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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.

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.

The University of South Carolina has accepted the resignation of its president after he admitted plagiarizing part of a speech by the former head of the US Special Operations Command during a weekend commencement speech. In his letter, the president took full responsibility for the oversight of citing the text transcribed in the speech.

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.

The position of Director of the International Human Rights Programme at the University of Toronto was offered to an "academically unworthy" individual after US$8 million was donated to the university's medical schools. A US banking company, which reportedly made large donations through its foundation to at least 60 universities, demanded to teach a course from a particular political perspective. As a result, colleges and universities in North America are developing written policies to prevent undue influence from donors.

Over 75 students were charged for breaking West Point’s Cadet Honor Code in a math test while studying remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Those who admitted cheating had been sent on a six-month rehabilitation programme and would be on probation for the rest of their time at West Point. This is the biggest cheating scandal at West Point since 1976 when 153 cadets were expelled or resigned for cheating on an electrical engineering exam.

A former administrator from Houston Independent School District was sentenced to one year of probation for her involvement in the admission scandal that ensnared wealthy parents across the country. She was accused of taking bribes from the admission consultant at the center of the scheme in exchange for allowing someone to sit exams on behalf of their clients ‘children or correct their answers. 50 more people were arrested last year in the scheme, in which authorities say undeserving kids were admitted to top universities with bogus athletic credentials or fake test scores.