UNC releases academic fraud probe results; 3,100 students affected
4 employees to be fired, chancellor says
UPDATED 3:09 PM EDT Oct 22, 2014
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An academic fraud investigation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that more than 3,100 students -- many of them athletes -- took easy "paper classes" over a span of nearly two decades.
The school on Wednesday announced the results of an independent investigation conducted by former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein. Nine UNC employees will be either fired or disciplined as a result of the investigation, UNC officials said in a news release.
UNC chancellor Carol Folt said Wednesday that four people will be fired, but she declined to name who they were.
Wainstein’s investigation found that two people within the department formerly known as African and Afro-American Studies (AFAM) - Julius Nyang’oro and Deborah Crowder - were responsible for offering hundreds of irregular classes at UNC-Chapel Hill between 1993 and 2011.
These so-called “paper classes” were irregular in that they had no class attendance or faculty involvement, and Crowder, a non-faculty administrator, managed the classes and graded the papers. The papers were often given grades of A or B regardless of the quality of work, the Associated Press reported.
The 3,100 students made up about 3 percent of the total undergraduate enrollment over the 18-year period. However, 48 percent of the students in the fake classes were athletes.
Many of the student-athletes were directed to the classes by academic counselors in the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes. These counselors saw the paper classes and the artificially high grades they yielded as key to helping some student-athletes remain eligible, according to the release from the school.
Academic advisers in the Office of Academic Advising also directed non-athlete students to these courses. Various university personnel were aware of red flags, yet did not ask questions, school officials said.
"Some student-athletes took these paper classes out of genuine interest in the subject matter," according to a quote in the 130+ page report. "Some took these classes because they - like any independent study - required no class time and were therefore well-suited for the student-athlete with a demanding practice, travel and game schedule. And, others gravitated to these paper classes simply because they allowed one to receive an inflated grade without having to earn it with meaningful academic work."
Wainstein found no indication of wrongdoing in any other department, and "no current coaches were involved or aware," UNC's statement said.
School officials said they will "immediately implement a plan to stabilize the Department of African, African American and Diaspora Studies." Similarly, director of athletics Bubba Cunningham has been executing a plan to bolster integrity and accountability throughout the Athletics organization.
Wednesday's complete report can be read at carolinacommitment.unc.edu
In a joint statement, the school and the NCAA said: "The information included in the Wainstein Report will be reviewed by the university and the enforcement staff under the same standards that are applied in all NCAA infractions cases. Due to rules put in place by the NCAA membership, neither the university nor the enforcement staff will comment on the substance of the report as it relates to possible NCAA rules violations."
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