Dive Brief:
- A new report issued Wednesday by former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein, following an investigation conducted in cooperation with the NCAA, reveals that 3,100 students over an almost two-decade period were mixed up in the school's "shadow curriculum."
- The "shadow curriculum" in the university's African and Afro-American Studies department involved classes that students weren't required to attend, and required a single research paper that reportedly almost always received an A or B grade.
- Around half the students involved in the cheating scandal were athletes, and while the school and the NCAA had both already conducted investigations, this latest probe was launched due to new details emerging.
Dive Insight:
This cheating scandal has been widely reported on over the past few years. In March, whistleblower Mary Willingham revealed one of the essays allegedly submitted by a student in one of the shadow courses before resigning from her position as an academic advisor in April. In December, the former chair of the African Studies department, Julius Nyang'oro, was indicted for taking money for a class he didn't teach. He resigned from his position in 2011 after an initial investigation by the school found that the scandal took place over what was then stated as only five years. Of course, a 2012 report also found that the cheating dated as far back as 1997 and allegedly had no athletic motivations, along with placing the blame solely on Nyang'oro and administrator Deborah Crowder.
This latest report could bring sanctions from the NCAA, as well as staff firings. Perhaps when that dust has settled, Chapel Hill will finally be afforded some closure in regards to the case.