Home » Learning Blog »Archive for July 2008

ARCHIVE FOR JULY 2008

GMAT Cheating Scandal Impacts 6,000 College Test-Takers

July 3rd, 2008

A cheating scandal that impacts prospective and current graduate business students has expanded to as many as 6,000 test-takers of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

According to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), those involved cheated by accessing actual live test questions. These questions were taken from the current GMAT and placed illegally on a website called Scoretop.com, which was advertised as a GMAT test preparation business.

The GMAT is a prerequisite for admission to most graduate business schools, including traditional and online MBA programs.

The website apparently advertised that live questions would be accessible to those who paid additional fees to become VIP members of the website. Legitimate test-preparation companies, like Kaplan Inc., purchase ‘retired’ questions from the GMAC.

A few days ago, the GMAC won a $2.35 million judgement for copyright infringement against the owners of the Scoretop website, along with legal permission to seize both the domain name and a hard drive listing names and payment information about those who purchased VIP status. The FBI was instrumental in helping the GMAC build a case against Scoretop administrators.

Now, GMAC is investigating information on the hard drive in order to determine who will have their scores cancelled. Some test-takers are already enrolled in MBA programs, while others used the scores to apply to their desired colleges and universities.

The cancelling of scores could be devastating to those involved; since cheating is not tolerated in any form by reputable on-campus and online business schools.

The GMAC plans to go after any websites that illegally obtain live GMAT questions; and test-takers who access those sites could also face repercussions down the road.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page from the GMAC is available to those who have further questions about the Scoretop scandal and how it is being handled.

GMAT, online MBA, MBA, graduate school, business school, Kaplan, colleges and universities, online schools, scoretop.com, FBI

Popularity: 5% [?]

Popular Posts

Justice Department Protects Thousands of Fake Degree Customers

An unpopular decision by the Justice Department to keep secret the names of almost 11,000 fake degree customers has dealt a harsh blow to the cause of those fighting to eliminate diploma mills.

Release of Names in Fake Degree Case is Tip of the Iceberg

The release of over 9,000 names this week in the well-publicized Washington diploma mill case was like dropping a stone in the middle of a lake.

Newspaper Shocks All by Naming Buyers of Fake Degrees

Although the Justice Department ruled that the names of fake degree buyers in a Seattle diploma mill case would not be revealed, a resourceful newspaper unexpectantly -- and surprisingly, obtained the list.