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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/sports/ncaafootball/27school.html?
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Correspondence School Helped College Players Qualify
By PETE THAMEL and DUFF WILSON
Published: November 27, 2005
By the end of his junior year at Miami Killian High School, Demetrice Morley flashed the speed, size and talent of a top college football prospect. His classroom performance, however, failed to match his athletic skills.
Chris Livingston for The New York Times
University of Tennessee's Demetrice Morley graduated from University High with a grade point average of 2.75, precisely what he wound up needing to qualify for a scholarship. More Photos >
A Quick Fix for College
This listing for University High School appears on the directory of a building located in South Miami. University High School has raised the G.P.A.s of several college-bound athletes.
He received three F's that year and had a 2.09 grade point average in his core courses, giving him little hope of qualifying for a scholarship under National Collegiate Athletic Association guidelines.
In December of his senior year, Morley led Killian to the 2004 state title while taking a full course load. He also took seven courses at University High School, a local correspondence school, scoring all A's and B's. He graduated that December, not from Killian but from University High. His grade point average in his core courses was 2.75, precisely what he wound up needing to qualify for a scholarship.
Morley, now a freshman defensive back for the University of Tennessee, was one of at least 28 athletes who polished their grades at University High in the last two years.
The New York Times identified 14 who had signed with 11 Division I football programs: Auburn, Central Florida, Colorado State, Florida, Florida State, Florida International, Rutgers, South Carolina State, South Florida, Tennessee and Temple.
University High, which has no classes and no educational accreditation, appears to have offered the players little more than a speedy academic makeover - and illustrates that even as the N.C.A.A. presses for academic reforms, its loopholes are quickly recognized and exploited.
In the case of University High, the athletes were grateful that its classes gave them an opportunity to qualify for college, although many acknowledged that they learned little.
Lorenzo Ferguson, a second-year defensive back at Auburn, said he left Miami Southridge High School for University High, where after one month he had raised his average to 2.6 from 2.0.
"You take each course you failed in ninth or 10th grade," he said. "If it was applied math, you do them on the packets they give you. It didn't take that long. The answers were basically in the book."
The N.C.A.A. has allowed students to use correspondence school courses to meet eligibility requirements since 2000. That year, the N.C.A.A. also shifted the power to determine which classes count as core courses to high school administrators. In doing so, it essentially left schools to determine their own legitimacy.
"We're not the educational accreditation police," Diane Dickman, the N.C.A.A.'s managing director for membership services, said in September.
But last week, Myles Brand, president of the N.C.A.A., said he would form a group to examine issues involving correspondence courses and high school credentials. Brand acted partly in response to a letter sent on Nov. 2 from the Southeastern Conference that highlighted cases similar to Morley's and Ferguson's.
The man who founded University High School and owned it until last year, Stanley J. Simmons, served 10 months in a federal prison camp from 1989 to 1990 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for his involvement with a college diploma mill in Arizona. Among the activities Simmons acknowledged in court documents were awarding degrees without academic achievement and awarding degrees based on studies he was unqualified to evaluate.
In interviews last week, he said he should never have pleaded guilty and that he operated legitimate correspondence schools for adults.
In 2004, Simmons sold University High to Michael R. Kinney, its director. Kinney, 27, who was arrested for marijuana possession in 2003 and is wanted on a bench warrant, declined to comment, despite requests by phone, fax and visits to his apartment.
Several University High graduates said they found the school through Antron Wright, a former XFL and Arena Football League player who is prominent in Miami's high school athletic circles. He is considered a savior by some players, but at least one principal has barred Wright from his building for luring athletes to a rival school and introducing them to University High.
Miami has ideal conditions for academic-athletic exploitation. It is fertile recruiting ground: 38 players from Dade County were on N.F.L. rosters at the start of the 2004 season, more than any other county. Also, Florida's public schools require an exit examination for graduation, but private schools have no such requirement, and operate under a law that prohibits any state regulation. That allows University High to operate essentially unsupervised.
This listing for University High School appears on the directory of a building located in South Miami. University High School has raised the G.P.A.s of several college-bound athletes.
Pat Herring, the interim admissions director at the University of Florida, looked into University High after admitting one of its graduates, Dane Guthrie, a former Killian tight end.
"We found that University High School was kind of a storefront operation," Herring said. "It didn't seem to have much in the way of an academic program."
While Florida officials were discussing whether to allow Guthrie to remain, he transferred to Arizona State.
Other colleges that have admitted University High graduates say they know little about it.
Auburn admitted Ferguson in 2004 and a fellow University graduate, Ulysses Alexander, this year. "The bottom line is they were both qualifiers by the N.C.A.A.," said Mark Richard, a senior associate athletic director at Auburn.
A four-member academic panel at Tennessee admitted Morley after sending an athletic department official to Miami to investigate University High. Morley has thrived on the field at Tennessee, but Philip Simpson has stumbled at Temple.
Simpson, a standout quarterback at Southridge High, said Wright had met with him and his parents and offered a sure alternative from high school to college, telling him: "You either stay there and bust your behind and hope and pray that at the end you don't get short-handed. Or you can do this."
Simpson said his mother called the N.C.A.A. to check whether University High courses would be accepted. He said he graduated in three weeks by taking four classes, improving his average to 2.3 from 2.0.
He now says he lacks the educational skills for college. For a basic math class at Temple, Simpson said, he studied at least three hours every day, got help from tutors and met regularly with the professor. He still did not score higher than 53 out of 100 on any test.
Simpson said Temple ruled him academically ineligible to play. He watched this season from the sideline.
University High School consists of two small rooms on the third floor of an office building wedged between a Starbucks and an animal hospital on Route 1 in south Miami. Inside are three desks, three employees and two framed posters from art museums on the wall.
Promotional brochures say diplomas can be earned in four to six weeks, with open-book exams, no classes and no timed tests. A diploma costs $399, no matter how many courses.
In paperwork filed with the state of Florida, the school says it has six teachers. None of the school's graduates interviewed, however, mentioned dealing with anyone besides Kinney, the current owner.
John M. McLeod, a Miami-Dade Community College educator, is identified as the University High principal on a letter welcoming new students. McLeod said he met Simmons in the 1970's, but that he had no connection to University High. He said his signature had been copied.
"I've never seen this letter," he said. "I know nothing about University High School."
Simmons said he did not know why McLeod's signature was on the letter.
Former students said in interviews that courses consisted of picking up work packets from University High and completing them at home. Grades they received on the packets counted the same on their transcripts as a yearlong high school course.
"If it was history, they had the story with the questions right next to it," Simpson said. "They were one-page stories. It wasn't really hard."
University High says its textbooks are the Essential Series from Research and Education Association of Piscataway, N.J., but their publisher describes them as study guides.
"You wouldn't describe them as textbooks," Carl M. Fuchs, president of Research and Education, said. "You would say they're more supplemental, but they can be used on their own. A textbook is certainly going to have a lot more text, a lot more information.
You need to subscribe
Thankfully, tOSU isn't doesn't have any players involve in this.:)
Correspondence School Helped College Players Qualify
By PETE THAMEL and DUFF WILSON
Published: November 27, 2005
By the end of his junior year at Miami Killian High School, Demetrice Morley flashed the speed, size and talent of a top college football prospect. His classroom performance, however, failed to match his athletic skills.
Chris Livingston for The New York Times
University of Tennessee's Demetrice Morley graduated from University High with a grade point average of 2.75, precisely what he wound up needing to qualify for a scholarship. More Photos >
A Quick Fix for College
This listing for University High School appears on the directory of a building located in South Miami. University High School has raised the G.P.A.s of several college-bound athletes.
He received three F's that year and had a 2.09 grade point average in his core courses, giving him little hope of qualifying for a scholarship under National Collegiate Athletic Association guidelines.
In December of his senior year, Morley led Killian to the 2004 state title while taking a full course load. He also took seven courses at University High School, a local correspondence school, scoring all A's and B's. He graduated that December, not from Killian but from University High. His grade point average in his core courses was 2.75, precisely what he wound up needing to qualify for a scholarship.
Morley, now a freshman defensive back for the University of Tennessee, was one of at least 28 athletes who polished their grades at University High in the last two years.
The New York Times identified 14 who had signed with 11 Division I football programs: Auburn, Central Florida, Colorado State, Florida, Florida State, Florida International, Rutgers, South Carolina State, South Florida, Tennessee and Temple.
University High, which has no classes and no educational accreditation, appears to have offered the players little more than a speedy academic makeover - and illustrates that even as the N.C.A.A. presses for academic reforms, its loopholes are quickly recognized and exploited.
In the case of University High, the athletes were grateful that its classes gave them an opportunity to qualify for college, although many acknowledged that they learned little.
Lorenzo Ferguson, a second-year defensive back at Auburn, said he left Miami Southridge High School for University High, where after one month he had raised his average to 2.6 from 2.0.
"You take each course you failed in ninth or 10th grade," he said. "If it was applied math, you do them on the packets they give you. It didn't take that long. The answers were basically in the book."
The N.C.A.A. has allowed students to use correspondence school courses to meet eligibility requirements since 2000. That year, the N.C.A.A. also shifted the power to determine which classes count as core courses to high school administrators. In doing so, it essentially left schools to determine their own legitimacy.
"We're not the educational accreditation police," Diane Dickman, the N.C.A.A.'s managing director for membership services, said in September.
But last week, Myles Brand, president of the N.C.A.A., said he would form a group to examine issues involving correspondence courses and high school credentials. Brand acted partly in response to a letter sent on Nov. 2 from the Southeastern Conference that highlighted cases similar to Morley's and Ferguson's.
The man who founded University High School and owned it until last year, Stanley J. Simmons, served 10 months in a federal prison camp from 1989 to 1990 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for his involvement with a college diploma mill in Arizona. Among the activities Simmons acknowledged in court documents were awarding degrees without academic achievement and awarding degrees based on studies he was unqualified to evaluate.
In interviews last week, he said he should never have pleaded guilty and that he operated legitimate correspondence schools for adults.
In 2004, Simmons sold University High to Michael R. Kinney, its director. Kinney, 27, who was arrested for marijuana possession in 2003 and is wanted on a bench warrant, declined to comment, despite requests by phone, fax and visits to his apartment.
Several University High graduates said they found the school through Antron Wright, a former XFL and Arena Football League player who is prominent in Miami's high school athletic circles. He is considered a savior by some players, but at least one principal has barred Wright from his building for luring athletes to a rival school and introducing them to University High.
Miami has ideal conditions for academic-athletic exploitation. It is fertile recruiting ground: 38 players from Dade County were on N.F.L. rosters at the start of the 2004 season, more than any other county. Also, Florida's public schools require an exit examination for graduation, but private schools have no such requirement, and operate under a law that prohibits any state regulation. That allows University High to operate essentially unsupervised.
This listing for University High School appears on the directory of a building located in South Miami. University High School has raised the G.P.A.s of several college-bound athletes.
Pat Herring, the interim admissions director at the University of Florida, looked into University High after admitting one of its graduates, Dane Guthrie, a former Killian tight end.
"We found that University High School was kind of a storefront operation," Herring said. "It didn't seem to have much in the way of an academic program."
While Florida officials were discussing whether to allow Guthrie to remain, he transferred to Arizona State.
Other colleges that have admitted University High graduates say they know little about it.
Auburn admitted Ferguson in 2004 and a fellow University graduate, Ulysses Alexander, this year. "The bottom line is they were both qualifiers by the N.C.A.A.," said Mark Richard, a senior associate athletic director at Auburn.
A four-member academic panel at Tennessee admitted Morley after sending an athletic department official to Miami to investigate University High. Morley has thrived on the field at Tennessee, but Philip Simpson has stumbled at Temple.
Simpson, a standout quarterback at Southridge High, said Wright had met with him and his parents and offered a sure alternative from high school to college, telling him: "You either stay there and bust your behind and hope and pray that at the end you don't get short-handed. Or you can do this."
Simpson said his mother called the N.C.A.A. to check whether University High courses would be accepted. He said he graduated in three weeks by taking four classes, improving his average to 2.3 from 2.0.
He now says he lacks the educational skills for college. For a basic math class at Temple, Simpson said, he studied at least three hours every day, got help from tutors and met regularly with the professor. He still did not score higher than 53 out of 100 on any test.
Simpson said Temple ruled him academically ineligible to play. He watched this season from the sideline.
University High School consists of two small rooms on the third floor of an office building wedged between a Starbucks and an animal hospital on Route 1 in south Miami. Inside are three desks, three employees and two framed posters from art museums on the wall.
Promotional brochures say diplomas can be earned in four to six weeks, with open-book exams, no classes and no timed tests. A diploma costs $399, no matter how many courses.
In paperwork filed with the state of Florida, the school says it has six teachers. None of the school's graduates interviewed, however, mentioned dealing with anyone besides Kinney, the current owner.
John M. McLeod, a Miami-Dade Community College educator, is identified as the University High principal on a letter welcoming new students. McLeod said he met Simmons in the 1970's, but that he had no connection to University High. He said his signature had been copied.
"I've never seen this letter," he said. "I know nothing about University High School."
Simmons said he did not know why McLeod's signature was on the letter.
Former students said in interviews that courses consisted of picking up work packets from University High and completing them at home. Grades they received on the packets counted the same on their transcripts as a yearlong high school course.
"If it was history, they had the story with the questions right next to it," Simpson said. "They were one-page stories. It wasn't really hard."
University High says its textbooks are the Essential Series from Research and Education Association of Piscataway, N.J., but their publisher describes them as study guides.
"You wouldn't describe them as textbooks," Carl M. Fuchs, president of Research and Education, said. "You would say they're more supplemental, but they can be used on their own. A textbook is certainly going to have a lot more text, a lot more information.
