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The Higher Attestation Commission (VAK) refused to hear the results on academic integrity violations in academic dissertations from the Commission to Combat the Falsification of Scholarly Research, which operates within the Russian Academy of Science (RAN). The head of VAK refused to review a plagiarized dissertation and to let RAN academics into the hearing room. Moreover, VAK excluded academics who have attempted to take a stand against falsified dissertations.

Academic corruption exists in doctoral education even though this should reflect the highest standards of academic integrity. Doctoral degrees have become especially popular among politicians, state bureaucrats, civil servants and people seeking employment in academia. An entire market has formed in Ukraine that offers ghostwritten dissertations to order. This market consists of not only individuals but also officially registered firms. If in 2009, there were 16 such firms, by 2016 the number tripled, reaching 46.

According to 10 Ukrainian scientists, plagiarism, pseudoscience, bribes, and cheating are some of the big threats to academia in Ukraine. Around 90 percent of all science professors in Ukraine are not legitimate researchers. A study of undergraduate students in the Ukrainian city of Lvivs shows that 93 percent of students reported that they had plagiarized schoolwork and 48 percent said they had paid bribes at their university.

110 offices selling forged degrees from non-Saudi universities have been identified by the Ministry of Higher Education. Prices for a fake bachelor’s or master’s degree can cost anywhere from SR3,000 to SR30,000 while a bogus doctorate can cost up to SR90,000 from an institution in the west. The degrees supplied by these diploma mills are issued by institutions that offer courses without approved standards or are simply issued by the transfer of money into an overseas account. Measures have been taken to detect such agencies.

Academic fraud takes place in epic proportions in Bangladesh, from copying music to copying homework and buying readymade thesis. Contract cheating and plagiarism are not only widespread among students, but it is also practiced by some faculty members of Dhaka University. Also, there are many incidents of the student wing of political parties forcing professors to pass them in an exam after submitting a wrong answer script or without even appearing for it.

Academics in Algeria are concerned about the practice of ordering and paying for ready-made theses that are growing among students at all levels, including masters and Ph.D. The amount of money requested by the “institution” ranges between DZD50, 000 (US$420) and DZD200, 000 (US$1,670) depending on the quality of service, educational level, and the period taken to deliver the requested thesis.