Corruption of academic achievement.

These are public monies and now private enterprise wants to take over our public institutions of higher learning. The CEOs will never think twice about whether they should interfere with the education of others, they will just jump in and seek to drain the knowledge of centuries of educational excellence. 

This is not only a lousy idea, but, pure corruption of our educational system.

4 August 2026

By Jenna Ahart

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) (click here) has kicked off a sweeping effort to deepen the ties between PhD students and industry. The pilot programme will provide participants with hands-on industry research experience and funding from universities, companies and the NSF. It will serve more than 250 students, who will receive funding for four years.

The programme aims to “help graduates better apply their research to real-world challenges”, an NSF spokesperson said. The effort will give companies the chance “to invest directly into how our doctoral researchers are trained”, Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a statement, noting that the majority of US recipients of PhDs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics do not remain in academia.

Researchers expressed a mixture of excitement and concern about the programme, called the Industry-Integrated PhD (I-PhD) Scholars Program, which was announced in July....

This so called pilot program by the NSF is in contradiction of a Senate bill prohibiting any federal monies to be controlled in the fields of research. So, considering the universities involved are primarily public institutions this NSF initiative is basically illegal.

Most universities have a Provost that leads the education of the students. There are also Faculty Senates comprised of the professors of the university to ensure the quality and direction of the education they teach.

8 August 2026

By Jeffery Mervis

The U.S. Senate early today (click here) approved a temporary spending bill that blocks the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from implementing proposed changes in the rules affecting trillions of dollars of federal spending. Opponents have said the changes would harm the U.S. research enterprise, and they have sparked a massive outcry from scientists.

The bipartisan (90-6) vote is aimed at avoiding a governmentwide shutdown on 1 October if legislators have not approved a budget by that date, which is when the 2027 fiscal year begins. The bill, called a continuing resolution, would allow agencies to continue to operate at current spending levels until 11 December. Last month the House of Representatives adopted a similar measure, and the two versions must be reconciled when legislators return next month after a lengthy summer recess....

Corruption of Higher Education is an ongoing concern globally. The initiative below is from an effort in 2018 to promote through example the best of protecting education from derailing professional standards. Education is vital to any country that seeks prosperity. Commercializing education removes integrity and makes education another fluid commodity based in whims of industry.

IIEP, together with the Council of Europe, (click here) organized a study visit on Higher education institutions in Switzerland: Integrity in higher education from 2 to 4 July 2018. The visit enabled a group of high-level officials from the Kosovo Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), the University of Pristina, the University of Gjakova, the State Council for Quality Assurance, and the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency to learn from the Swiss experience in addressing the challenge of ensuring integrity and combating in higher education....

Further example:

Europe’s path to bioengineering stardom

Europe will need to rebuild academic excellence, (click here) invest in bioengineers and establish a flagship research hub to claw its way to the top of the bioengineering pecking order, argue engineer Vasilis Ntziachristos, science administrator Thomas Schwarz-Romond and cell biologist Fiona Watt. “In the United States, philanthropic organizations have invested billions of dollars in bioengineering since the 1970s — resulting in an ecosystem capable of identifying, evaluating, funding and developing engineering-driven biomedical innovation,” write the authors. “It’s time for Europe to follow suit.”