The final investigation into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s scandal has concluded that several courses its athletes were enrolled in were ?fictitious.
Unfortunately, instead of arguing that UNC was horribly negligent, some are saying that the academic burden of a university is simply too much for the student athletes. As a result, these figures argue that the idea of taking classes at these ?universities is too much.
I disagree.
There is a massive debate regarding the purpose of four-year institutions in an era of rampant student debt. Questions about the ivory tower of academia and the modern idea of an education, where global competitiveness is increasing, the mission of a university must be clear: prepare its students for entering the workforce.
IU’s mission statement is to “create, disseminate, preserve and apply knowledge.”
These are bold words, attempting to cover the many diverse disciplines that IU encompasses and be fitting of the 40,000 students and thousands of faculty members, and I applaud the University for so far avoiding stooping down to UNC’s level. But the temptation should never have been there in the first place.
A university, especially ones like UNC or IU, requires general education credits in order to ensure that all of its students are able to have basic proficiency in a broad base of things.
If these athletes are not comfortable with that, then a more focused education in a trade school or similar academy would be better ?fitted for them.
If we are seriously considering the notion that student athletes are not, first and foremost, students, then athletes might as well be under contract and be paid for their time rather than be given a sham of an education.
Everyone who receives a degree from a university must be guaranteed that they are certified to go out into the world equipped with the knowledge to succeed overall, not just in one specified field.
Institutions should be well aware of this fact and educate their athletes as students. They are student ?athletes, after all.
mjsu@indiana.edu
