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Questions about using artificial intelligence go further than cheating on exams or generating text for scientific articles. They concern academic values the integrity of academic work, but also the exploration of the changing relationship between humans and machines. A recent statement by the European University Association, ChatGPT raises issues for universities in terms of updating policies to accommodate such tools while preserving recognition of course work and authentic assessment.

The Justice Department has unsealed conspiracy and wire fraud charges against 25 people in the $114 million sale of 7,600 fake diplomas from three now-defunct South Florida nursing schools. According to an FBI agent, the investigation into the nursing certificates began in 2019. The certificates allowed untrained individuals to sit for national nursing board exams and at least 2,800 of them passed.

The FBI has alleged that meal providers sponsored by Minneapolis-based Feeding Our Future were paid tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for food they never provided to needy children, using most of that money to purchase real estate, luxury vehicles and other goods. Among those convicted were a highly regarded school headmaster who also ran several daycare centres in Georgia, several ministers who ran their own nonprofit organizations distributing meals, and a former congressional candidate.

Following the arrest of a lecturer at the University of Kigali over allegedly forging academic documents, Rwanda’s Higher Education Council (HEC) decided to withdraw recognition for PhD degrees obtained from the United States Atlantic International University. The university has an accreditation from a UK based independent international educational agency, however, dismissed by HEC, because it is not a government agency in charge of accreditation in the UK or elsewhere.

A Los Angeles politician and a former dean at the University of Southern California (USC) were indicted on federal corruption charges. The case involves a bribery scheme in which a relative of the dean received substantial benefits from the university in exchange for the politician supporting county contracts while he served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The co-owner of an online charter school network in California was accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars intended for primary education. He used a variety of schemes to inflate school enrollment to obtain state education funds, including getting small school districts to allow online charter schools, paying sports leagues, camps, and other youth programs to collect student information, distorting school calendars and moving children between online campuses to obtain maximum funding.

An investigation at Baltimore city school found that administrators schemed to inflate enrollment, pressured teachers to change grades and scheduled students into classes that didn’t exist. Over a three-year period, about 100 students remained on the rolls but didn’t attend the school. The school operated evening and summer courses designed to allow students to make up credits, but the courses didn’t meet standards. In some cases, unqualified teachers were assigned to teach the classes, and in other cases, staff members were named as teachers of record for a class they never taught.

California community college officials uncovered the state’s biggest financial aid scam attempts: over 60,000 aid applications compared to 2019, from students older than 30 earning less than US$40,000 annually and seeking a two-year degree rather than a vocational certificate. Faculty were also beginning to question whether many of their ‘students’ were actually fake bot accounts. California community colleges have received more than $1.6 billion in emergency COVID-19 relief for low-income students.

17 medical students at the Geisel School of Medicine were accused of cheating during online exams. The school found evidence of the students who logged into the online course platform Canvas, giving them access to the answers. After an investigation, seven of the cases were dismissed, while the other ten students were expelled, suspended, or giving a failing grade for the course. Some also received unprofessional conduct marks on their records.

Due to a glitch in the online testing program, 31 students out of a class of 137 were involved in a cheating incident at Southern University's School of Nursing. The students used their cell phones and notified other students through a group text message that the cameras were off so that they could cheat. With the exam being compromised, the faculty administered a different exam that covered the same content.