![A degree A degree](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Degree.svg/179px-Degree.svg.png)
What kind of example is being set at colleges where athletes are given a degree without having to actually go to class and study and learn like the non athletes do?
Sure they bring in revenue to the college, big deal! They need an education to help them earn a living after their sports careers end. The school is NOT teaching them anything but that cheating is okay.
I was on jury duty about thirty years ago. One trial was of a professor who was accused of teaching graduate students a class they needed to show they were continuing their education. The class never met, he never assigned any work, and he gave each of them an A. He said, “They are all educated and know what they need to do to pass the class“.  These were college and high school teachers. We found him guilty of fraud and the “students” of his were tried  at a later date.
This kind of thing is wrong and should never happen. These students are being cheated and they are cheating other students who actually do the work. Â I worry about the message this kind of thing sends to athletes and other students. Are they thinking that cheating is okay? Do they think, this is how the world works?
“Some of these athletes can barely read.” quoting Jake Tapper. I find him a poor example of a newsman, but in this case I agree with him. This is not something new. It is however coming to light now that a whistle blower, Mary Willingham has shined a bright light on the issue.
This is a massive scandal. What should be done to those frauds who got their college degrees fraudulently? Should their credentials be taken away? I think so. This is not fair to those who could not afford to go to college and have to work a lesser paying job because they didn’t get a degree. This is teaching people that it is okay to cheat. It is NOT okay to cheat and there should be consequences even after years.
Those are my thoughts, what are yours?
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Nirek, I think the kids who got sucked into this fraudulent degree program should be offered an opportunity to go back and take real courses with real requirements (and tutoring help, if they need it) in order to get a credible degree. I realize that may seem to be a pretty “soft” approach to them, but I think they may deserve a little slack (especially those who are the first in their families to go to college, because they may have been under the impression that this is just “the way it’s done”).
Now, the people in administration and faculty who participated? That’s another story. Time for some consequences for them!
Kes, I agree. If they do that the innocent people who did the studying and earned the degree might feel better about themselves. It just doesn’t sit well with me that some select people got a college degree without learning anything. Thus they can get a better job (higher paying) than others that went right into the work force.
This cheating has many far reaching damaging consequences for many people. More than the 3100 who cheated. I’m thinking of those who didn’t go to college because they couldn’t afford to. They are working for minimum wage while the cheaters are luxuriating in a high paying job (unearned).
Exactly Kes….An all expense paid 4 year program for the students with additional benefits for those who need extra tutoring, and JAIL time for the administration and faculty that willingly participated in this travesty of justice. Examples need to be set, so penalties should be stiff and fines should be through the roof IMHO. 🙂
What is scary about the UNC case is that half of the kids are not jocks.
Brodie, how is it fair to the students who do the work and study hard and earn the college degree? Do you think it diminishes their accomplishment when others are given the college degree?
It does, my friend. It takes away from the very credibility of the institution.
I saw stuff life this at Colorado in the 1970s and 80s. It has been going on for decades, perhaps centuries. There is so much that needs to be cleaned up.
What really frightens me is not that there are jocks who got over (That is bad enough), but there may be doctors, lawyers, engineers — people who do real work that impacts on the lives of others — who also got breaks like this.
Brodie, I can’t help but wonder if many of the GOP are some of those you speak of? Look at the people they have who seem to be ignorant or outright stupid. The Ricks Santorem and Perry come to mind as well as S. Palin, M. Bauchman and so many others.
You nailed it, man. And a scandal like this at Carolina lets those guys you mentioned slide by because they know we will just focus on the jocks and the Black jocks at that.
Like I said, this is nothing new. UNC just got caught.