Government investigations are on the rise thanks to a unique fraud-fighting statute, empowering citizens armed with insider information to cry foul—and collect million-dollar settlements.
The number of scientific papers retracted due to fraudulent peer review and research misconduct has eclipsed 10,000 for the first time in 2023, according to Nature, a British scientific journal. A decade ago, retractions were just a tenth of what they are now.
Every week at the University of Washington in Seattle, the registrar’s office staff comes across at least three fraudulent diplomas. Every month, they uncover about two fraudulent transcripts. “And these are just the ones we see,” says Helen Garrett, registrar and chief officer for enrollment information services. “Our student database has not been hacked and […]
The first clue that something was wrong at Tidewater Community College in Virginia emerged in March 2016 when at least 15 employees discovered they could not file their tax returns. After the IRS informed the employees that their returns had already been submitted, college officials realized someone had breached the computer system. The attack began […]
Embezzlement originating from any corner of campus can threaten any college and university. As for the losses, they can be big. Take, for example: Emory University in Atlanta. In July, a former employee received an 18-month prison term for stealing over $300,000. As an administrative assistant in the school of nursing, she misled students into […]
With YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets, virtually nothing escapes the pubic's notice, and judgment. It's one reason higher education is paying much more attention to risk management now than in the past. There are also more risk-generating contingencies, such as mass shootings, and accountability standards, such as for the prevention of sexual […]
It’s an uncomfortable truth for colleges and universities—cheating happens. And by many accounts, it happens a lot. Although cheating isn’t new, technology facilitates it and student culture more readily accepts it. Students may believe outstanding scholastic performance—achieved by whatever means necessary—paves the difficult-to-navigate path to success. Added into this mix is the popularity of online […]
What do a private liberal arts college, a public community college and a high-ranking national university all have in common? Each recently reported six-figure occupational fraud losses. At Bethany College in West Virginia, a cashier’s office employee is charged with stealing more than $500,000. In Pennsylvania, a Harrisburg Area Community College vice president plead guilty […]
