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Offshore A’s – UMW’s David Rettinger is the go-to expert for the Varsity Blues trial

Sep 15, 2021

1 min

David Rettinger


The Varsity Blues case captured headlines over two years ago, when news broke that wealthy parents paid upwards of $25 million in bribes to help their children cheat on test scores and secure college admission.


As the trial gets underway this week, Professor of Psychological Science David Rettinger, who oversees Academic Integrity Programs at the University of Mary Washington, can provide unique insight into the scandal and the rise of contract cheating at colleges and universities across the country. He was recently interviewed by CBS News about the billion dollar cheating industry that has emerged in Kenya, where Americans are paying African students to do homework, write essays and in some cases, even complete degrees for them.


"I think the state of cheating at colleges and universities is serious and getting more serious," David Rettinger ... told CBS News.

He said that cheating is problematic because it means people can graduate from degree programs without actually being qualified in their fields.

"We trust our doctors have been to medical school," Rettinger said. "Cheating leads us to overall social corruption because it leads us to having a cadre of professionals who can't actually do the work that they claim they can do."


You can see the full interview and story here:



Dr. David Rettinger is available to speak with media regarding this issue of cheating and academic integrity. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.


Connect with:
David Rettinger

David Rettinger

Professor and Director of Academic Integrity Programs

Dr. Rettinger is an internationally recognized expert on academic integrity.

Psychology of Student CheatingAcademic Integrity PolicyTeaching and Learning for Academic IntegrityFaculty DevelopmentInstitutional Assessment of Academic Integrity

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