{"id":2636485,"date":"2026-07-28T08:25:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T12:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ivy-league-professor-discovers-massive-ai-cheating-after-making-students-take-final-in-person\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T08:28:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T12:28:32","slug":"ivy-league-professor-discovers-massive-ai-cheating-after-making-students-take-final-in-person","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ivy-league-professor-discovers-massive-ai-cheating-after-making-students-take-final-in-person\/","title":{"rendered":"Ivy League Professor Discovers Massive AI Cheating After Making Students Take Final In-Person"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fivy-league-professor-discovers-massive-ai-cheating-after-making-students-take-final-in-person%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2636485&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An economics professor at Brown University conducted an unusual exam incident involving potential widespread AI cheating. The professor, Roberto Serrano, gave a take-home midterm for the first time to avoid issues following a December shooting at the school, but suspected many students used AI tools like ChatGPT to cheat, as evidenced by similar answers and unusually high scores averaging 96%. Normally, midterm grades range from 65-80%, and this exam was intentionally more challenging. When the in-person final was held, results showed a significant drop in performance, with the average score plunging to 48.6%,the lowest ever for the course. Some students dropped the class or skipped the final, and a few scored zero.serrano reported his findings to university authorities but received limited response. The university emphasized its commitment to academic integrity but has yet to pursue clear disciplinary action, citing issues with AI detection tools&#8217; reliability. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/horrific-crime-up-to-12-arrested-for-raping-girl-14-attackers-tied-to-somalia-north-africa\/\" title=\"Shocking Incident: 12 Arrested for Assaulting 14-Year-Old Girl - Suspects Linked to Somalia and North Africa\">incident highlights concerns<\/a> over AI cheating in education and challenges universities face in enforcing academic honesty amidst emerging technologies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>An economics professor at Brown University found evidence of likely widespread cheating with artificial intelligence after making the final exam for the class in-person, meaning students had no opportunity to use the technology.<\/p>\n<p>Roberto Serrano gave his students a take-home midterm this spring semester for the first time since the start of his teaching career, according to a July 8 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/faculty\/learning-assessment\/2026\/07\/08\/brown-professor-suspects-most-his-class-used-ai-cheat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from Inside Higher Ed.<\/p>\n<p>He made the decision because of a December shooting at the school, over which some students were still uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>Inside Higher Ed reported that Serrano \u201cregretted the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The professor suspected that dozens of students used AI to cheat and earn perfect or nearly perfect scores \u2014 resulting in a class average of 96 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHistorically the average grade in the midterm of this course has ranged between 65 and 80 [percent], and this exam was harder than the exams I wrote in the past,\u201d Serrano told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that the exam was made harder than usual because \u201ctake-home is an opportunity to challenge the class a little bit more, given that you\u2019re giving the students unlimited time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Serrano and his graders found that they could produce similar answers as their students using ChatGPT, which spit out \u201ckind of correct, but very off and with a very convoluted style.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a message students, Serrano said that he would be hosting an in-person final, and would give the class a chance to prove that AI had not inflated their scores.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the distribution of the final exam is roughly similar to the distribution of the midterm, I will count the midterm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOtherwise, which is of course what I expect to happen, I will declare the midterm void and reweigh the final accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In response, 18 students dropped the class, nine skipped the final altogether, and three students earned a zero.<\/p>\n<p>The average class score on the final was a dismal 48.6 percent \u2014 an historic low for the course, which in previous years saw average final scores of 65 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Inside Higher Ed reported that \u201conly a few students scored similarly to how they did on the midterm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Serrano sent his findings to Brown\u2019s Standing Committee on the Academic Code in May, but he did not receive a response.<\/p>\n<p>Only after he went public did the body tell him to submit individual complaints against each student suspected of cheating on the midterm, as well as provide copies of the students\u2019 exams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat they are asking is ridiculous,\u201d Serrano remarked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe they plan to run them through some AI-detection tool, which is well-known to give many false positives and false negatives,\u201d the professor added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir response, I must tell you, is seen as appalling and insufficient by hundreds of people who have ed me in support, many of them Brown alumni.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown University representative Brian Clark insisted in a statement to Inside Higher Ed that the school would take the claims seriously.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrown treats every allegation of academic integrity with the utmost seriousness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn regard to this economics course, multiple academic leaders from Brown were in touch with the faculty member who raised concerns to provide details about how the allegations raised could be formally adjudicated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo date, the faculty member has not provided the necessary details to the Standing Committee on the Academic Code to pursue this path toward resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your 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