<p>Based on what I’ve read, it’s awfully difficult not to put some of the blame on the professor. Unless he was sick or had a family emergency, cancelling office hours the day before an exam is due seems almost indefensible. And then there’s the whole question of the confusing nature of the instructions: “open book, open note, open internet, but don’t collaborate.” As someone pointed out, this means that if you discuss the exam with a fellow student in person then you’re cheating, but if you post your ideas on the internet then you’re within the letter of the law. It may be that what occurred went beyond the mere exchange of ideas, but certainly the Adcom needs at least to consider whether the professor’s seemingly slipshod pedagogy was a contributing factor.</p>
<p>This New York Times article addresses many of the points we raised:</p>
<p>"Harvard students suspected in a major cheating scandal said on Friday that many of the accusations are based on innocent — or at least tolerated — collaboration among students, and with help from graduate-student teachers who sometimes gave them answers to test questions.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Some of the 279 students who took it in the spring semester said that the teacher, Matthew B. Platt, an assistant professor of government, told them at the outset that he gave high grades and that neither attending his lectures nor the discussion sessions with graduate teaching fellows was mandatory.</p>
<p>“He said, ‘I gave out 120 A’s last year, and I’ll give out 120 more,’ ” one accused student said.</p>
<p>But evaluations posted online by students after finals — before the cheating charges were made — in Harvard’s Q Guide were filled with seething assessments, and made clear that the class was no longer easy. Many students, who posted anonymously, described Dr. Platt as a great lecturer, but the guide included far more comments like “I felt that many of the exam questions were designed to trick you rather than test your understanding of the material,” “the exams are absolutely absurd and don’t match the material covered in the lecture at all,” “went from being easy last year to just being plain old confusing,” and “this was perhaps the worst class I have ever taken.”</p>
<p>And so on.</p>
<p>Sounds like an out-of-control course to me.</p>
<p><a href=“Students of Harvard Cheating Scandal Say Group Work Was Accepted - The New York Times”>Students of Harvard Cheating Scandal Say Group Work Was Accepted - The New York Times;
<p>I have a sneaking suspicion that as with LS 20 last year, there will be a teaching change in this course and Mr Pratt will be relieved of his teaching responsibilities. I haven’t checked but does anyone know if he is tenured or not?</p>
<p>@fauve I always have 40-60 pages of writing due the Thursday-Friday of each reading period. I think it’s similar for a lot of humanities majors. So when Dwight says that reading period for studying is sorcery, I think it meant that he, like me, is writing instead.</p>
<p>^^^Oh, thanks for the clarification–it makes more sense.</p>
<p>A well-known gut course! (Until the instructor suddenly changed that …)</p>
<p>[Football</a> Bracing for Lineup Changes Following Government 1310 Incident | News | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/9/10/football-cheating-scandal/]Football”>Football Bracing for Lineup Changes Following Government 1310 Incident | News | The Harvard Crimson)</p>
<p>The same Crimson issue also mentions the possibility of lawsuits, but nothing concrete there, as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>So that’s what it was! A conspiracy! But not by the students in the course! It’s a Yalie conspiracy! [snark] Just kidding.</p>
<p>The 15 students at the TA office bothers me. Did they all happen to show up at office hours at the same time, or did they go as a group? If they went as a group, were they already guilty of collaborating? If not, did the TA allow one person to ask a question, and give the answer to everyone? Even that seems inappropriate.</p>
<p>As for the complains that it was no longer and easy course - too bad! Under a previous instructor, this was known as an easy course. This is a new instructor, but it sounds like this was the second semester he taught it. What happened the first semester? Did those students have the same difficulties? Were the students in the class to learn something about government, or were they there for an easy A?</p>
<p>Some students gave good review while others claimed the tests were not related to lectures. But were they related to the class readings? Perhaps the tests were designed to differentiate between those students who just listen to the lectures and expect everything to be spoon-fed to them, and those who completed the assignments, and gained a true understanding of the materials.</p>
<p>With 279 in the class, the 125 potential cheaters represents less than half the class. If most of the class didn’t feel the need to cheat, then maybe these were the ones who thought they were entitled to a perfect grade, because the class was supposed to be easy?</p>
<p>Pratt is an assistent professor, so he is not tenured. Being in the center of so much bad publicity is certainly not endearing him to the tenure committee.</p>
<p>^^^ That could be another lawsuit coming …</p>
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<p>Yup. Exam period usually is the easy part. 40-60 pages due during a week-long reading period, and then 2 weeks to study for one exam, is usually how it goes.</p>
<p>[Kyle</a> Casey set to leave Harvard in wake of cheating scandal - NCAA Basketball - SI.com](<a href=“http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/basketball/ncaa/09/10/harvard-casey/index.html?xid=cnnbin]Kyle”>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/basketball/ncaa/09/10/harvard-casey/index.html?xid=cnnbin)</p>
<p>The co-captain is also implicated.</p>
<p>Harvard is obviously a great place, with an unmatched reputation, esteemed faculty, brilliant student body, fantastic facilities, etc.</p>
<p>But one has to wonder about the quality of the undergraduate education as compared to many other schools.</p>
<p>The class in question had 279 students, an unavailable professor, and students relying on untrained graduate assistants for help. Not to mention the same professor said in earlier years he was an easy grader, gave 120 As to a prior class, didn’t care if the students attended class sessions, did the reading, and so on.</p>
<p>If this type of class size, inaccessible faculty and reliance on non-PhDs is the norm, I would say go to Harvard for what it says on your CV, but don’t go there for the actual education. </p>
<p>The school has a serious quality control problem in terms of what it and the faculty are offering. And the scope of the cheating problem suggests a student body more interested in grades than intellectual inquiry.</p>
<p>There are literally scores of better places to learn. But hey, you can get a job at Goldman Sachs after graduation, so who’s to complain?</p>
<p>^Sticks and stones may break my bones but sweeping generalizations made over the internet from anecdotal cases by people without first hand knowledge can never hurt me.</p>
<p>Well, Harvard IS the leader in university education, and so we do expect leadership from them to address this problem that rampant in US education at all levels (except Swarthmore of course).</p>
<p>But yes, “the school has a serious quality control problem in terms of what it and the faculty are offering. And the scope of the cheating problem suggests a student body more interested in grades than intellectual inquiry” is pretty sweeping, to put it mildly.</p>
<p>There’s a certain kind of student who takes a class where on day one the professor says in earlier years he was an easy grader, gave 120 As to a prior class, didn’t care if the students attended class sessions, did the reading, and so on. And there’s a certain kind of student who shops for another class. As a recruiter, it’s not hard to tell the difference.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is second to none in the quality of its undergraduate education. And no, there is not a massive cheating problem there. In fact, based on statements from people I know who attended Harvard, cheating in the name of getting that almighty A is rampant there and has been for at least the past 35 years. An end justifies the means ethos is present there and not at Swarthmore, at least in my experience.</p>
<p>imntwo – how do you tell the difference? No one taking Math 55 and maybe another tough course or two has rounded out their semester with an easy Gen ED req. like this Intro to Congress class? I’m not defending this (apparently) poorly taught, poorly organized class or the “cheaters” if there are any; however, I think it’s a reach to indict the character of a kid who occasionally takes such a class in the hopes of fulfilling a requirement while not adding too much to an aggressive schedule.</p>
<p>That’s exactly correct. I can tell the difference between someone who has taken an aggressive schedule and someone who hasn’t. I wouldn’t judge on a course-by-course basis.</p>
<p>However, from knowing some of those people, they want to learn. And that speech wouldn’t inspire them.</p>
<p>At some firms, completing Math 55 (even with a B) pretty much means an interview automatically.</p>
<p>Of course those guys often also take Physics 16 or CS 124, which makes them all the more impressive.</p>