Mexican university suspends admissions after cheating scandal

One of the largest universities in Latin America will ask thousands of applicants to retake its undergraduate entrance exam, after a switch to remote testing produced far higher scores than normal.

The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has opened an investigation into the latest entry tests, held in May and June, after 16.3 per cent of candidates scored 100 points or more.

Between 2021 and 2025, an average of 3.5 per cent of those taking the exam got the same result.

Especially suspicious scores were recorded in applications for the most competitive of programmes – such as law and medicine.

For the first time this year, candidates were permitted to take the exam remotely, so long as they turned on their device’s microphone and camera to show they were alone in their room. Administrators also made use of an AI detection tool, intended to protect against academic wrongdoing.

AI has caused concern across academia about cheating – both at student-level and within research. But commentators are not totally convinced the technology is entirely to blame for the situation facing UNAM, with one AI specialist, Raúl Rojas of the University of Nevada, Reno, telling the New York Times an old-fashioned “cheat sheet” may have played a part, with leaked answers available to buy online. 

According to CNN, the company contracted to provide the anti-cheating technology, Territorium Life, has defended its systems and told university officials the service “does not depend solely on technological infrastructure” but instead “requires the coordination of two inseparable components: technological security and academic security”.

The university, which charts its origins to the 1550s, has announced applicants will have to retake what is usually a 120-question assessment, tailored according to specific degree programmes.

Rector of UNAM, economist Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas, had said of the scandal: “This doesn’t just affect the university, it affects society as a whole. We cannot normalise these kinds of situations.”

Although UNAM only blacklisted 3,000 of the approximately 150,000 exams papers, all prospective students were left in limbo as the university strategised what to do next, ahead of the new term beginning on 10 August.

Leaders have now decided to administer a controled exam entirely in person to all applicants who got a mark sufficient to pass the test either this year or for the past five years - around 58,000 people.

As of 3 August, no date or location had been confirmed for the rescheduled assessment, but administrators say they will make sure it is conducted as a matter of urgency.

“I apologise to the applicants who, having been accepted fairly, will be called to take the entrance exam, but it is necessary to ensure fairness and equity in access,” Lomelí Vanegas said. “Have confidence that you will obtain a good result and that you will be admitted to the National Autonomous University of Mexico.”

georgia.luckhurst@timeshighereducation.com