MBA Cheating Scandal Ends With Almost 100 GMAT Scores Cancelled
In June, 6,000 MBA hopefuls saw their aspirations come crashing down
when it came to light that their GMAT scores could be cancelled due
to a cheating scandal that involved the illegal posting of live GMAT
test questions on Scoretop.com. Most of those students named in the controversy can now breathe a sigh of relief.
The Graduate Management Admission Council, the company that
administers the GMAT test, announced that only 84 test takers, not
the several hundred or thousand students as many originally feared,
would have their test scores voided, according to a Business Week article (“Nearly 100 Would-Be MBAs Nailed in GMAT Scandal,” Sept. 9, 2008).
Of the 84 students whose scores were cancelled, 72 posted messages
on Scoretop.com saying that they recognized test-prep questions from
the site on their GMAT exam. These individuals will not be allowed
to retest and, as a result, may not be able to qualify for a MBA
program that requires the GMAT as an admissions prerequisite.
The remaining 12 individuals who had their scores cancelled, but who
didn’t post test question information on the Scoretop site, will be
eligible to retest after three years. Some 500 score reports sent to
colleges and universities by the 84 test takers were also cancelled
by GMAC, which notified all affected schools of the cancelled
scores.
GMAC President David Wilson said that the decision to cancel scores
was based on extensive analysis of data from the Scoretop Web site
as well as GMAT registration and examination information.
“We take the action of canceling scores very seriously, with a full
understanding of our ethical responsibility to both students and
schools to protect the integrity of the test and the application
process,” Wilson stated in a recent press release (“Graduate
Management Admission Council Completes Investigation of GMAT Test Takers Who Used Scoretop.com; Scores Canceled,” Sept. 9, 2008).
Colleges to Handle Students With Cancelled Scores Differently
At the number-one ranked University of Chicago business school, two students enrolled this fall had their scores cancelled, leaving
administrators only two weeks after GMAC’s score-cancellation
announcement to figure out what to do prior to the start of the new
semester.
Derrick Bolton, MBA admissions director at Stanford University, was notified of 20 cancelled scores, including one from a student who
already graduated and 10 from applicants who were denied admission.
If any of these 10 applicants re-apply in the future, Bolton said,
they will be required to provide detailed explanations of their
involvement with Scoretop before their application is considered.
The fate of the student who already graduated has yet to be
determined.
University of Michigan’s dean of the Ross School of Business, Robert Dolan, said the school will strictly enforce its honor code, which prohibits cheating, for any Ross students identified by GMAC as part of the scandal on a case-by-case basis.