Heads of eight employees of the University of Liberia are going to roll as they were found culpable for aiding academic fraud at the nation’s public institution of learning.
In a statement by Dr. Layli Maparyan, President of the University, announced that eight employees will be terminated from their jobs “effective immediately”. She further stated, “one employee will be suspended until the end of 2025; and two employees will return to work because no conclusive evidence of their involvement was uncovered.”
These employees’ termination and suspension came as a result of a report from the Special Committee to Investigate Academic Fraud at the University of Liberia. This report is based on a four-month investigation of facts related to several instances of alleged academic fraud and misconduct at the University of Liberia.
Dr. Maparyan said the report includes the case that has been referred to as the ‘Dorr Cooper Incident’ as well as other cases. “The report concludes definitively that coordinated acts of academic fraud did occur.”
According to the UL President’s statement, these diabolical acts involved several UL employees from multiple units of the University, including the Depart of Public Administration (PADM), the Office of Enrollment Services (OES), and the Office of Information Technology (OIT).
“Let me be clear: Academic fraud is the antithesis of academic integrity and the enemy of academic excellence. Academic fraud undermines the university’s educational mission and destroys the university’s academic reputation. On my watch, the University of Liberia will be restored to academic integrity and academic excellence, and its educational mission will be freed from the shackles of academic misconduct and corrupt academic practices,” she emphasized.
She stressed that by addressing academic fraud and misconduct head-on and unflinchingly, the UL administration would be in a position to elevate the university’s academic standards and reputation and create the excellent, effective, and ethical educational institution that Liberia’s students, faculty, and staff deserve.
“Thus, people who commit academic fraud or engage in academic misconduct at the University of Liberia will be held accountable, impunity will not be an option. From this day forward, the University of Liberia is instituting a zero-tolerance policy for academic fraud, because academic integrity is ground zero for academic excellence.”
Meanwhile, based on the report’s recommendations, Dr. Maparyan has instituted the following measures which are aimed at deterring and addressing academic fraud: “The Special Committee to Investigate Academic Fraud will become a standing committee known as the Committee to Investigate Academic Fraud (CIAF); a UL Whistle-blower Platform (ULWP) will be established for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others to anonymously or confidentially report suspected incidences of academic fraud; the Office of Enrollment Services (OES) will be completely overhauled; and employee and student policies related to academic fraud will be strengthened , with concomitant stakeholder awareness programming. “Together, these measures will allow academic integrity to prevail and academic fraud to perish.”
