Top 10 College Cheating Scandals

Recently, nearly a third of a 600-person lecture at the University of Central Florida cheated on a midterm exam. In light of the incident, we shed light on 10 more cheating scandals that rocked schools across the country. What do they all have in common? The cheaters got busted! Here are 10 reminders that cheating, no matter how it happens, is a serious offense -- with serious consequences.

1. University of Maryland

Hoping to catch students who use their phones or PDAs as cheating tools, several professors set up a trap in 2004 by posting a fake answer key online during a final exam. After the test, students who answered from the fake key were caught as cheaters.

The damage: A dozen students used the fake answer key and were flunked as a result.

2. Duke University

The business school at Duke was rocked in 2007 by a cheating ring that involved more than 30 graduate students who had similar answers on a take-home exam.

The damage: Nine students were expelled, nine more failed the class and 15 were suspended.

3. Centenary College

Although school officials will not release details about the nature of the cheating, a seven-month investigation in 2009 resulted in the discovery of widespread cheating at the college’s business schools in China and Taiwan.

The damage: The business schools have been shuttered, and Centenary has withheld 400 master’s degrees from students.

4. Indiana University School of Dentistry

In 2007, about half of all second-year students took advantage of a hack into a school computer that held X-rays for an upcoming exam. The students used them to prepare answers ahead of the test.

The damage: Nine students were expelled, and 16 were suspended.

5. University of Minnesota

A former basketball office manager for the Gophers claimed she had written about 400 essays for about 20 basketball players over the course of several years up until 1998. The team’s coach allegedly paid her $3,000 for her services.

The damage: Four players were suspended, the team lost the NCAA tournament because of it, the academic counselor for men’s basketball was fired and the contract for the team’s coach was bought out by the university.

6. University of Virginia

In 2001, a physics professor realized that roughly 150 of his students had handed in basically the same paper over the course of five semesters. The prof uncovered the problem after running the essays through anti-plagiarism software. He hadn’t noticed previously due to large class sizes.

The damage: Forty-five students were expelled, and three degrees were revoked post-graduation.

7. Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

A few GMAT questions and answers were posted on a GMAT prep site, the now-defunct ScoreTop.com, potentially giving students a significant leg up before the exam. It was summer 2008, and the site had about 6,000 subscribers.

The damage: Seventy-two students were caught but allowed to retake the GMAT. The 12 students who posted the questions and answers to the site were banned from taking the GMAT for three years.

8. Florida State University

Essentially, the entire athletic department was wrapped up in a scandal that involved students being given answers to online tests and having papers and essays written for them by advisors in 2006 and 2007.

The damage: Over 60 athletes were eventually busted, and FSU had to forfeit wins and records from the athletic seasons involved.

9. Diablo Valley College

Dozens of students paid student employees to change their grades over the course of seven years, beginning in 2000. Some paid up to $1,000 for the changes; others reportedly paid for grade-changing with sex acts.

The damage: Some student employees were sentenced to jail and required to pay hefty fines. The mastermind behind the scandal was charged with 18 felony counts and served a year behind bars.

10. Southern University

In 2003, university officials discovered that an assistant registrar had taken payments from well over 500 students to change grades. Some students were even issued phony degrees and certificates.

The damage: An internal investigation found that more than 2,000 unauthorized grade changes had been made since 1995.