Monrovia – In a bold effort to restore trust and integrity in Liberia’s premier public university, University of Liberia (UL) President Dr. Layli Maparyan has dismissed eight employees implicated in a widespread academic fraud scheme uncovered by a months-long investigation.

The firings follow a four-month inquiry led by a Special Committee to Investigate Academic Fraud, which uncovered a pattern of coordinated misconduct within the Department of Public Administration (PADM), Office of Enrollment Services (OES), and the Office of Information Technology (OIT).

“Academic fraud is the antithesis of academic integrity and the enemy of academic excellence,” Dr. Maparyan declared in a statement. “On my watch, the University of Liberia will be restored to academic integrity and academic excellence.”

Beyond the dismissals, one staff member was suspended through 2025, while two others were cleared due to a lack of evidence. Although the probe mentioned the controversial “Dorr Cooper Incident,” no further details on Cooper’s involvement were disclosed.

Dr. Maparyan also unveiled sweeping reforms to strengthen accountability and prevent future abuses. Key among them is the formation of a permanent investigative body, the Committee to Investigate Academic Fraud (CIAF), replacing the now-dissolved ad-hoc committee.

The university will also roll out a new whistleblower platform, the UL Whistleblower Platform (ULWP), allowing students, staff, alumni, and other stakeholders to report fraud or misconduct confidentially.

In response to the OES’s role in the scandal, the department will undergo a comprehensive restructuring. Additionally, academic fraud policies will be revised, and a university-wide awareness campaign will be launched to educate the UL community on academic ethics.

“These measures will allow academic integrity to prevail and academic fraud to perish,” said Dr. Maparyan, affirming her zero-tolerance approach.

The move has drawn both praise and caution—with many lauding it as a long-overdue step toward ending corruption, while others remain watchful to see whether reforms will be meaningfully implemented in a university long troubled by issues of transparency and accountability.

“Those who engage in academic misconduct at the University of Liberia will face consequences. Impunity is no longer an option,” Dr. Maparyan warned.

This decisive crackdown marks one of the most significant reform efforts in UL’s recent history and signals a serious commitment to cleaning up academic malpractice in Liberia’s flagship institution.