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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.

University of Florida (UF) launched an investigation after an internal report detailed a culture of fear among faculty members claiming political influence on campus as well as instances of pressure to destroy and delay publication of COVID-19 research data. The report was the result of a three-week investigation into academic freedom at UF after three full-time professors were prevented from testifying as paid experts in a lawsuit brought against the state over voting rights.

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 number of undergraduate data science programmes in the US increased from 13 in 2014 to at least 50 in 2020. According to a new study, the undergraduate training for data scientists does not sufficiently prepare students for the ethical use of data science, privacy, and systemic bias. Only 50% of the investigated degree programmes required an ethics course.

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.