U NC-system President Tom Ross recently suggested that student-athletes be allowed to take lighter course loads during their freshman year in order to ease the transition from high school to college . However, this proposal poses significant concerns that could make its implementation costly and ineffective.
Implementing this proposal would require the extension of athletic scholarships in order to give students extra time to meet graduation requirements. Extending scholarships would be expensive and likely lead to fewer being awarded.
Moreover, student-athletes also have access to the Loudermilk Center for Excellence, a facility aimed at helping student-athletes by providing academic counseling, tutoring and study skills development workshops . If student-athletes are incapable of handling a 12-hour course load during their freshman year with all these resources at hand, then there is a strong possibility that they would be unable to handle this load during subsequent years at UNC.
The University has been making successful progress in addressing scandals concerning fake classes and athlete literacy.
Allowing first-year athletes to take a lighter load would be a step in the wrong direction, as a double standard would develop between nonathletes and athletes. Student-athletes are expected to successfully balance academic and athletic responsibilities, and they should continue to be held accountable to the same standards as nonathlete students. Finding a suitable balance may be rigorous, but it is the athlete’s responsibility to utilize the resources at their disposal to be successful.
Ross’s proposal sounds great upon first glance, but further analysis reveals significant obstacles that would need to be addressed if this proposal is to be considered at all.
