New London - A senior cadet at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy asks another student for an answer on a take-home quiz.

It's a violation of the school's honor code, serious enough to warrant expulsion for a senior. But does it mean the cadet wouldn't be a good officer in the Coast Guard?

The current superintendent thinks that, in some cases, it does not.

During Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe's tenure, 10 cadets who were kicked out of the academy for bad behavior have been allowed back in.

Burhoe says he did not want to lose talented young people who he knew could contribute as Coast Guard officers. "I do think people are worth a second chance," he said.

Another 14 cadets who left the academy for a sabbatical or a hardship reason, or because they did not do well enough academically, have also returned. Of the total of 24, eight have graduated, three were disenrolled again and the rest are still at the academy.

Eligible former cadets can reapply to the academy within two years of the day they left. Burhoe proposed "re-energizing" the rarely used readmissions policy soon after he arrived at the school in 2007. He called the move "provocative" since other leaders at the school worried about the signal it might send to the rest of the student body.

Burhoe said he recognizes that teaching respect for the rules and forgiveness, at times, for transgressors is a "tough balance."

"An expression used here a lot is that we need to be consistent. People follow the rules and they know that here's the line, and I agree with that," Burhoe said. "But I do think there is another lesson we have the opportunity to teach cadets, and that's about care, compassion and forgiveness. We should be willing to exercise the care, compassion and forgiveness that we would want them to exercise as junior officers."

The idea sprang from Burhoe's meetings with cadets who were on their way out. The disenrollment process, in some cases, was enough to make a cadet realize what was at stake and trigger the needed change in attitude, Burhoe said.

The cadets still had to leave but now they had the opportunity to prove themselves. Some wrote journals at home, others did community service. They kept in touch with mentors at the academy. Those who got in trouble for alcohol use linked up with groups such as Students Against Drunk Driving.

Thirty-six people have reapplied since 2007. Twenty-one of the requests came from cadets who were disenrolled for conduct reasons, and the rest were cadets who left for a sabbatical, hardship or academic reasons. Their applications go to a board comprising senior administrators, who make a recommendation to the superintendent.

For Susan Bibeau, a retired captain and director of admissions from 2001 to 2010, the biggest challenge was in knowing whether a former cadet had changed.

"My concern as the admissions director was always that there was really no real way for us in admissions to understand if a former cadet had truly accomplished what was intended in the disenrollment decision," she said in a recent interview. "We weren't there to see it."

The current commandant of cadets, Capt. John C. O'Connor III, said you still "can't really know."

"All you can do is look at what they present to you, the preponderance of their record and what it is they've done to show you they're worthy to be readmitted," he said. "And then you take a chance on them. But it's not a blind chance because you do have that track record with the individual."

He added, "It may take something like this to shake them a little bit and wake them up. They will appreciate what they have and work to retain it. I would suggest that those are the type of people we really, really want. That's somebody I would like to serve with."

The proof, Bibeau said, will be in how these decisions play out over time. Burhoe agrees.

"The jury will be out until we see how successful they are," he said, referring to the cadets who have returned. "If it turns out I wasn't as right as I think I am, we'll have to re-examine it. I really believe it is, for the future of the organization and certainly for the culture and climate of the academy, very, very positive."

Economics also played a part in the policy shift. It costs $365,500 to educate a cadet for four years at the academy, according to the school. By the time a cadet has reached junior or senior year, the service has invested a considerable amount of time and money.

"To me it does make good business sense," Burhoe said.

Burhoe, O'Connor and the current admissions director, Capt. Stephan P. Finton, are not worried that current cadets will take the rules and regulations any less seriously, knowing that they can reapply after being kicked out.

Cadets form strong bonds with their classmates, especially after surviving the rigorous first summer together, and rejoining a different class a year or two later is a "big deal," they said.

"We wear uniforms here with rank. People are affiliated with different classes, affiliated for life," O'Connor said, explaining that a senior or junior who helped train an incoming class of new students- which often involves yelling at them- could then be placed in the trainees' class.

"That's a big deal in our environment," O'Connor said.

The other service academies also allow former students to reapply. At the Air Force Academy, however, the board will not normally readmit cadets who violated the honor code.

The Naval Academy considers a former midshipman's academic, conduct and professional performance record. The candidate must also qualify again medically, pass a physical readiness test and meet age requirements.

At the United States Military Academy, 84 cadets seeking readmission to the classes of 2010 through 2014 were approved, out of nearly 250 former students who applied.

While Burhoe has broadened the policy at the Coast Guard Academy, some ex-cadets still need not apply.

He said Thursday he could not think of any circumstances under which a cadet would be readmitted if dismissed for sexual assault, sexual harassment, racial discrimination or anything else that harmed others or greatly embarrassed the academy.

Burhoe plans to retire July 1. He is hopeful the academy will continue considering giving some former cadets a second chance even after he leaves.

"If we know that someone is incredibly talented and is going to do wonderful things somewhere," he said, "why wouldn't we want them to do the great things they're going to do in the Coast Guard?"

j.mcdermott@theday.com