Search Page

In spring 2004 interviews were conducted with 43 rectors, vice rectors, and administrators at five private universities. A consensus emerged that successful licensing or accreditation applications, with few exceptions, required some form of bribery. Licensing might require a bribe of US$ 200 about two months' salary for a typical academic - while accreditation might call for a 10 or 20 times greater "gratuity."

An increasing number of college students in China are hiring surrogates to take English-language examinations for them. The business of hiring a "gunman" is growing at an unprecedented rate on campuses. In order to graduate from a bachelor's program, all students are required to pass English proficiency exams know as the College English Test Level 4. Fees for a pass in the CET-4 are around US$120. Many of the ads are placed by agencies which also propose tests such as TOEFL and IELTS, for which agencies charge as much as $1,500 for a pass.

Fifteen of the 80 students enrolled with the Namibia College of Open Learning will not write their end of year exams after a teacher allegedly misappropriated their examination fees. It is suspected he used the money to settle personal accounts. The students will not be able to sit their exams this year as the fraud was discovered too late.

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.

231 students have obtained degree certificates from a Nairobi university with no official sanction to operate. As a result the certificates risk be useless. The Government did nothing to stop these students pursuing an expensive four-year programme.

Recently 231 university students learnt that the degrees they had been awarded were recognized. The university in question, Newport University, which also exists in the USA, is not accredited by any agency recognised by the US Department of Education. It is one of several institutions operating in California without accreditation but with licensure by the Bureau of Private and Vocational Higher Education of the State of California.

The head of an Israeli company that served as the Israeli branch of the University of Latvia and Burlington College was sentenced to 30 months in jail. He was accused of bribing members of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, and other public officials and also of selling degrees to public officials for promotion and pay-increase purposes.

Compton community college lost its accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in June. The regional accrediting body cited poor governance, lack of education plans, lack of student support services, and an inadequate administrative staff as reasons for revoking the schools accreditation. The school is now being taken over by the state, despite California's highly decentralized system.

According to the study, "Fake Universities and Bogus Degrees – Sweden and the World", there has been an increase in the number of job seekers who have been caught trying to pass off fake degrees as genuine, with more than 30 cases reported in the last two years. According to the National Agency for Higher Education, there exists over 800 Web-based fake universities. The study recommends use of a digital database that employers can access to verify an applicant's qualifications, something into which Australia is already looking.

Un anuncio aparecido en el sitio Web del Ministerio de Educación muestra la lista de las 12 instituciones privadas que han sido autorizadas oficialmente. De todas ellas, solo al l'Institut Catholique de Yaoundé se le ha concedido la capacidad de otorgar diplomas nacionales. Las otras 11 instituciones solo están autorizadas para preparar a los estudiantes para los exámenes que llevan a los diplomas nacionales.