Companies in the term-paper-research business insist that they are legitimate enterprises. Research Assistance of Los Angeles insists that "the best way to learn research techniques is through studying research papers." Author's Research Services adds a disclaimer that all materials are sold for research assistance, not as finished…

Urges professors to organize online courses in ways that prevent cheating and suggests such tactics as asking students for their sources of information, using a camera atop students' computers to send images, having exams monitored by a proctor, using the Internet to identify possible plagiarism, and getting to know individual students. (DB)

Since its creation in 1992, the Public Health Service's Office of Research Integrity has not won a single case against a scientist accused of research misconduct. Cases are adjudicated by a panel of lawyers. Scientists and critics agree that the government's failure will have serious consequences for the research community. (MSE)

A University of Virginia student has successfully challenged his expulsion, which was based on an accusation of cheating on a test. The student claimed his initial trial was unfair and that he was poorly represented. Some feel the university's honor system has been compromised. (MSE)

For $800 Muscovites buy blank diplomas from established universities, bearing official stamps, with desired major and date of graduation; another $50 buys blank transcripts. Professors often require students to take courses outside the core curriculum in order to pass exams for which they demand cash payments or goods. Admission is often based…

After suspension of its football program, Southern Methodist University has established a course, required of athletes, covering such topics as National Collegiate Athletic Association standards and regulations, dealing with agents and media, athletes' rights, the ethics of drug testing, and the significance of race and gender in college sports.…

While college faculty complain about student cheating and plagiarism, many do little or nothing about it. Few lodge formal complaints against individual students, finding the campus judicial process laborious, and punishments often unrelated to the offense. At institutions with honor codes, the issues can be different, with reporting of…

A new business is using the Internet to sell compositions written by successful applicants to 60 competitive colleges and schools. Personnel of the service claim the essays are not to encourage plagiarism but to help disadvantaged or underprepared students compete. Admissions counselors disagree, and some are prepared to reject applicants…

Campus computing officials are working to improve security against computer hackers because of concerns about privacy, accidental or intentional damage to systems, and impediments to legitimate system users. Increasingly, public law enforcement authorities are called in but do not always take the problem seriously. (MSE)

Various theories are circulated concerning Stanford University's (California) controversy over use of federal research funds. Issues involved include billing the government for inappropriate charges, the rapid growth of problems, public relations failures, and poor administration. The president's role in addressing the crisis is a central concern.…

A recent Department of Education study, developed with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service, found that of 2.3 million Pell Grants in 1995-96, 102,000 went to students who failed to report or underreported family income. More than 300 recipients had each underreported income by over $100,000. The report comes when the Clinton…

A federal appeals court upheld the authority of the University of Michigan to revoke a master's degree awarded to a student found to have fabricated a discovery on which his thesis was based. A degree can be revoked without a court proceeding or trial when allegations of fraud are involved. (MLW)

Public officials and student aid experts agree that the federal program delivery system is outdated, inefficient, and vulnerable to fraud, but they disagree on how bad the situation is and whether the Education Department has the structure necessary to fix it. A 1995 project to integrate all federal grant and loan programs into one system has not…

Violations of National Collegiate Athletic Association rules committed by 24 institutions' athletics programs and the sanctions imposed on them are listed. (MSE)

Pennsylvania's sophisticated system for student loan fraud and abuse detection is described, including the factors felt to contribute to its success and suggestions for improving other state agency fraud units. (MSE)