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If you have to ask, then yes, it’s hugely unethical. If the date is an issue, leave it out of the resume. But fudging anything is deception, and expect it to come out during a background check that many companies routinely do.

Absolutely not! It's a slippery slope when one starts fudging "just a little".

Well, surely it's better to leave your integrity up in the air than lie and leave no doubt.

If you have an interview and they complain about the date on the resume, I'd think your integrity would be better than the company's.

It is not ethical. Criminally, it would be called “fraud”, though I doubt anyone will call the cops on you. The way this bites you in the ass is HR figures it out and uses it against you or to coerce you somehow, post-hire.

Most background checks verify graduation dates with the institutions you have degrees from, so this would almost certainly come up.