Harvard Hoops In Trouble - Academic Cheating Scandal

[DogMania]

Didn't see this reported here. Sorry if it was and I missed it.

Harvard men's basketball senior co-captain Kyle Casey plans to withdraw from school after being implicated in an academic cheating scandal.

Report: Harvard co-captain Casey to withdraw

Interesting that this has occurred under Tommy Amaker, their head basketball coach who happens to trace his origins back to Dook. Seems he didn't learn much back during his dookie days about how to hide, or when caught, get away with cheating.

 

[upstater]

This is nothing like UNC, however. Also, I tend to doubt they will throw the book at these kids for a first offense, especially one that involves 125 students. Cheating is rampant on college campuses. Frequently, students are caught. Only multiple offenders really need to worry.

 

[beerfan]

Here is the NYTimes reporting on it. From this account I don't know if it has any traction.

How do you cheat on an open book, open notes, open internet take home test?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/e...scandal-say-group-work-was-accepted.html?_r=2

 

[DogMania]

This is nothing like UNC, however. Also, I tend to doubt they will throw the book at these kids for a first offense, especially one that involves 125 students. Cheating is rampant on college campuses. Frequently, students are caught. Only multiple offenders really need to worry.

When it comes to Student Athletes cheating, there's a lot more implications with those students and the program they're part of. I didn't realize it was not associated with just student athletes, if that is the case, but the combination of it happening at a institution of Harvard's stature it will be very interesting to see how the NCAA and Harvard handle this.

 

[DogMania]

Here is the NYTimes reporting on it. From this account I don't know if it has any traction.

How do you cheat on an open book, open notes, open internet take home test?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/e...scandal-say-group-work-was-accepted.html?_r=2

Um...by having someone else take the test for you. I didn't read everything on this, but apparently there is enough evidnece that the co-captain of the hoops team has withdrawn from school and the team so that he retains his last year of eligibility.

 

[aceboon]

When it comes to Student Athletes cheating, there's a lot more implications with those students and the program they're part of. I didn't realize it was not associated with just student athletes, if that is the case, but the combination of it happening at a institution of Harvard's stature it will be very interesting to see how the NCAA and Harvard handle this.

The NCAA? It was students(which included athletes) working together in groups, why would the NCAA get involved with this?

 

[Clockshop]

If you're Jim Calhoun/UConn, do you recruit Kyle Casey for his last year of eligibilty?

 

[HooperScooper]

As others have said this isn't really an athletics cheating scandal. It was one class where 125 students, some of which happened to be athletes at Harvard, were implicated. One of my co-worker's daughters goes to Harvard and knows some of the students implicated in this and all of them are professing their innocence because the rules for the test were very ambiguous and weren't consistent with how the class was during the rest of the semester. Here, read below which gives some more detail.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...nd-eyebrows/DZDKEG90lfHRXAVkOwrtFP/story.html

 

[DogMania]

The NCAA? It was students(which included athletes) working together in groups, why would the NCAA get involved with this?

Are you really asking that question? Now the NCAA might leave it to Harvard to take care if it themselves. The Student Athlete mentioned in the article has anounced he will likely withdraw from his classes and the program, but more times than not when student athletes are implicated with a cheating scandal they take a look to see if it's just the tip of the iceberg. Now since we're talking about an Ivy League school that doesn't give out athletic scholarships, they'll likely not get involved, though that was never my point. The hoops program is in trouble because they're losing at least one key player and who knows what impact that will have on the team and their recruiting. It all depends on what is uncovered when the onion is completely pealed.

Note that WEEI is reporting that as many as two players might withdraw from the program and/or school. Losing two of your leaders alone is going to have a huge impact on the team and program moving forward for a while. There in lies my point about the hoops program being in trouble due to the scandal.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

guaranteed this gets blown way out of proportion. students (at worst) collaborated on a take home test...oh my god, i've never heard of such a thing happening before. only reason this is in the news at all is because it is at Harvard.

 

[aceboon]

No, are you REALLY asking that question? Take the tinfoil off, its a couple of athletes that got swept up in a "scandal" that regularly happens across colleges across the country. Who doesn't "cheat" or work together on a take home test?

Are you really asking that question? Now the NCAA might leave it to Harvard to take care if it themselves. The Student Athlete mentioned in the article has already withdrawn from his classes and the program, but more times than not when student athletes are implicated with a cheating scandal they take a look to see if it's just the tip of the iceberg. Now since we're talking about an Ivy League school that doesn't give out athletic scholarships, they'll likely not get involved, though that was never my point. The hoops program is in trouble because they're losing at least one key player and who knows what impact that will have on the team and their recruiting. It all depends on what is uncovered when the onion is completely pealed.

Note that WEEI is reporting that as many as two players might withdraw from the program and/or school. Losing two of your leaders alone is going to have a huge impact on the team and program moving forward for a while. There in lies my point about the hoops program being in trouble due to the scandal.

 

[DogMania]

guaranteed this gets blown way out of proportion. students (at worst) collaborated on a take home test...oh my god, i've never heard of such a thing happening before. only reason this is in the news at all is because it is at Harvard.

A similar thing happened with some of my daughter's friends at her college, but it was just with a few who didn't know they were not allowed to collaborate on quizzes for a certain class. The teacher involved had a hidden agenda and was intent in punishing some students she didn't like. It got ugly. But in Harvard's case it sounds like a lot of students and I wonder if they were clearly told or not that collaboration on tests were not allowed. I guess I have to read up more on this.

 

[caw]

As others have said this isn't really an athletics cheating scandal. It was one class where 125 students, some of which happened to be athletes at Harvard, were implicated. One of my co-worker's daughters goes to Harvard and knows some of the students implicated in this and all of them are professing their innocence because the rules for the test were very ambiguous and weren't consistent with how the class was during the rest of the semester. Here, read below which gives some more detail.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...nd-eyebrows/DZDKEG90lfHRXAVkOwrtFP/story.html

Sound like a bunch of whiny brats in that article.

 

[willinphilly]

guaranteed this gets blown way out of proportion. students (at worst) collaborated on a take home test...oh my god, i've never heard of such a thing happening before. only reason this is in the news at all is because it is at Harvard.

I too thought it was blown out of proportion, but then why would Casey and Curry, Harvard's best players, both withdraw from school? That makes little sense.

 

[mets1090]

Most of my professors that gave take home open everything exams just made them harder to account for people working together.

 

[upstater]

When it comes to Student Athletes cheating, there's a lot more implications with those students and the program they're part of. I didn't realize it was not associated with just student athletes, if that is the case, but the combination of it happening at a institution of Harvard's stature it will be very interesting to see how the NCAA and Harvard handle this.

Unless the athletic dept. had anything to do with this, the NCAA has no business here.

 

[upstater]

Here is the NYTimes reporting on it. From this account I don't know if it has any traction.

How do you cheat on an open book, open notes, open internet take home test?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/e...scandal-say-group-work-was-accepted.html?_r=2

I give such exams. I write difficult questions, give students a week to do them, and I know that the ones who do well on those exams are the ones who have been doing the work all semester. I consider it practically impossible to do one semester's work in one week. So, the cheaters basically copy and paraphrase the answers of other students. It sounds stupid that they would do such a thing, but students do it.

 

[upstater]

As others have said this isn't really an athletics cheating scandal. It was one class where 125 students, some of which happened to be athletes at Harvard, were implicated. One of my co-worker's daughters goes to Harvard and knows some of the students implicated in this and all of them are professing their innocence because the rules for the test were very ambiguous and weren't consistent with how the class was during the rest of the semester. Here, read below which gives some more detail.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...nd-eyebrows/DZDKEG90lfHRXAVkOwrtFP/story.html

The students in that article are purposely and willfully trying to ignore the exam's instructions. When the exam says outright "You may not collaborate," what more do you need? I'd like to see the syllabus to see if plagiarism is mentioned. Students are often referred to the school's guidelines on plagiary. From that article, it seems clear that many students were plagiarizing. I know it's anecdotal, but the kid who commented about putting exam answers up on the internet knows that someone can't copy those answers on the exam. As for Harvard professors and in-class exams, they are in the sciences, math, etc. In the Humanities, an 80 minute exam on essay questions requires dumbed-down questions and results in even worse dumbed-down answers. Admittedly, this is why most such courses require final papers, but when the class is a general elective mostly filled by non-majors, then the take-home exam is the next best option. TRhe instructor simply has to ask questions which are at once highly specific, and which students can have a wide degree of latitude in their answers. Having done this awhile, I can say that answers vary widely. It's rare that students will answer a question in the same way.

This qualifies as a "nothing to see here" event. Cheating is rampant on campuses, and those with multiple infractions are punished.