Harvard is a very prestigious school that students have to work hard to be accepted into. Once in, they are expected to perform well academically and morally, but how many are really doing their best at both? According to a recent survey conducted by the Harvard student newspaper the Harvard Crimson, close to 80% of the freshmen class admitted to cheating on a test or homework.

But Harvard isn’t the only school with a cheating problem. A study done by Rutgers University Professor Donald McCabe and other experts shows that students all over the country have a cheating problem. Thanks to smartphones, tablets and the Internet, cheating has become easier than ever and students can quickly find the answer to any test question or homework problem.

Since cheating is on the rise in the United States, many colleges have started to crack down on cheating students. Just last year, over 250 students at Harvard were investigated for cheating. Half of these students were found guilty of the accusations and withdrawn from the school. Other colleges and universities have had similar experiences over the last few years.

In order to help students maintain their integrity and protect the reputation of the school, Harvard has gone to great lengths to sway students from cheating. Tutors are available to students who need help with their studies and cheating announcements and presentations have been giving during freshmen orientation. The decisions to cheat or not ultimately lies with each individual student. Harvard hopes that by reminding students of their morals and academic expectations that they will be less likely to cheat.

Students caught cheating are automatically withdrawn from classes or in some cases, expelled from the school. The survey leads many people to wonder how many other students are cheating and if cheating rates are rising, what will colleges do to prevent students from cheating in the future if the current prevention methods fail to work?

Image from Wikimedia Commons.