Wainstein Report (2014)
In February 2014, the university hired Kenneth L. Wainstein, a former official in the United States Department of Justice, to conduct an independent investigation.
Our goal is to create an academic success program that is one of the best, if not the leader, among peer universities.
-- Joel Curran, UNC vice chancellor of communications
On October 22, 2014, the report was released reporting that for 18 years, at least 3,100 students took "nonexistent" classes, saying, "These counselors saw the paper classes and the artificially high grades they yielded as key to helping some student-athletes remain eligible." The report named both Julius Nyang'oro and Debbie Crowder as facilitators of the practice.
Reforms
More than 70 reforms have been instituted. These included better governance standards, more accountability for support programs for student-athletes, new department structures, and more classroom audits and oversight of courses, according to a university source. Employees called checkers were sent to classes to see whether, in fact, they were being held, as part of an improved auditing system. Further, university officials made statements which affirmed that they were proud of the accomplishments of their sports programs and varsity teams. An athletics director spoke highly of the university's scholarship program; one said most of their student-athletes graduate and have successful careers. Some officials criticized the allegations; for example, a basketball coach objected that the allegations had slandered the "moral character of his players."
The NCAA scholarships that students have been awarded for the past 50 years are the best scholarship program ever created with the possible exception of the GI Bill. While they're not perfect, sports scholarships certainly provide great opportunities for an awful lot of students.
-- Bubba Cunningham, UNC athletic director