MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The students in the information systems class in the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics yesterday morning were discussing ethics. The topic was straight out of the morning headlines.

The previous day, a special investigative panel found that WVU administrators had awarded an executive masters of business administration degree to Heather Bresch, the daughter of West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III, even though she had not earned it. Evidence showed that university officials altered transcripts, "cherry picked" information and "simply pulled [grades] from thin air."

There was a lesson to be learned here.

And yet there was no outrage. The reaction in many of the classrooms and all along High Street in downtown Morgantown was more of a shrugging acceptance.

"Hopefully it won't taint anything that the school has done or is going to do, because it is a good business school," said Derek Putila, 21, a junior working toward a degree in business administration. "Stuff like that happens all the time with people who have a certain last name. But you can't really help that."

Mr. Putila said it's disappointing to see Ms. Bresch receive a degree "not necessarily because of what she's done, but who she is."

"They said it had nothing to do with her being [the governor's] daughter, but everybody knows different," he said. "We talked about it in a couple of my classes today. It seems to be kind of the same reaction all around. Everybody knows that it happens. It just doesn't usually happen so close to home."

Some WVU administrators and faculty members, however, are determined to see that such a jaded view will be addressed. They have said they will rescind Ms. Bresch's degree and institute record-keeping practices that will avoid confusion and controversy in the future.

Mr. Putila and others said the controversy won't affect their own work or the pride they will take in the degrees they earn.

Student Government President Jason Parsons, 20, a junior studying political science, has followed the news coverage and has seen the panel's report.

"From the student perspective, my take on it is that there was a lot of speculation and a lot of things reported in the press [that contributed] to the hype and intensity about it," said Mr. Parsons, who also serves on the university's board of governors. "We know the president has said he's committed to addressing the recommendations of the panel, and I'm satisfied. I think he should do that, and I trust him to do that, and I think it's time to move forward from this with things in place to make sure that it never happens again.

"I don't think it cheapens the value of a degree here. I think this is just a case of one person. My degree, when I graduate, will mean very much to me. I will hang it on my wall very proudly. I think every student here feels that way."

Tim Stolfi, 21, a junior majoring in finance, said he's not sure how important the piece of parchment is. It's the education that matters.

"I've worked hard for my degree, so I know what it means," said Mr. Stolfi, a native of Long Island, N.Y., who is eyeing a future on Wall Street. He said he chose to study at WVU's business school because it offers a quality education. And his father was a Mountaineer.

"[The degree] is just a step in the door," he said. "If you get a fake degree, you still have to prove yourself in the business world. It's just a piece of paper."

Carye Blaney, county clerk for Monongalia County, has earned a couple of those pieces of paper: bachelor's degree in accounting in 1993 at WVU and a master's degree in public administration in 1999. Her office in the county courthouse on High Street is only blocks away from the campus where she paid the dues in money and effort.

"My reaction is a little bit mixed," she said. "As a West Virginia resident, it makes me a little bit sad. And as a West Virginia graduate, it makes me a little bit sad. I feel badly about the image that it portrays on West Virginia University.

"There have been thousands of graduates from West Virginia University who have gone on to achieve great things. And it saddens me that there's been this black eye."

But she said she believes the university has handled the matter appropriately.

"[WVU President Michael Garrison] took responsibility for the situation and outlined the action that the university is going to take," she said. "And I feel confident that he would do that.

As far as the perspective that such advantages as Ms. Bresch received are commonplace, Ms. Blaney is not convinced.

"I don't think that's the way it works in the real world," she said. "There are plenty of people who work in public service or corporations around the country who have earned degrees and played by the rules and have done outstanding jobs and have been rewarded for their successes."

In the end, she said, something good could come from this lesson. "[Perhaps] the vast majority of employers will pay more attention and scrutinize resumes and make sure that what you put down there is accurate," she said.