Brown Probes AI Cheating Claims After Professor Flagged 50 Students

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 14

Brown said its Academic Code committee is now moving forward after Roberto Serrano submitted the required details on July 8 to pursue allegations that at least 50 students used AI to cheat.
Serrano says the university acted only after he went public: he shared his evidence with El Pais on June 28, heard from the committee three days later, and saw Brown commit to an investigation after wider coverage last week.
86 students enrolled after Serrano shifted exams online following a December campus shooting; the midterm average jumped to 96, with 40 perfect scores and answers he said resembled ChatGPT.
59 students then took the restored in-person final, where the average fell to 48.6; 27 dropped the course, including 22 who had scored 100 on the midterm.
The case underscores a broader struggle for universities as generative AI makes cheating easier and pressures schools to redesign exams and enforcement.

Sources

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Brown University’s 2026 AI Cheating Crisis: Over 50 Students Caught in Ivy League’s Largest Academic Integrity Scandal

Overview

In July 2026, Brown University faced a major academic integrity crisis after widespread AI cheating was uncovered in an economics course. The issue began when Professor Roberto Serrano, responding to student anxiety after a campus shooting, allowed take-home exams. Unusually high scores raised suspicions of AI use, leading Serrano to switch the final to an in-person format, which revealed a dramatic drop in student performance and many course withdrawals. Serrano publicly criticized the university’s slow response, highlighting the challenges universities face in adapting to generative AI and the urgent need for clear policies to protect academic standards.

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