Cheating on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test – what applies at KI

Negotiations in a trial at Linköping District Court against a number of people suspected of being involved in organised cheating on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (Högskoleprovet) were recently completed. A total of 31 people have been prosecuted. The District Court's judgment was pronounced on January 10, 2019.

Several media outlets have recently drawn attention to the trial, and one common question they have raised is: How many people cheated and received a place on prestigious university or college programmes on false grounds?

KI’s stance on cheating

“Karoliska Institutet takes all forms of cheating at the university very seriously. Cheating on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test will never be accepted,” said Christopher Sönnerbrandt, Head of KI's Admissions Unit.

For KI, it is very important that the cooperation between various authorities continue, to ensure that any organised cheating on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test is identified.
According to Swedish law, it is prohibited to provide false or misleading information that constitutes the basis for the decisions of the authorities, such as decisions about admission to higher education studies. If a person were to be admitted to a study programme at KI on the basis of false credentials, such as falsified scores or cheating on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test, then KI has the right to revoke the offer of admission and said person would thus lose his/her place in the programme.

Five students have been asked to leave KI

In the beginning of 2016, five newly admitted students in the Medical Programme were forced to leave KI with immediate effect. This occurred when UHR (the Swedish Council for Higher Education) discovered that they had cheated on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test. The semester began in the middle of January. The students were made to leave KI in mid-February, after one month of study.

How UHR is reacting

UHR, the Swedish Council for Higher Education, will now go through the material that becomes available upon conclusion of the negotiations. Should it become evident that test-takers have entered university education programmes as the result of cheating on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test, UHR will notify the affected university or college. Only then can the higher education institution in question revoke its decision regarding admission.

Questions or reporting

If you have any questions or would like to report an incident that relates to cheating, please contact antagning@ki.se