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A math instructor at Weber State University completed coursework for five football players, including a final exam, according to a National Collegiate Athletic Association infractions decision announced Wednesday. The football players gave the instructor their usernames and passwords during the spring 2013 semester, and she logged in to their online math courses to complete tests, quizzes, and exams. As the semester came to an end, an adjunct instructor for one of the math classes noticed that a player had completed six quizzes and a final exam -- all in one hour. The adjunct's concern led to a full review of the developmental math program.
Weber State charged the five students with academic dishonesty and gave them failing grades. The university also alerted the NCAA about the misconduct, and during the investigation, other players said they received help Though NCAA investigators alleged that Weber State had failed to monitor the academic coursework of athletes, the Division I Committee on Infractions determined that the university's compliance system had detected the violations and quickly taken action. "We take full responsibility for the incident," Charles Wight, Weber State's president, said in a statement. "While we regret that it occurred, it is reassuring to know the systems we have in place quickly detected these unethical activities. We must remain vigilant going forward."
The university received several penalties, including three years of probation, a fine of $5,000 plus 2 percent of the football program's operating budget, and a reduction of 9 football equivalency scholarships. The instructor received a five-year show-cause order, and if the instructor ever works for another member institution and has responsibilities in its athletic department, the institution must appear before a committee panel. "The violations were detected in a reasonable time," Rodney Uphoff, chief committee on infractions hearing officer, said during a press call Wednesday. "The school was credited with promptly detecting and coming forward with the information as required by the membership."
Several college sports programs have faced questions about academic dishonesty this year, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which is still being investigated by both the NCAA and its accrediting agency after it was revealed that about 1,500 athletes there were steered toward no-show courses that never met, were not taught by any faculty members, and where the only work required was a single research paper that received a high grade no matter the content.
