NEW YORK鈥擜s many as 125 students at Harvard University are being probed for allegedly cheating in a final exam at the elite institution, administrators said Thursday.
The official university site reported that a large number of undergraduates 鈥渕ay have inappropriately collaborated on answers, or plagiarized classmates鈥� responses, on the final exam for the course.鈥�
An initial investigation by the Harvard College Administration Board of more than 250 final exams resulted in cases involving 鈥渘early half the students in the class,鈥� the site said.
Neither the course, nor the students were identified in the scandal, which would be one of the biggest at the Ivy League college.
Michael Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, vowed to act.
鈥淲e take academic integrity very seriously because it goes to the heart of our educational mission,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淎cademic dishonesty cannot and will not be tolerated at Harvard.鈥�
鈥淭hese allegations, if proven, represent totally unacceptable behavior that betrays the trust upon which intellectual inquiry at Harvard depends,鈥� Harvard University President Drew Faust said.
鈥淲e must deal with this fairly and through a deliberative process.鈥�
Harvard, a college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston, is one of the most exclusive universities in the world, with students paying about $63,000 (50,000 euros) per year to attend.