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SIRIS Academic report shows that dozens of the world’s most highly cited researchers have changed their primary affiliations to Saudi universities instead of their employer, despite often being only guest researchers or research fellows. This misleading affiliation has boosted the standing of these higher education institutions in university global ranking tables that consider the citation impacts of an institution’s researchers.

Corruption and impunity in the Nigerian university system have had a negative impact on the governance of Federal tertiary institutions and the quality of education received by students. In a recent report, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project stated that various allegations of corruption in federal universities ranging from the unfair award of degrees, inflation of contracts, and cuts in staff salaries to the employment of unqualified staff and sexual harassment - are now widespread, and the condition of most of the structures housing the various faculties and departments of these institutions is poorly maintained.

The council of Stellenbosch University in South Africa has appointed a three-person committee to investigate allegations of nepotism against the vice-chancellor. A motion to remove him from office, in accordance with the university's statutes, has also been confirmed. The committee will investigate the facts underlying the motion, including allegations of nepotism and a possible breach of rules concerning the Vice-Chancellor’s discretionary placement of family members within the University.

The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has announced a new policy for staff that bans any close personal relationship with students that “transgresses the boundaries of professional conduct”. This comes as regulator the Office for Students works on its regulations for staff-student relationships, launching a consultation on regulating harassment and sexual misconduct in higher education.

South Korea’s Ministry of Education is planning to strengthen measures related to school bullying records and their consideration during university admission applications after the appointment of a new national investigation chief was cancelled following revelations that he was involved in a lawsuit against his son’s forced school transfer for bullying.

Some universities in Asia described the artificial intelligence writing tools ChatGPT as the use of “unfair means” while others consider it as a temporary measure until proper policies for their use can be worked out. Unless a student has the course instructor’s written permission, the use of ChatGPT will be regarded as using other people’s work and will be treated in the same way as plagiarism. Teachers can set supplementary oral or written exams or adopt other measures if they suspect ChatGPT or another AI-based tool has been used.

Fontys University in the Netherlands is keen to teach students to think about the impact and use of educational technology through the Moral Design Game. Based on scientific insights, the game challenges players to think about the dominant values that various stakeholders draw on to make decisions. The goal of the game is to inspire and teach students, teachers, and staff to improve their thinking and debate ethical questions.

According to the head of the Observatory for Higher Education and Scientific Research, there has been an increase in exam cheating by students using mobile phones, lesson notes, or documents prepared for cheating, along with writing on the tables or even on the walls of the exam halls. Some observers instead of writing reports about cheating in exams are rather facilitating it. This can be attributed to a lack of resources and motivation that affects quality teaching along with a culture in which cheating has become normalized.