Michigan Under Fire Over Athletes' Academic Integrity
The University of Michigan has come under the harsh glare of its local paper, the Ann Arbor News, whose four-day journalistic bonanza investigates the eyebrow-raising activities of the school's athletic department as they pertain to student-athletes.
According to the News:
1. A large number of student athletes have been steered toward a psychology professor's independent study courses over the years. Since the fall 2004, the professor has taught 294 independent studies and 85 percent of those courses were with athletes. According to some students, the three- to four-credit courses met as little as 15 minutes every two weeks, while others admit the courses were used to boost the GPAs of potentially academically ineligible athletes.
2. The News chronicles how tougher curriculum in Michigan's kinesiology department—a former athlete dumping ground—led to a mass exodus of student-athletes to general studies degrees. The change was largely prompted by professors' concern over the growing disparity between athlete and nonathletes. "Who do you teach to?" asks a kinesiology lecturer. "Do you teach to the kids at the top of the scale, or the kids at the bottom? There was no middle."
3. A closer look at the general studies degree: "Of 18 recruited scholarship [football] players in the 2004 freshman class who remained at Michigan long enough to decide on a degree program, the lone exception to the general studies path was defensive back Doug Dutch, a psychology major."
4. And what do academic advisers actually do? Make sure student-athletes remain academically eligible, of course. How do they do it? Encourage the general studies degree, tell athletes which classes to take, and even use the student's password to enroll in courses for them.
The university, meanwhile, has attempted to defend itself, refuting a number of the claims and assuring that "there is no higher priority of the university than the academic success of our students," according to the university provost. The president also chimed in ("We did nothing wrong"), the Michigan Daily reports, and the professor under fire conveyed a similar sentiment directed toward the newspaper: "So after several months, they have put together whatever they could find—a net full of minnows."
Tags: University of Michigan | college athletics
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Interesting Information
I found lots of interesting information on www.usnews.com. The post was professionally written and I feel like the author has extensive knowledge in the subject. www.usnews.com keep it that way.
So what?
A post above said, "so what." When a similar situation happened at Auburn University the only thing that prevented the NCAA from getting involved was the fact that most students receiving preferential treatment were not student-athletes. Not only were the great majority student-athletes here, there seems to be copius testimony that the athletic department actively encouraged this activity, and that the administration knew of this and turned a blind-eye. BIG storm clouds could be looming for UM.
It's not the content; it's the intent
Does the U have problems? Yes, but fewer than those of other schools. The issue of athletes getting preferential treatment is a pressing one, but this story is a non-story and was an attempt at self-aggrandizement by Jim Carty and The Ann Arbor News, just like how Jim Harbaugh's comments were intended to promote Stanford at Michigan's expense.
It is indeed unfortunate that there is some basis to these accusations; unfortunately, these accusations are not bolstered by honesty and integrity. And it doesn't make it right, but there are important lessons that athletes learn outside the classroom that many students do not learn at all, especially in this day and age where $40,000-a-year college is becoming dominated by more and more upper-class kids.
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