Ivy League college students are, by definition, smart. They don’t need using generative artificial intelligence to cheat in exams; they could just learn the material. But they also tend to be competitive, ambitious, and planned, so AI may seem like an easy shortcut in their lives that frees up more time for things that can’t be done by a chatbot. What approach do they take when the pressure is on?
A new scandal at Brown University reveals that many of these students are likely to be cheating.
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A A recent survey of Princeton students 29.9 percent admitted to cheating with AI on at least one exam or assignment. But the recent case in Brown gives us a better understanding of what this kind of cheating looks like in a given classroom, and how much it can replace real learning. And we know all this because Roberto Serrano, the blind economics professor at the center of it all, won’t let it go.
Over the past week, Serrano, who was born in Spain, told his story Country and Inside Higher Edboth have significant pieces in the scandal.
The story Serrano told them was in December 2025, a A gunman attacked Brown’s campus and two others, including one who had recently introduced himself to Serrano.
Roberto Serrano receives an award from the King of Spain in 2025.
Credit: Getty Images
Roberto Serrano receives an award from the King of Spain in 2025.
Credit: Getty Images
Shaken by the experience, Serrano decided that the spring 2026 section of the notoriously difficult ECON 1170 would allow take-home exams for both midterms and finals. Suddenly there was an influx of students to the course. El Pais has a story:
The course… usually attracts few students, but very good ones. (Serrano) never had more than 30 students at a time, and in some cases only eight students. This semester, 86 students enrolled in the class, probably because of the new grading system. The results of the midterm exam held on March 5 were extraordinary, with an average score of 96 out of 100. 40 students showed 100 perfect results.
It was really unusual because, as Serrano told Inside Higher Ed, “Historically, the midterm for this course has averaged between 65 and 80 (percent), and this exam was more difficult than any exams I’ve written in the past because … going home is an opportunity to challenge the class a little bit more, given that you’re giving students unlimited time.”
