Corruption in higher education is a newly emerging topic in the field of education research. Some aspects of corruption in education have been addressed in recent works by Eckstein, Hallak & Poisson, Heyneman, Noah & Eckstein, Segal, and Washburn. However, rigorous systematic research is lacking. This article considers corruption in higher education as reported in the media, following publications in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation. It addresses the differences in forms of corruption across the nations, identifying how exactly they differ and why. Major findings point to the following: some forms of corruption are region-specific while others are universal; types of corruption are connected to the characteristics of the national systems; the general trend in the media attention reflects growing concern about corruption in academia; in the United States more attention is now paid to fraud, plagiarism, and cheating, but in Russia to bribery in admissions. The findings help to determine which aspects of corruption in higher education should be given more consideration in future research and which might be prioritised, as well as how the national systems of higher education can be improved.

Corruption is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. Forms of corruption are multiple. Measuring corruption is necessary not only for getting ideas about the scale and scope of the problem, but for making simple comparisons between the countries and conducting comparative analysis of corruption. While the total impact of corruption is indeed difficult to measure and even more so internal changes in corruption, some aspects of corruption may be quantified and measured. This article presents major conceptual approaches to corruption and develops a technique for measuring the distribution of graft in a higher education industry by using some ideas about bribery and other forms of corruption among the faculty members in higher education institutions in transition and developing nations. In order to measure the level of corruption and its changes over time or changes due to government intervention and other anticorruption efforts, the author combines two indicators, namely the number of corrupt faculty members who take bribes in a given period of time and the value of the average bribe, calculated as weighted average. The author also introduces the Distribution index (DI), the weighted DI, and the share weighted DI in order to capture internal changes in the distribution of graft. The proposed methodology may be applied in measuring corruption in higher education across the nations and making comparisons.

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At least thirty percent of Ukrainians enter colleges by paying bribes while many others use their connections with the faculty and administration. Corruption increases inequalities in access to higher education, prevents future economic growth in the country, and undermines quality and credentials of academic degrees. This paper considers corruption in higher education in Ukraine, including such aspects as corruption in admissions to higher education institutions and corruption in administering the newly introduced standardized test. The reform of higher education in Ukraine, based on the national examinations, is intended to be a response to the rapidly changing economic environment and the new social order. Au moins un tiers des étudiants ukrainiens des collèges universitaires a été admis en payant des pots-de-vins, le reste s’est servi de ses contacts avec les départements académiques et administratifs. La corruption accentue un accès inégal aux universités, freine la croissance économique future du pays et remet en question la qualité et les cartes de présentation des diplômes académiques. Cet article vise la corruption dans les universités ukrainiennes et plus précisément, la corruption lors des processus d’admission dans les institutions d’éducation supérieure ainsi que dans l’administration du nouvel examen standard utilisé à cet effet. La réforme de l’éducation supérieure en Ukraine, basée sur l’application d’examens nationaux, cherche à répondre à un nouvel ordre économique et surtout à un environnement économique en constante mutation.