Cheating scandal during COVID lockdown ensnares 249 Air Force Academy cadets
Stephen Losey
Academy basic cadets participate in the first phase of basic cadet training with marching drills on July 8 on the Terrazzo at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. The academy has investigated 249 cadets for alleged cheating last spring, after three-quarters of the academy's students were sent home in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. (Trevor Cokley/Air Force)
The Air Force Academy believes 249 cadets cheated on exams and other assignments during the rapid shift to remote learning during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic last spring.
In a Friday release, the academy said those cadets are suspected of violating the school’s honor code in a variety of ways — from failing to properly cite sources and looking up answers on unauthorized tutoring websites while taking exams to completing final exams in small groups.
Most of those cadets have admitted to cheating and have been placed on probation and remediation for six months, said officials at the academy, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The rest of the cases are pending, and are at various stages.
Two cadets have been dismissed from the academy for cheating, academy spokesman Michael Slater said in a follow-up email. The cadets involved were spread across the lower three classes of 2021, 2022 and 2023, Slater said. No cadets who graduated in the class of 2020 last year were involved, he said.
Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark has ordered the first review of the academy’s honor program in years as a result of the cheating scandal, the academy said. The review seeks to recommend ways to improve the honor program so it properly develops cadets’ character and teaches them to follow the academy’s honor code: “We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does.”
“The Honor Code is not only foundational to the Air Force Academy, but it serves as a guide for cadets to live an honorable life, whether serving in uniform or not,” Clark said. “Honor serves as one of my fundamental institutional priorities for developing leaders of character.”
The cheating scandal unfolded after the academy rapidly dismissed about 3,000 of its students ― all but the seniors who were about to graduate — in March 2020 as the nation quickly adopted measures to socially distance and limit the spread of COVID-19.
Ron Nirenberg (left), mayor of San Antonio, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein (center), and Brig. Gen. Laura Lenderman, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio commander, meet with key military representatives of JBSA, Texas, March 11, 2020, regarding current operations surrounding COVID-19. (Air Force)
Air Force Academy begins dismissing cadets over coronavirus
Gen. Dave Goldfein and his wife Dawn also traveled to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland to find out what the base and families there need to fight coronavirus.
Academy officials concluded last spring that they could not effectively separate all 4,000 or so cadets on campus to the degree necessary to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
Three-quarters of the students were sent home over an eight-day period — the first time this had happened in the academy’s history — and the school quickly shifted to remote learning.
But without in-person supervision over the next few months, some cadets allegedly resorted to cheating.
Academic safeguards put in place by the dean of faculty detected infractions, which prompted the academy to launch investigations, the release said.
However, the process of working through possible honor code infractions is taking longer than usual due to the pandemic. Because cadets are in charge, the work could not begin until all students returned to Colorado Springs for the fall semester last year.
Even after the process began, it proceeded slower than usual because of COVID restrictions, the release said.
The academy believes probation and remediation will likely be enough for those cadets to learn their lesson. More than 90 percent of cadets who go through remediation do not offend again, the academy said.
Cadets who have violated the honor code are also not allowed to represent the academy until they have finished their required remediation.
“Remediation is a consequence and not an act of leniency,” Clark said. “If earned, remediation provides an opportunity to reset the moral compass and deepen a cadet’s understanding of and respect for the Honor Code. Developing leaders of character is not without life lessons and learning from these mistakes.”
The academy said Clark “has complete confidence” in its academic integrity, and that it is putting measures in place to try to deter cadets from future violations of the honor code.
These measures include better using technology to monitor for plagiarism, and monitoring websites in real time to identify when cadets are improperly sharing information with one another. The academy has also developed supplemental course content and resources to improve cadets’ learning.
About Stephen Losey
Stephen Losey covers leadership and personnel issues as the senior reporter for Air Force Times. He comes from an Air Force family, and his investigative reports have won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover Air Force operations against the Islamic State.
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Cheating scandal during COVID lockdown ensnares 249 Air Force Academy cadets Stephen Losey
Academy basic cadets participate in the first phase of basic cadet training with marching drills on July 8 on the Terrazzo at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. The academy has investigated 249 cadets for alleged cheating last spring, after three-quarters of the academy's students were sent home in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. (Trevor Cokley/Air Force) The Air Force Academy believes 249 cadets cheated on exams and other assignments during the rapid shift to remote learning during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic last spring.
In a Friday release, the academy said those cadets are suspected of violating the school’s honor code in a variety of ways — from failing to properly cite sources and looking up answers on unauthorized tutoring websites while taking exams to completing final exams in small groups.
Most of those cadets have admitted to cheating and have been placed on probation and remediation for six months, said officials at the academy, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The rest of the cases are pending, and are at various stages.
Two cadets have been dismissed from the academy for cheating, academy spokesman Michael Slater said in a follow-up email. The cadets involved were spread across the lower three classes of 2021, 2022 and 2023, Slater said. No cadets who graduated in the class of 2020 last year were involved, he said.
Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark has ordered the first review of the academy’s honor program in years as a result of the cheating scandal, the academy said. The review seeks to recommend ways to improve the honor program so it properly develops cadets’ character and teaches them to follow the academy’s honor code: “We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does.”
“The Honor Code is not only foundational to the Air Force Academy, but it serves as a guide for cadets to live an honorable life, whether serving in uniform or not,” Clark said. “Honor serves as one of my fundamental institutional priorities for developing leaders of character.”
The cheating scandal unfolded after the academy rapidly dismissed about 3,000 of its students ― all but the seniors who were about to graduate — in March 2020 as the nation quickly adopted measures to socially distance and limit the spread of COVID-19.
Ron Nirenberg (left), mayor of San Antonio, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein (center), and Brig. Gen. Laura Lenderman, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio commander, meet with key military representatives of JBSA, Texas, March 11, 2020, regarding current operations surrounding COVID-19. (Air Force) Air Force Academy begins dismissing cadets over coronavirus Gen. Dave Goldfein and his wife Dawn also traveled to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland to find out what the base and families there need to fight coronavirus.
Academy officials concluded last spring that they could not effectively separate all 4,000 or so cadets on campus to the degree necessary to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
Three-quarters of the students were sent home over an eight-day period — the first time this had happened in the academy’s history — and the school quickly shifted to remote learning.
But without in-person supervision over the next few months, some cadets allegedly resorted to cheating.
Academic safeguards put in place by the dean of faculty detected infractions, which prompted the academy to launch investigations, the release said.
However, the process of working through possible honor code infractions is taking longer than usual due to the pandemic. Because cadets are in charge, the work could not begin until all students returned to Colorado Springs for the fall semester last year.
Even after the process began, it proceeded slower than usual because of COVID restrictions, the release said.
The academy believes probation and remediation will likely be enough for those cadets to learn their lesson. More than 90 percent of cadets who go through remediation do not offend again, the academy said.
Cadets who have violated the honor code are also not allowed to represent the academy until they have finished their required remediation.
“Remediation is a consequence and not an act of leniency,” Clark said. “If earned, remediation provides an opportunity to reset the moral compass and deepen a cadet’s understanding of and respect for the Honor Code. Developing leaders of character is not without life lessons and learning from these mistakes.”
The academy said Clark “has complete confidence” in its academic integrity, and that it is putting measures in place to try to deter cadets from future violations of the honor code.
These measures include better using technology to monitor for plagiarism, and monitoring websites in real time to identify when cadets are improperly sharing information with one another. The academy has also developed supplemental course content and resources to improve cadets’ learning.
About Stephen Losey Stephen Losey covers leadership and personnel issues as the senior reporter for Air Force Times. He comes from an Air Force family, and his investigative reports have won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover Air Force operations against the Islamic State.
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Most Watched Videos DC on lockdown, a push for battlefield tech, and how MRE's are made - Defense News Weekly, 1.23.21 An unprecedented National Guard presence marks the crescendo of the security reaction to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, a push for faster development of battlefield tech, and a look at the science behind how MRE's are created to sustain troops in all kinds of situations. That and more on this edition of Defense News Weekly for Jan. 23, 2021. promo DC locked down | Military Times Reports promo How an MRE is Born: Part 2 - Nutrition | Observation Post promo Interviews: National Guardsmen in US capital for inauguration Top Headlines Here is the Space Force’s new rank structure Cheating scandal during COVID lockdown ensnares 249 Air Force Academy cadets Coming to TV: ‘Daughters of Kobani’ & the all-female militia that took on ISIS — and won Drawdowns of troops in Germany and Afghanistan up in the air FDA approves Army-developed battlefield TBI blood test
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