COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) – Fifteen cadets were expelled from the Air Force Academy in a cheating scandal and three others resigned, school commanders said Tuesday.
Thirteen others were placed on probation.
The cadets, all freshman, either confessed or were found guilty of sharing answers to a required test of general knowledge about the Air Force. Academy officials said the cadets forwarded test answers through an Internet social group and private computer messages.
The school first disclosed the investigation in February.
The academy said 29 cadets admitted to cheating and two were found guilty by an honor board. Nine other cadets who were accused of cheating were cleared.
The Cadet Honor Code states, “We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does.” It was developed and adopted by the Air Force Academy’s first cadets, the Class of 1959, and modified slightly modified in the early 1960s.
In 2004, 265 academy cadets were questioned about cheating on a military etiquette test. Of the total, 69 were found to be potentially involved, seven resigned, 12 admitted to cheating, seven were found guilty by the honor board, and 43 were cleared.
Those who confessed or were found guilty were expelled or put on probation.
