34 Duke MBAs Caught Cheating

In the largest cheating incident in the history of the Fuqua School of Business, 34 students in the daytime class of 2008 face penalties for violating the Fuqua Honor Code in a required first-year course.

Charged with collaborating on a single take-home exam in the third quarter of their first year, nine of the convicted students face expulsion for "extremely severe violations," and another 15 students will receive a one-year suspension and a failing grade in the course for "severe offense," according to an e-mail sent to the Fuqua community last Friday.

In accordance with Honor Code policy, the University Judicial Board must keep the details of the case confidential, including the students' names.

All students of the class of 2008 were at risk of being expelled, while fifteen others will be suspended for one year, Mike Hemmerich, an associate dean at the school, confirmed. Students were found guilty of collaborating answers in the exam.

"Fuqua depends on every member of its community to uphold the code in both spirit and action. This is why we require, as a condition of enrollment, that all students acknowledge their personal acceptance of the code," said a statement released by Dean Douglas T. Breeden.