TSU officials probe scheme to alter grades By RON NISSIMOV Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Texas Southern University officials are investigating a cheating scheme in which a university employee allegedly improved the grades of 31 students, charging some students as much as $200. The employee, Christopher Dennard Pearson, resigned Feb. 5 from his position as verification officer of the registrar. TSU spokeswoman LaChanda Jenkins said school officials were planning to take disciplinary action against Pearson, but he was out of town and submitted his resignation by courier before they could do so. Two other employees, Sherman C. Parker and John E. Smith, were fired because they knew about the scheme, Jenkins said, even though they didn't change grades. Parker was a recruiter and Smith was a data-entry specialist, according to TSU records. None of the employees could be reached for comment. A fourth employee, whose name was not released Tuesday, has been suspended pending an investigation of his role, Jenkins said. "We view this as a positive thing because we have a system in place that caught this, and because the university responded immediately," said Jenkins. "We have zero tolerance for cheating." TSU officials have not yet decided whether to pursue criminal charges, Jenkins said. She said access to computerized grade records has been curtailed because of the incident and that routine audits will be conducted more often. This is the second cheating scandal at a local university in recent months. In December, Rice's student newspaper revealed that 22 students, most of whom varsity athletes, had been accused by their professor of cheating on their take-home exams last spring. TSU officials discovered through a routine audit Jan. 31 that many grades had been changed without the proper authorization from Jan. 7 to Jan. 27. The 31 students were withdrawn from university courses immediately after the scheme was uncovered, and their proper grades were reinstated. Under university policy, students accused of cheating have a right to be reinstated pending an official hearing, Jenkins said. So far, 24 of the 31 students have admitted wrongdoing and have been reinstated pending their hearings. Under a student conduct handbook, punishment for cheating can include expulsion or suspension, Jenkins said. The seven other students have not been heard from, but they have the right to be reinstated if they come forward. "There will be consequences for the students who cheated," Jenkins said. She said the students involved in the scheme represented a cross section of the student population. She said authorities are trying to determine if the employee solicited the students or if they approached him. Some students have said they did not pay for the grade changes, and others have said they paid up to $200, Jenkins said.
This is the second cheating scandal at a local university in recent months. In December, Rice's student newspaper revealed that 22 students, most of whom varsity athletes, had been accused by their professor of cheating on their take-home exams last spring. Is that a joke?
The sad part is that my friends tell me the students were getting their grades changed so they could have the minimum GPA to join a fraternity. Then again, that's just heresay.....
Yeah, sounds like something everyone would cheat on. They are supposed to follow an "honor code." Supposedly several people had the same weird answers to some questions, and that's how they found out they were colluding.
All tests at Rice are unproctored. There is an honor code that is rigidly followed by the VAST majority of students. Unfortunately some of the athletes didn't feel they have to live up to it, and they got busted bad. Cheating is taken very seriously. We're not like many (NOT ALL) A&M and UT students I know who brag about how they "cheated their way through school".
