Maybe not the best way of handling this. If the students admitted cheating, then they at least have a conscience. I would have given them a chance to redo so that their belated honesty wasn’t merely punished. Now, the real problem is the students who cheated and didn’t come forward.
If you only knew what college is really like now, especially at the private schools that charge in excess of $45,000 a year. The school does not want to lose that money. The school does not want to be sued because little Suzie didn’t get an A.
Yes, the president’s office gets frequent calls from lawyers who want a grade changed or some other special favor for a student. The administration does not want unhappy students and unhappy parents. If it means bending the rules and pretending not to be aware of cheating they’ll do it.
These days a student can skip >50% of their classes and do poorly in the class and still expect to pass with a grade above a C.