduate politics course.

The review expanded to include nearly half the 279 students enrolled in the course, the Harvard Crimson said.

Correspondents say there have been complaints that exam rules for the Introduction to Congress class were unclear, and over the university's handling of the investigation.

In an email to members of the university, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Smith said the cases had now been resolved.

"Somewhat more than half" of the cases resulted in a request to withdraw, he said.

Of the remaining cases, about half the students were placed on disciplinary probation and the rest were exonerated.

Some of those ensnared in the scandal were members of Harvard sports teams.

Two basketball co-captains have been dropped from the team, while earlier reports in the university newspaper suggested football, baseball and ice hockey players could also have been involved.

The dean added that an internal committee would put forward recommendations on how to promote honesty within the institution.

"This is a time for communal reflection and action," Mr Smith said. "We are responsible for creating the community in which our students study and we all thrive as scholars."

Ok, they expect potential politics students not to cheat, and send them away with "take home" exams? Do they believe in unicorns too?

[Scooter]

Whether it's called an "exam" or an "assignment", the expectation is that students are not going to copy each other's work, regardless of whether they are in a classroom or at home.

[rubato]

Really discouraging.

yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

...
Ok, they expect potential politics students not to cheat, and send them away with "take home" exams? Do they believe in unicorns too?

I do not think that it is rational to assume that all people will cheat and lie when given the opportunity. Nor do I think a world built on that assumption is a better world.

But, having caught them, I would kick their asses out forever.


yrs,
rubato

[Econoline]

...
Ok, they expect potential politics students not to cheat, and send them away with "take home" exams? Do they believe in unicorns too?

I do not think that it is rational to assume that all people will cheat and lie when given the opportunity. Nor do I think a world built on that assumption is a better world.

I would generally agree...

But that having been said, I can definitely see Gob's point re students of politics in particular.

[Guinevere]

I've taken plenty of take home exams in my academic career. Typically you can use course materials to answer the questions, these exams aren't about rote memorization, but about analysis and building the response. It takes work to cheat on these kinds of exams. And almost exam I've ever taken -- take home or in-class --- has required the student to sign the exam booklet with some version of the honor code, and affirm you did not cheat.

Honor, truthfulness, character, these are not traits you turn on and off like a lightbulb. You have them, or you don't. It is not wrong to presume that students, subject to an honor code, should take their exams pursuant to that code. If we assume otherwise we might as well just give up.

[rubato]

"...

Honor, truthfulness, character, these are not traits you turn on and off like a lightbulb. You have them, or you don't. It is not wrong to presume that students, subject to an honor code, should take their exams pursuant to that code. If we assume otherwise we might as well just give up.

Agreed.

These students had been given one of the most valuable gifts and the rarest opportunities in the world, to study at one of the top 5 universities. If they do not value that enough to be honestly engaged in their own education they should be kicked out and places made for people who deserve them.

yrs,
rubato