MBA Schools on Scoretop Penalties

BusinessWeek asked top MBA programs what penalties they might apply if students gained any advantage from using the Scoretop site

The Graduate Management Admission Council is looking at a computer hard drive containing the names of 6,000 people who allegedly subscribed to the Scoretop.com Web site. The subscribers may have gotten an advance look at live questions being used in the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT).

Last week, BusinessWeek contacted the top-ranked U.S. business programs and asked what penalties might be imposed on applicants, students, and alumni if the GMAC identified them as people who may have gained advantage on the exam from the Scoretop site. Here's a sampling of what they said:

University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business.

"If someone's test score is canceled, we would talk to GMAC about what they've done. I would look at this as analogous to cheating. Someone who is willing to resort to unethical ways get into B-school is not someone I want in my program and definitely not someone I want in the professional world." —Peter Johnson, MBA admissions director

University of Chicago Graduate School of Business

Stacey Kole, deputy dean for the full-time MBA program at the University of Chicago, previously said a lack of hard evidence implicating someone in actual cheating will make the decision-making process difficult. "Without hard evidence, it's very hard to say you're going to throw someone out," she said. "We don't have a problem taking action when we know someone has cheated. I have a tough time taking action when I don't know."

Dartmouth College-Tuck School of Business

"It's way too hypothetical to predict how were going to handle it right now. Until the investigation is complete, it's not fair for us to address the issue." —Dawna Clarke, director of admissions

Duke University-Fuqua School of Business

"All students are required to read and sign the honor code of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business before submitting the application for admission. The scope of the honor code includes the commitment to the principles of honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, and respect for others. A signature indicates that the applicant has read the honor code and agrees to accept and abide by the honor code and its bylaws.

"Our honor code is nonnegotiable, and we treat violations very seriously. Our honor code details our core values as an institution and we depend on and require every member of the Fuqua community to uphold the code in both spirit and action. In the event that we learn of individuals who have violated the GMAC testing policies, the penalty would be consistent with that which would apply to anyone who has lied or cheated to gain an advantage either in the admission process or as a student at Fuqua."

[Penalties] "could range from suspension to expulsion to revocation of a degree, depending on the infraction." —Chris Privett, spokesman

Georgetown University-McDonough School of Business

"If it's determined that a candidate's score is canceled by GMAC through participation through Scoretop, and we've used that score for admission into the program, we'll rescind the offer of admission." —Kelly Wilson, assistant dean and director, full-time MBA admissions