According to the most recent report of Accredibase, the UK-based background screening company Verifile Limited, there was a staggering 48% increase in the number of known degree or diploma mills operating worldwide last year. It identified more than 2,500 bogus institutions across all regions, but primarily in North America and Europe.

The World Bank's anti-graft chief says developing nations should be given a manual to help them deal with corruption. Tackling corruption should be put on the curriculum for every school child in the world's poorest countries, he says.

Paper mills and cheat sites are losing ground to social and user-generated Web sites as sources of material for student papers, and Wikipedia rules above all others as a source for plagiarism. A third of matched content derives from online sites where people contribute and share content, while only 15 percent of content matches have ties to sites specifically promoting "academic dishonesty".

Turnitin News recently conducted a study that examined which Internet sites students used in their written work. They classified 110 million content matches in 40 million student papers that were submitted to Turnitin over a ten-month period.

A goal of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) in the US is to ensure principled conduct among professionals in the recruitment of students. In support of this, and as more of their members enlist the services of international student recruiters, the association is currently considering revising and updating its Statement of Principles of Good Practice in regard to agent use.