The President of the University of Liberia, Dr. Layli Maparyan, has disclosed that she has received the final report of the Special Committee to Investigate Academic Fraud at the University of Liberia (UL), which is based on a four-month investigation of facts related to several instances of alleged academic fraud and misconduct at UL, including the case that has been referred to as the “Dorr Cooper Incident”, as well as other cases.
The report, according to Dr. Maparyan, concludes definitively that coordinated acts of academic fraud did occur, involving several UL employees from multiple units of the university, including the Department of Public Administration (PADM), the Office of Enrollment Services (OES), and the Office of Information Technology (OIT).
As a result, she announced that eight (8) employees will be terminated from their jobs at the University of Liberia (UL) effective immediately; 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.
“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,” Dr. Maparyan observed.
The UL President observed that on her 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. “By addressing academic fraud and misconduct head-on and unflinchingly, we are 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,” she added.
Dr. Maparyan pointed out that, 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, the university is taking the following measures to deter and address academic fraud at UL: 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.
