The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s athletics program was investigated and exposed for having fraudulent classes. Courtesy of Flickr

By Cody Sims

While NCAA student-athletes may need a little extra help in order to balance sports and rigorous schoolwork, how far is too far? The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has certainly tested the limit. Over the course of two decades, officials at the university failed to address alarming red flags that could have put an end to a major problem years ago. Approximately 1,500 athletes benefited from fictitious classes and undeserved high grades in a department that was formerly known as the African and Afro-American Studies department (AFAM) at Chapel Hill.  From 1993 to 2011, those classes did not require attendance and only called for one research paper. The papers were all given A’s or B’s regardless of their quality.  School officials decided to turn a blind eye and the problem intensified. AFAM was exempt from external reviews because it did not include a graduate program. Although University of North Carolina’s own credibility is at stake, these fraudulent classes at the University of North Carolina do indicate a larger problem in the collegiate sports and academic systems as a whole.

If a major sports school like University of North Carolina were able to get away with this loose protocol for two decades, what else is being overlooked at other major athletic institutions? Jennifer Allen, FCRH’16, said, “It absolutely is an indicator. College administration tends to ignore the academic problems when it comes to student athletes, because they see how much athletes can help the school’s reputation. The purpose of a college institution is for education. When that is undermined, so is the overall credibility of the university.”

While some believe this incident at University of North Carolina is an indicator for universities across the nation, others seem to think differently. Chris Gaston, a former basketball player at Fordham University, said, “The University of North Carolina incident is definitely not an indicator for schools across the board.”

Some schools have a strict policy. For example, during my time at Fordham, people were designated to stand outside of our classes to make sure we attended every class. Our academic advisors also had open communication with all of our professors throughout the semester. I think the stern academic policies Fordham implements will be beneficial for all student-athletes when their sports career is all said and done.” While those strict policies are great for the student-athletes here at Fordham, at bigger athletic programs what is the likelihood of similar strict policies being implemented? In a perfect world, that would happen. However, in major Division I schools, academic protocol is most likely placed on the back burner.

At the end of the day, NCAA sports are a business, and schools will do whatever it takes to build a winning program. The system is undoubtedly flawed. It may even be too big of a problem to fix. While universities may help the athlete to find the easiest way to a higher G.P.A., athletes must hold themselves accountable to a higher standard. Sure, scandals like these are harmful to a school’s reputation. On the other hand, athletes must realize that always taking the easy way out is doing them more harm than good.