The students questioned the legitimacy of Corllins University, an institution where Ms. Robertson said she got her master’s and doctorate degrees. It lists no physical address on its website and has been the subject of consumer complaints and warnings about its lack of accreditation. Her profile on LinkedIn, the professional networking site, did not identify where she had earned her master’s degree and Ph.D., listing only “N/A.”

Smaller details also aroused the students’ curiosity. For instance, Ms. Robertson said she had earned a bachelor’s of fine arts degree from the University of Tulsa, but when the students checked, they learned it does not confer that kind of degree, Ms. Smith said.

The students and Ms. Smith met with the school superintendent, Destry Brown, about their concerns, and he was “supportive and open,” she said. They kept reporting and “continued to write up to five minutes before it went to print,” she said.

On Friday, The Redux, a monthly broadsheet published 10 times a year, hit the newsstands with a front-page story, headlined “District Hires New Principal” and with the subheading, “Background called into question after discrepancies arise.”

On Tuesday night, the board of education met and announced that Ms. Robertson had resigned. “In light of the issues that arose” she felt it was in the district’s best interest, a board statement said.

Ms. Robertson, who was to assume the $93,000-a-year position starting on July 1, could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

Ms. Robertson, who lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was the principal of the Dubai American Scientific School, and recently had her license temporarily suspended by education authorities there, The Gulf News reported. Immigration issues prevented her from getting needed permits, The News reported.