West Point Military Academy expels 8 cadets, requires 51 to repeat a year after biggest cheating scandal at the academy since 1976

April 17, 2021 KT1 US 0

WEST POINT, NY - JUNE 13: West Point graduating cadets gather for commencement ceremonies at Plain Parade Field at the United States Military Academy on June 13, 2020 in West Point, New York. U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the graduating class of 1,107 cadets during a socially-distanced ceremony held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by John Minchillo-Pool/Getty Images)

WEST POINT, NY – JUNE 13: West Point graduating cadets gathered for commencement ceremonies at Plain Parade Field at the United States Military Academy on June 13, 2020 in West Point, New York. (Photo by John Minchillo-Pool/Getty Images)

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UPDATED 5:55 PM PT – Friday, April 16, 2021

A cheating scandal at West Point Military Academy caused the school to expel students and make more than 50 repeat a year.

Reports on Friday said out of the 73 West Point cadets accused in the biggest cheating scandal the military academy has witnessed since 1976, eight were expelled and 51 are required to repeat a year.

The cadets were accused of cheating on an online freshman calculus exam in May, after professors noticed suspicious answers.

WEST POINT, NY - JUNE 27: Cadets walk across 'The Plain' before the Oath of Allegiance ceremony during Reception Day at the United States Military Academy at West Point, June 27, 2016 in West Point, New York. Reception Day is the day when new cadets report to West Point to begin the process of becoming West Point cadets and future U.S. Army officers. Upwards of 1,300 cadet candidates for the class of 2020 will report to West Point on Monday. The new cadets will begin six weeks of basic training before Acceptance Day in early August. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

WEST POINT, NY – JUNE 27: Cadets walked across ‘The Plain’ before the Oath of Allegiance ceremony during Reception Day at the United States Military Academy at West Point, June 27, 2016 in West Point, New York. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The renowned officer training academy has a strict honor code that they “will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do.”

“An instructor going over the exam determined that there was a pattern there, they went back and looked at it and ultimately a number more than fifty of these cadets admitted to having cheating on it,” Pentagon correspondent Tom Vanden Brook said. “So that’s a lot of folks, obviously, and they’re taking it very seriously.”

All of the cadets were freshman, except for one sophomore.

West Point said six cadets resigned while the investigation was underway, four were acquitted by a board of peers and two cases were dropped for insufficient evidence.