Gary Pavela, a former Director of Academic Integrity at Syracuse University who has also consulted with other institutions, said that the publicity of a case such as the Government 1310 scandal undermines the ability of a disciplinary board to educate involved students.

A better solution, he said, is to educate students about their mistakes without creating long-term negative consequences. At Syracuse, he said, first-time violators of the academic integrity policy are typically punished with a failing grade in the course and a mark on their transcripts. That mark disappears after a student successfully completes a not-for-credit seminar designed to educate students about proper academic practices and the importance of trust between a student and teacher.

But Neal wrote that because so many cases of academic dishonesty are the result of an overstressed student searching for a shortcut, “it would not always be prudent to add new seminars or classes to that burden.”

But Pavela disagreed, citing national studies that show a correlation between an increasing number of academic dishonesty cases and decreasing student workloads.

And while Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay M. Harris said at the time the scandal was announced that administrators went public with the investigation in part so that they could “treat it as a teaching opportunity,” some say that Harvard is missing the point.

Daniel, the student involved in the current scandal, said he believes that by bringing the massive case to the Ad Board, Harvard has scapegoated students in Government 1310 instead of addressing the larger pedagogical issues that could lead up to 125 students to cheat on a single test.

Rather than punishing students, Daniel said, Harvard should be facilitating conversations to educate faculty about how to be more clear about their expectations and to teach students about appropriate usage of study guides and other methods of collaboration.

By focusing on punishment, Daniel said, “I think you miss important teaching moments that could really, really be good for the Harvard community.”

—Staff writer Mercer R. Cook can be reached at mcook@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Rebecca D. Robbins can be reached at rrobbins@college.harvard.edu.