Air Force Academy expels 22 cadets for 2020 cheating scandal

The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado has expelled 22 students and put hundreds more on probation for cheating and plagiarism while learning from home in 2020, the school’s top officer said Wednesday.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the Colorado Springs college decided to send all freshmen, sophomores and juniors home for the final months of the spring 2020 semester while seniors finished out their last year on campus.

The sudden switch to distance learning invited one of the most widespread spates of academic misconduct in the academy’s history. Away from campus, students sought help on unauthorized websites, plagiarized papers and collaborated on tests.

The vast majority of cadets who were suspected of cheating — 231 of the 245 students — admitted to their actions, according to a presentation given by USAFA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark at an academy board meeting. That’s about 6% of the more than 4,000 cadets who attend the academy each year.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-air-force/2022/04/14/air-force-academy-expels-22-cadets-for-2020-cheating-scandal/