Probe: UNC academic fraud was 'shadow curriculum'

[alp227]

Last edited Wed Oct 22, 2014, 10:16 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A scandal involving bogus classes and inflated grades at the University of North Carolina was bigger than previously reported, encompassing about 1,500 athletes who got easy A's and B's over a span of nearly two decades, according to an investigation released Wednesday.

At least nine university employees were fired or under disciplinary review, and the question now becomes what, if anything, the NCAA will do next. Penalties could range from fewer scholarships to vacated wins.

Most of the athletes were football players or members of the school's cherished basketball program, which won three of its five national titles during the scandal (1993, 2005, 2009).

Athletic director Bubba Cunningham wouldn't speculate on any possible sanctions.

Read more: http://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/probe-reveals-scope-academic-fraud-unc

[malthaussen]

1. "Almost half of them athletes."

Which immediately raises the question of who the other, over half, were. But the article doesn't seem to be interested in that.

-- Mal

[alp227]

2. Sorority/fraternity members

Crowder did help other students, particularly those in difficult situations such as assault victims and others fearful of being in classrooms. But word got out about the classes and eventually hundreds of fraternity members, and some sorority members, were lining up for them. Crowder was troubled to find the classes had made it into the “frat circuit,” she told two friends in the regular academic advising department.

From The Raleigh News & Observer article about the report

[malthaussen]

4. I did see that...

... it seems a rather amorphous group, and I wonder what the overlap is. Don't most athletes join fraternities?

It's interesting (and one might say damning) that Crowder was "troubled" to discover that non-athletes were benefitting from the free ride.

-- Mal

[maindawg]

3. Shocking

Next they will accuse FLA State of this.
College football is filthy

[blkmusclmachine]

5. We know this happens. In many places.

[WinkyDink]

7. Let's deal with facts and evidence.

[WinkyDink]

6. Now let's see the NCAA President's punitive measures for this vaunted institution.

[jmowreader]

8. Death penalty

One year suspension from NCAA play in all men's marquee sports, or in both men's and women's marquee sports if both participated in this scheme, no vacated wins. I have this strange feeling the fencing team wasn't involved.

I figure they'll hang UNC out to dry then claim that "fixed" the same problem at the other 349 D-1 schools. The beauty of using UNC as their example, is UNC has a massive athletics endowment and high sales of branded merchandise. They can go a year without a sports season and not get hurt...something a school like Coastal Carolina or Mercer can't do.

[Iamthetruth]

11. Never going to happen

UNC is a blue blood university and part of the power 5 conference, if anything they punish east Carolina for this.

[Blue_Tires]

9. What pisses me off the most

is there are some rumblings at other universities trying to exploit this scandal to ditch their own Afro-American Studies programs

[Oktober]

18. It sounds like it was corrupt to the core...

If it isn't dumped permanently then it needs to be flushed and restarted from scratch...

[Blue_Tires]

21. The same could be said about college athletics...

Let's not forget the impetus that spawned this "easy A" program...

[yurbud]

10. It's time to separate sports from education

[Iamthetruth]

12. Do you have any idea how much sports bring in

For the education side?

[AngryAmish]

13. Little.

Most schools support the athletic dept through student fees.

[Iamthetruth]

19. Yes but

Case in point, a schools football team is success the admission request jump. When this happens the quality of the students increase which brings in more research dollars. Also, at UF the athletic department paid for the renovation of the Library, at UCF, the athletic department paid for all the new dorms, at FAU the athletic department paid for the new dorms. You can find examples of this at many schools.

[yurbud]

15. Most COST their schools money

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2013/05/07/ncaa-finances-subsidies/2142443/

[JCMach1]

14. Some of the athletes need to file a lawsuit for not receiving an education...

Oh, and the NCAA death penalty for any of the programs that participated...

[RussBLib]

16. this cannot be tolerated or go unpunished

...gee, I wonder why education seems to be suffering in this nation?

I don't watch any college sports and won't until they start paying the players.

[alp227]

17. Easy to say "pay the players", harder to understand the consequences

like college sports becoming even more corrupt than it is now, with schools going after recruits like an ebay auction.

[marions ghost]

20. Tells you all you want to know about American culture

where it's perfectly OK to cheat to win. I hope UNC gets big penalties. And other schools get investigated.

"The Cheating Culture" Why More Americans are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead"
by David Callahan

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cheating-Culture-Americans-Doing/dp/0156030055

"Cheating, argues author David Callahan, is no longer the exclusive purview of lowlife criminals, slick hucksters, and shady characters with ace cards shoved in secretive places. Now everyone's doing it and because everyone sees everyone else doing it, they keep on doing it. Callahan says the trouble begins in America's brutally competitive economic climate, which rewards results and looks the other way when it comes to the ethical and even criminal transgressions of those who come out on the winning end. Certainly there is no shortage of examples of cheating from the business community, and Callahan nimbly dissects the dishonest actions of the usual suspects (Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing) to demonstrate how that same mentality extends out to our educational system, amateur and professional sports, the news media, and even the lives of common citizens who, while they would never think of themselves as being cheaters, are nevertheless inclined to commit the occasional act of beneficial fudging.

And while honesty is a nice ideal, Callahan says that cheaters cheat because, contrary to oft-repeated axioms, cheaters win: the chances of being caught are shrinking as are the punishments meted out should one be nabbed, and the benefits of a successful cheat far outstrip any potential threat. Further, Callahan posits that otherwise upright folks who would not cheat are drawn into the practice out of fear that they simply won't be able to make it in modern society otherwise."

This situation is taking a huge toll on this country.