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The University of South Africa (UNISA) underwent a quality audit by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), which raised concerns about ambiguous roles between the Senate and Council, potentially infringing on academic authority. The audit highlighted governance issues, late registrations impacting student success, and communication gaps with students. UNISA has submitted an improvement plan to address these concerns and awaits feedback from the CHE.

A study reveals that a significant number of UK universities continue to accept millions in cash for tuition and accommodation payments, making them vulnerable to money laundering risks. Around 22 universities still accepted cash payments, with the total reaching £12m in 2019-20. The research highlights concern about anti-money-laundering guidelines not being strictly followed and universities not reporting suspicious activity, potentially endangering staff and students. The study calls for stricter legislation to address these vulnerabilities.

At a webinar organized by the University of Nairobi, a professor of curriculum and instruction at Texas Tech University challenged university faculty members to adopt innovative online assessment techniques that limit student cheating and implement academic integrity policies. Cheating can be limited by disabling certain functions, such as copy and paste, and by using software to prohibit access to certain applications, such as email, or to disable screen sharing. Systems whereby teachers are alerted when students attempt to cheat, and authentication can also help curb risks.

With exams just around the corner, students from Bournemouth University talk about what academic integrity means to them, how using it means they get better marks, how to avoid committing an academic offence and where to get help when they need it.

20 Massey University students allegedly caught using ChatGPT to cheat have claimed amnesty in exchange for their confessions. The teaching team offered an amnesty deadline and those who resubmitted their work would receive a maximum mark of 50%. For those who didn’t, a confirmed breach can result in a mark of zero for the assessment or a failure for the whole course.

The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has announced a new policy for staff that bans any close personal relationship with students that “transgresses the boundaries of professional conduct”. This comes as regulator the Office for Students works on its regulations for staff-student relationships, launching a consultation on regulating harassment and sexual misconduct in higher education.

The United Kingdom’s top universities are split over how to respond to ChatGPT, with Oxford and Cambridge among those banning the technology over plagiarism fears, while others have opted to embrace it. 8 out of 24 of the elite Russell Group universities have informed students that using the AI bot for assignments will count as academic misconduct. Dozens of other universities across the country are reviewing their plagiarism policies in time for this year’s assessments.

Some universities in Asia described the artificial intelligence writing tools ChatGPT as the use of “unfair means” while others consider it as a temporary measure until proper policies for their use can be worked out. Unless a student has the course instructor’s written permission, the use of ChatGPT will be regarded as using other people’s work and will be treated in the same way as plagiarism. Teachers can set supplementary oral or written exams or adopt other measures if they suspect ChatGPT or another AI-based tool has been used.

Fontys University in the Netherlands is keen to teach students to think about the impact and use of educational technology through the Moral Design Game. Based on scientific insights, the game challenges players to think about the dominant values that various stakeholders draw on to make decisions. The goal of the game is to inspire and teach students, teachers, and staff to improve their thinking and debate ethical questions.

To ensure academic integrity and prevent plagiarism, the Paris Institute of Political Studies has banned the use of ChatGPT, the new chatbot capable of instantly writing essays. Without transparent referencing, students are forbidden to use the software for any written work or presentations, except for specific course purposes. The sanctions for use of the software may go as far as exclusion from the institution.