BATON ROUGE- Southern University's School of Nursing had to re-administer a nursing exam to 137 students after university leaders said "widespread cheating" was found.

The problem involved an online exam where cameras didn't turn on. At that time, Southern said a group text went out among students saying the cameras were off and they could cheat.

Southern University issued two statements pertaining to the incident after WBRZ began asking questions. The first statement was issued on Tuesday, May 4.

Like all programs at Southern University, our School of Nursing strives to ensure that our students receive a fair, equitable and quality educational experience. We were able to identify the issue to which the anonymous student made reference. There was substantiated proof of widespread cheating on an examination. Per regular classroom procedure, the test was re-administered to all students. The test was in a different format but had the same information. This gave everyone a fair chance. The faculty provided students additional assistance through practice examinations and other resources, all of which were germane to the test in question, contrary to the anonymous student's allegations.

Finally, we would like to stress that if any student has issues regarding a class, grading, or program, they are able to broach concerns or grievances through their respective deans and Academic Affairs.

When WBRZ followed up with more questions about specifics, Southern issued another statement Friday, May 7.

Thirty-one students out of a class of 137 were involved in this incidence. Unfortunately, due to a glitch in the on-line testing program, the cameras were off for a brief period. Some students were aware that the cameras were off, and against testing guidelines used their cell phones and notified other students through a group text message that the cameras were off and that they could cheat. The problem with the camera was immediately corrected by the course faculty once it was discovered, which was approximately 30 minutes into the exam. As a result of the exam being compromised, the faculty administered a different exam that covered the same content.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges to Schools of Nursing, including on-line exam security. Academic integrity violations, including cheating, have increased across the nation in response to challenges with remote learning and online testing posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

WBRZ also checked with LSU to see if there were cheating issues there. A spokesman said the university also experiences academic misconduct from time to time. They've used services like ProctorU, which insures integrity of online exams to prevent students from having an unfair advantage.