When the news broke in 2010 of an academic scandal on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at first involving members of the football team, few knew that the issue would eventually expand to include more than 3100 students and student-athletes taking 200 “paper courses" offered by the African and Afro-American Studies Department. Among many other outcomes, UNC Chapel Hill was put on probation by the regional accreditation association, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Carolina was restored to full accreditation by the SACSCOC the following year, and later, the NCAA decided not to hold the institution in violation of their rules. 

In fall 2013, UNC-Chapel Hill was under new leadership, including a new Chancellor, new Provost, and new Athletic Director. They needed a clear and comprehensive understanding of the academic life cycle for student-athletes in order to move forward. 

Former Provost James W. Dean, Jr. and Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham convened a 10-person team of campus leaders to do something that we believe no other university had done before: comprehensively document and assess all academic processes that affect student-athletes from the time that they are recruited until after they graduate. With Chancellor Carol L. Folt’s direction and support, Dean and Cunningham led the Student-Athlete Academic Initiative Working Group in this effort, acknowledging that Carolina needed to make changes to address these issues, restore trust, and promote academic integrity. 

Most institutions sweep high-profile athletics scandals under the rug. UNC instead chose to build a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone on campus plays a coordinated role in student-athletes’ success.

Today's conversation goes behind the scenes with one of the key leaders in this effort, which still continues today. Dr. Debbi Clarke led the Working Group out of the Provost’s Office for more than nine years. Debbi takes us behind the scenes of a leadership puzzle – does change begin at the top with new leadership? Or from the bottom up, led by faculty and other key voices on campus? At UNC, it’s been both. They continue to address the issues they faced in a way that has drawn interest from university leaders across the country. As Clarke says "You're building a new culture. It's a really hard thing to do. We recognized what went wrong, and how it went wrong, and said, ‘This is what we're going to do to fix it." It's a remarkable transition. For more information: https://apsa.unc.edu