UNC advisors steered athletes to sham classes; 9 disciplined

Chapel Hill, N.C. — The academic fraud scandal that encircled faculty, staff and student athletes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill lasted longer and affected more students than previously known, according to a 131-page report released Wednesday by a former federal prosecutor hired by campus officials to conduct an independent investigation.

The report by Kenneth Wainstein shows student athletes were specifically steered towards paper classes by academic counselors for 18 years. The no-show paper classes in the African and Afro-American Studies Department were “very popular among student-athletes, and especially those from the revenue sports," the report stated.

UNC Chancellor Carol Folt said nine employees have been terminated or disciplined as a result of the investigation. She declined to release names.

The fraud began in 1993 and lasted until 2011. According to the report, AFAM chair Dr. Julius Nyang'oro and his department manager, Deborah Crowder, were responsible for offering hundreds of “irregular” classes that never met and had no faculty involvement. Crowder managed the classes and assigned grades.

Wainstein said Crowder admitted she didn’t look at student papers carefully, skipped papers and assigned high grades.

Investigators found 169 student-athletes whose paper class grade kept them eligible to play. Of the 169, 123 were football players, 15 were men's basketball players, eight were women's basketball players and 26 played in one of the Olympic sports.

Among the report findings:

• Over the 18-years, the paper classes affected 3,100 out of a total of 97,600 undergraduate students at the university.
• Student-athletes accounted for 47.6 percent of enrollments in the irregular classes.
• 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.
• Advisors 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. There was a failure of meaningful oversight by the University.

“I am deeply disappointed in the duration and extent of the wrongdoing as well as the lack of oversight, specifically vital missing checks and balances that, if in place, would have captured and corrected this so much sooner,” UNC Chancellor Carol Folt said during a news conference Wednesday. “I know the Carolina community will find these findings very sobering. This never should have happened.”

Wainstein said Nyang'oro told him that he went along with Crowder's plan because he felt an obligation to help at-risk student-athletes.

"While Nyang'oro had some compassion for any struggling student, he told us that his particular interest was helping struggling student-athletes to remain eligible," the report stated. "Having seen the fates of the two former student-athletes who lost their eligibility – one was murdered and the other was imprisoned – Nyang'oro felt a special obligation to help prevent other student-athletes from becoming ineligible and meeting similar fates."

FOOTBALL

The Wainstein investigation revealed football counselors Cynthia Reynolds, Beth Bridger and Jaimie Lee were aware of the AFAM paper classes, and in some cases, told Crowder the grades that would be required to keep players eligible.

Former head coach John Bunting told investigators that he knew of the classes and their use to help keep his players eligible.

When head coach Butch Davis came to UNC in 2007, he was recruited in large part because of his academic strengths. However, it was revealed that Davis allowed Reynolds and Bridger to handle academic issues – each of whom steered players to AFAM. While Davis claimed he was aware of his players' involvement in AFAM, he told investigators that he knew nothing of Crowder's role.

According to the report, a meeting was held in November 2009 between UNC football coaches and the counseling staff to discuss Crowder's retirement. In that meeting, Bridger and Lee explained to the football staff – including Davis, Corey Holliday and Andre Williams – that "the AFAM paper classes had played a large role in keeping under-prepared and/or unmotivated football players eligible to play," and the classes no longer existed. The notes from the meeting were later forwarded to Senior Associate Director of Athletics John Blanchard and Academic Support Proram for Student Athletes Director Robert Mercer.

Between 1999 and 2011, the report noted "there were 963 enrollments of football players in AFAM paper classes." Davis was fired less than a month before the start of the 2011 season.

Reynolds, who now works at Cornell University, was one of five notable people associated with the football program who refused to speak with Wainstein and his investigators. Others include former assistant coach Everett Withers, former assistant coach Chuck Pagano and former ASPSA counselor Ovtavus Barnes

BASKETBALL

Basketball counselor Wayne Walden, who came to UNC from Kansas along with Roy Williams, acknowledged knowing how the paper classes worked. Yet the investigation found that many basketball players were not "steered" to them, but rather heard through other teammates.

Williams told investigators that he was unaware of how the classes worked, but had expressed concern in 2007 about his players high enrollment in AFAM classes.

From 1999-2009, 226 men's basketball players enrolled in the paper classes. During that period, there were no spikes or dips in enrollment to suggest Walden was directing players to the program. However, there was a slight decline in 2007 after Williams vocalized concern.

Before Williams' arrival, former head coach Matt Doherty said that he "inherited the academic support system developed by prior coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge. That system had academic oversight being handled by (Burgess) McSwain, the counselor with close ties to Debby Crowder."

Doherty was told by Smith and Guthridge that he should not change the system despite "understanding that AFAM was the easiest major at Chapel Hill." Under Doherty, 42 basketball players were enrolled in paper classes.

On the women's side, former counselor and current UNC faculty leader Jan Boxill was named specifically as being in direct communication with Crowder. A review of emails showed that Boxill "made specific grade change suggestions for her women's basketball players."

In one instance, an email exchange between Nyang'oro and Crowder detailed a women's basketball player's request to join the class. Nyang'oro said not to accept the student unless the request came directly from Boxill.

More of Boxill's emails showed that she even helped players draft portions of their papers that were turned in for grades.

Sylvia Hatchell, who has been the women's basketball coach since 1986, said she knew many of her players had taken the classes and that Boxill and Crowder had a good relationship. However, Hatchell insisted she didn't know of the no-show aspect of the classes.

An attempt by WRAL to reach Boxill Wednesday afternoon via her university email account bounced back.

THE NCAA RETURNS

During Wainstein's investigation, it became clear that further NCAA bylaws may have been violated and UNC asked Wainstein's team to brief the NCAA on their findings. It was after three different meetings on the findings with the NCAA that the enforcement staff reopened its investigation, which was previously closed in 2011.

"The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the NCAA enforcement staff continue to engage in an independent and cooperative effort to review information of possible NCAA rules violations as announced earlier this year," the university and NCAA said in a joint statement Wednesday. "The university provided the enforcement staff with a copy of the Wainstein Report for its consideration. 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."

When asked about possible infractions with the NCAA, athletics director Bubba Cunningham said he would not speculate, but he did note that he will not proceed with any further internal punishments.

Neither Wainstein nor Folt could immediately say the total cost of the eight-month investigation. UNC system president Tom Ross stated, "It's going to be very expensive for the university. We'll pay the bill for it, in many ways."

Folt said she has placed her confidence in Wainstein’s report because his work was independent and thorough, and he had unprecedented access. Specifically, Wainstein was able to speak with Nyango’oro and Crowder, who shared new information. He also was given access to State Bureau of Investigation staffers and their files, and student records. Wainstein retained independent faculty members at other universities to evaluate the students’ work.

“For all these reasons, we’re confident this was the most thorough and complete investigation possible,” Folt said.

UNC system President Tom Ross emphasized that new policies and safeguards have been implemented as a result of the scandal.

Now, the job performances of all department chairs and tenured faculty are regularly evaluated, there are new academic auditing procedures and rules on the number of undergraduate independent studies that a faculty member may teach at a time. The Board of Trustees and Board of Governors also receive annual reports on academic process of student athletes.

“In light of what we’ve learned from Mr. Wainstein’s investigation and the reforms that UNC-Chapel Hill has already put in place, we will do more,” he said.

Ross said additional policy changes are coming, and he would “take steps to initiate one additional personnel action involving an individual formerly employed on this campus now employed at another UNC campus.” He did not name the person.

“The Crowder-Nyang’oro scheme marks a horrible chapter in the history of this great university, and we would all agree that it continued unchecked for way too long,” Ross said. “We have acted and continue to act on what we’ve learned.”