The Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning recently conducted its first external quality assurance audit on the Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol) to determine whether the latter's system and procedures are in line with international best practices. The goal is to improve accountability and the promotion of high quality programme delivery.

The Swedish labor minister listed on his resume on the government's website an M.B.A. taken at Fairfax University, which several US states listed as a so-called "degree mill". The Minister said he earned the degree through distance learning while he worked in the United States, but the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education rejected it as an illegitimate credential. "We would not rate a degree taken there," said the head of the Swedish department for evaluation of foreign qualifications.

An Arizona woman pleads guilty to running an elaborate scam that highlights what federal authorities describe as the vulnerability of online education to financial-aid fraud. The scheme embroiled Rio Salado College, home to one of America's largest online programs, in a half-million-dollar con.

The Higher Education Board (YÖK) has launched an inquiry into allegations that about 450 students, most of whom are relatives of senior Justice and Development Party (AK Party) figures, were enrolled at Istanbul University's open and distance education faculty (AUZEF) even though they did not meet the enrollment criteria. All high school graduates have to pass the YGS and the LYS in order to be admitted to universities in Turkey.

A new distance-learning course being offered in Jordan aims to teach government officials and others how to stamp out corruption before it takes hold.

The U.S. Education Department last week proposed new rules that would loosen a ban on incentive compensation for college recruiters and get rid of a financial-aid regulation. The proposal to eliminate the 12-hour rule follows years of debate. Distance-education providers have pushed the department and Congress to throw out the regulation, but others have cited fears that relaxing the rule would lead to fraud.