The Air Force Academy launched an investigation into whether underclassmen cheated on their final exams.
“Academic integrity at the academy is taken extremely seriously,” Air Force Academy spokeswoman Lt. Col. Tracy Bunko said in a statement.
The investigation was opened Wednesday and will examine if students broke the honor code, which bars students from lying, cheating, or stealing, or tolerating anyone who engages in such behavior. Those who break the honor code could face expulsion and be forced to pay back the government for the education they received at the service academy.
“When a faculty member has any concerns about cheating or plagiarism, it is immediately flagged and they conduct sessions known as ‘clarifications’ with cadets to address the concerns openly and to determine if there is a reasonable explanation,” Burke said.”If not, the case is forwarded to the honor system, which determines whether a violation occurred.”
Burke said the clarifications sessions were “common practice” and said that faculty members started meeting with cadets after exams concluded on Friday.
It’s unclear how many cadets are connected to the incident, but a source told the Colorado Springs Gazette that “scores” of first-year cadets were involved.
Bunko did not offer specifics and said that updates would be provided once “hard facts” emerge.
“It is premature to offer an assessment of the scope of any cheating allegations or patterns among those allegations,” Bunko said. “We will provide an update as we learn more.”
Bunko said those who break the honor code “will be dealt with appropriately, to include honor sanctions and academic penalties.”
