哈佛部分涉嫌作弊學生選擇休學大綱

Facing academic and financial deadlines, some of the Harvard students suspected in a cheating scandal have decided to take a leave of absence rather than face possible suspension for a year, according to people briefed on the matter.

據知情人士透露，在學校校務和財務的截止日即將到來之際，哈佛大學一些身陷作弊醜聞的學生爲了避免可能受到的停學一年處分，而決定主動選擇休學。

Harvard officials declined to confirm or deny a report on Tuesday by Sports Illustrated that one of the university’s star basketball players, Kyle Casey, was among the students withdrawing, and he could not be reached for comment. The university also would not say how many of the students have so far taken a voluntary leave, or how many of those are varsity athletes.

哈佛大學的管理人員拒絕證實或否認《體育畫報》在週二的一篇報道。該報道稱，該大學的籃球明星凱爾·凱西(Kyle Casey)也是休學學生裏的一員。目前無法聯繫採訪到他本人。哈佛大學不願透露已經自願離校學生的人數，也不願透露其中有多少是學校校隊運動員。

Tuesday was officially the last day that undergraduate students could withdraw without being responsible for any tuition payment, though several hundred dollars in fees, room and board could still be assessed. But an academic calendar published by Harvard incorrectly listed the deadline as Wednesday, so university officials said tuition-free withdrawals would be accepted on that day as well.

對本科生來說，週二本是他們可以在不需支付任何學費的情況下，選擇休學的最後一天，不過他們仍需承擔幾百美元的雜費、住宿費、伙食費。但是哈佛大學公佈的校歷卻錯誤地標明星期三才是截止日期，所以哈佛大學的官員們表示，也接受在那天提出的免學費休學申請。

Tuesday was also the last day to register for classes for the semester that began a week earlier.

另外，週二還是學生註冊這學期課程的最後一天。這學期的課程已於一週前已經開始。

The university revealed on Aug. 30 that it was investigating the possibility that almost half of the students in one undergraduate course had committed “academic dishonesty” on a take-home final exam last spring, either collaborating on answers or plagiarizing them outright. Harvard would not name the course, but several of the students who were accused identified it as a government course, Introduction to Congress, with 279 students, meaning that well over 100 were under suspicion, making this the university’s largest case of cheating in memory.

8月30日，哈佛大學宣佈正在就一起作弊案進行調查，該案涉及了某門本科課程中將近一半的學生，他們在該課程春季學期可在家完成的期末考試中，涉嫌協作答卷或抄襲，因而被指“學術欺詐”。哈佛大學不願意透露這門課程的具體信息，但是幾名被指控的學生表示這是一門叫做“國會概論”的政府研究課程，共有279名學生修讀。這意味着有遠超過100名學生存在作弊嫌疑，是該校歷史上最嚴重的作弊事件。

The course had a reputation for easy grading and little required effort, and had a large contingent of student-athletes looking to make room for their time commitment to sports, according to the students. But for reasons that remain unclear, Matthew B. Platt, the assistant professor who taught the class, made it much harder last year, they said.

學生們表示，這門課因爲學習輕鬆又容易得高分而頗受好評，並且有相當數量的學生運動員爲了給運動騰出時間而修這門課。但出於不明原因，他們說教授這門課的助理教授馬修·B·普拉特(Matthew B. Platt)去年把這門課的難度提高了不少。

It falls to the Harvard College Administrative Board to look into each student’s case and pass judgment, which is expected to take months.

如此，檢查每一個學生的考試並做出判斷的重任就落到了哈佛大學管理委員會(Harvard College Administrative Board)的肩上，這項工作預計會耗時數月。

Some of the students said in interviews last week that they had produced nearly identical answers on the exam because they had shared class notes or sought help with the test from graduate students who were their teaching fellows, which they understood to be allowed. Others acknowledged collaborating with fellow students, despite explicit instructions on the test not to do so, but said that behavior was widely accepted.

一些學生在上週接受採訪時說，他們能夠寫出近乎一致的答案是因爲他們互相之間共享了課堂筆記，或者是得到了研究生助教的幫助，而他們以爲，這是被允許的。其他人則將其歸因於與其他同學的合作，雖然考試須知中明確規定此類行爲違規，但據說這樣的做法得到廣泛接受。

Harvard’s rules provide a range of potential punishments for cheating, the most severe being forced withdrawal for a year, but for varsity athletes, there is an added risk. An athlete has a maximum of four years of eligibility to play for the school, and one who took part in even a single game, and then was suspended for the year, would have used up one of those years. But withdrawing before playing could preserve that eligibility for a future year.

哈佛大學校規對作弊行爲一系列的懲罰措施，其中最嚴重的是勒令停學一年。然而對於學校校隊的運動員們來說，他們還需承擔額外的風險。因爲一名運動員爲學校比賽的資格最多隻有四年。如果一名運動員參加了比賽，接着就被停學一年的話，那就會用掉其中的一年，哪怕只進行了一場比賽。但是如果在爲學校參加比賽之前被停學的話，他的資格則可以往後順延一年。

At least a few of the students under investigation have withdrawn, or plan to do so, according to a Harvard official and an athlete who has conferred with some of the departing students. The student said that some of those who are leaving are athletes.

據哈佛大學的一名管理人員和一名曾和部分離校學生進行溝通運動員稱，截止目前，不少處於被調查狀態的學生已經選擇了休學或有此計劃。這名學生透露，離校的學生中有一些是運動員。

Both people were granted anonymity to discuss a topic that the university considers confidential.

由於上述二人提及的情況被哈佛大學認定爲機密內容，在這裏對他們進行匿名處理。

From 2005 to 2010, on average, 17 students per year were required to leave for academic dishonesty. More than 200 per year took voluntary leaves for a variety of reasons.

在2005年到2010年間，平均每年有17名學生由於學術欺詐行爲被勒令離校。而每年因爲各種原因選擇自願離校的學生人數則超過200人。