Coaching the Mind has published a 35-question test that Bradley Bethel claims will "demonstrate sufficient knowledge to offer informed opinions" on the Wainstein Report. Since I do intend to continue to offer commentary and analysis of any issues relating to the UNC scandal, I figured I'd better submit my answers and, if able, obtain that Bethel Seal of Approval. I certainly don't want to be lumped together with Pat Forde, Paul Barrett, Dan Kane or any of the rest of sensational media types.
So, here we go.
Q1: What were the "paper classes" at the center of the UNC scandal that Kenneth Wainstein investigated?
Answer: (C) Classes that were conducted by a department student services manager and for which students had no interaction with a faculty member but were required to submit a lengthy research paper that was graded leniently (Wainstein, p. 1)
Comment: Could not find any reference in the Report specifying that paper requirement was that it be "lengthy."
Q2: What prompted UNC to retain Wainstein to investigate the paper classes?
Answer: (A) Deborah Crowder's willingness to speak about the paper classes for the first time (p. 2)
Comment: More accurately, it was the conclusion of the State Bureau of Investigation's criminal investigation which would provide access to both Ms. Crowder and information obtained from the investigation. (ps. 2 & 7)
Q3: In which department were the paper classes offered?
Answer: (A) African and Afro-American Studies (p.1)
Comment: The Wainstein investigation was scoped to look at that department specifically. It does not logically follow that the technique didn't exist in other departments, though no evidence to date supports that suspicion.
Q4: Who was the person who conducted the paper classes?
Answer: (A) Deborah Crowder (p. 1)
Comment: None
Q5: Who was the department chair?
Answer: (C) Julius Nyang'oro (p.1)
Comment: None
Q6: When were the paper classes offered?
Answer: (B) 1993-2011 (p.3)
Comment: As with Q3, the investigation was tasked with examining this date range. It is an incorrect assumption to conclude that the scheme was bound by these dates, though, again, no evidence has been proffered otherwise, to date.
Q7: What was the primary reason the paper classes were offered?
Answer: (C) The person conducting the paper classes was "passionate about helping struggling students of all kinds" (p. 14)
Comment: (C) is the answer that Nyang'oro and Crowder gave to investigators as to the primary reason the paper classes were offered. To better reflect the content of the referenced passage, and more accurately test for a careful reading of the report, the answer should include two elements: (1) she was "passionate about helping struggling students of all kinds, " and (2) her love for Chapel Hill athletics. (p. 44)
Q8: What percentage of enrollments in the paper classes were athletes?
Answer: (A) 47.4% (p. 3)
Comment: None
Q9: A previous investigation identified a similar percentage of athlete enrollments and revealed that the percentage was consistent with other cluster groupings of classes that fit conveniently into athletes' schedules. The Wainstein Report also provides that context so that readers can develop a comprehensive understanding of athletes' experience scheduling classes.
Answer: (F) False
Comment: This question is problematic because it is apparently rhetorical, posed to test for knowledge of the absence of subject matter from the report, the inclusion of which would be an editorial decision.
Q10: Which students received grades or grade changes for paper classes without completing any work?
Answer: (B) No students: Wainstein found "abundant evidence" that grades were only awarded after students submitted their papers (p. 39).
Comment: Equating "work," as the question is posed, with "papers," as provided in option (B), is an editorial insertion not found in the Report. Based on evidence found in the supplemental materials, there is sufficient suspicion that some submitted papers required little or no work. Recommend rephrasing the question to replace "completing any work" with "submitting a paper" to be consistent with the Report.
Q11: Which administrators and staff outside of the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes (ASPSA) and Athletics had at least some knowledge of the paper classes?
Answer: (A) An advisor, an assistant dean, and an associate dean in the Steele Building, coordinators in the Carolina Covenant and the Moorehead-Cain programs, and the Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education Bobbie Owen (p. 68)
Comment: Doesn't impact the answer, but recommend replacing the phrasing "outside of" in the question with "besides" and add comma punctuation to resolve potential ambiguity. As currently written, it could be interpreted that ASPSA and Athletics are excluded from having had knowledge of paper classes when, according to the report, members of ASPSA and athletics did possess "at least some knowledge."
Q12: When did Owen learn that Nyang'oro was the instructor of record for more than 300 independent studies in a single year?
Answer: (A) 2005 or 2006 (p. 21)
Comment: None
Q13: What was Owen's response when she learned about the impossible number of independent studies listed for Nyang'oro?
Answer: (A) She merely directed him to reduce the numbers (p. 21).
Comment: None
Q14: What concerns regarding Nyang'oro did Associate Dean Carolyn Cannon bring to Owen's attention?
Answer: (A) An inordinate number of grade changes were occurring in his department, and there were discrepancies between signatures on the grade forms (p. 69).
Comment: None
Q15: What was Owen's response to Cannon's concerns?
Answer: (A) She merely directed Nyang'oro to submit an exemplar of his signature (p. 69).
Comment: None
Q16: Who approached Owen with questions about the propriety of the paper classes?
Answer: (C) Senior Associate Athletics Director John Blanchard (p. 104)
Comment: No issues, as long as the report's phrasing "lecture courses that were reportedly being conducted as independent studies" from the report is synonymous with "paper classes" articulated in the question.
Q17: What was Owen's response to questions about the propriety of the paper classes?
Answer: (A) She explained that professors can teach however they choose to teach (p. 104).
Comment: None
Q18: In Fall 2011, Dean Karen Gill charged Senior Associate Deans Jonathan Hartlyn and William Andrews to investigate the paper classes. Shortly thereafter, Gill charged Owen to lead a task force to examine the use of independent studies. For both reports, each released on May 2, 2012, Owen revealed what she knew about the paper classes.
Answer: (F) False
Comment: Recommend removing reference to the Independent Task Force directed by Dean Gil (single "L") since its scope was to examine University then-current independent study course policies and practices. It also wasn't tasked with looking at "lecture courses that were reportedly being conducted as independent studies" or any other classes with the signature characteristics of a "paper course."
Q19: In an email sent to Blanchard on July 20, 2006, what reasons did ASPSA Director Robert Mercer give for not feeling compelled to question the paper classes further?
Answer: (A) Athletics does not have authority to challenge classes available to all students, and "time is better spent working with faculty and administration to ensure our student-athletes are having a quality educational experience (learning, improving skills, preparing for whatever comes after college)."
Comment: Certain that (A) is correct, but could not find source email. Please provide a citation.
Q20: How did ASPSA counselor Jaimie Lee perceive the paper classes?
Answer: (C) As an "opportunity to work on the building blocks of a research paper, such as how to write a thesis statement, how to create an abstract, how to conduct research, and ultimately, how to do critical analysis" (p. 119)
Comment: None
Q21: How did ASPSA counselor Wayne Walden perceive the paper classes?
Answer: (C) "Walden was aware of the paper classes and thought they had been approved by the University because they were open to all students. Walden said that he tried to limit the number of enrollments in the paper classes for the students [Coach] Williams recruited. He explained that he wanted to avoid developing a culture that depended on these classes, preferring the structure of a regular lecture course" (p. 122).
Comment: None
Q22: How many years after the paper classes started did ASPSA counselor Brent Blanton begin working at UNC?
Answer: (C) 12 (p. 117)
Comment: None
Q23: How many years after the paper classes started did ASPSA counselor Beth Bridger begin working at UNC?
Answer: (C) 13 (p. 118)
Comment: None
Q24: How many years after the paper classes started did [Jamie] Lee begin working at UNC?
Answer: (C) 13 (p. 119)
Comment: None
Q25: How many years after the paper classes started did ASPSA counselor Walden begin working at UNC?
Answer: (C) 10 (p. 122)
Comment: None
Q26: What part-time counselor and respected figure regularly referred athletes to the paper classes, giving other counselors the impression the paper classes were legitimate?
Answer: (A) Director of the Parr Center for Ethics and eventual Chair of the Faculty Council Jan Boxill
Comment: Could not find reference in the Report suggesting that Boxill's practice gave other counselor's the impression the paper classes were legitimate. Is this an interpretation?
Q27: On p. 4, Wainstein states that "several" ASPSA tutors provided impermissible assistance to athletes with paper-class papers. How many is "several"?
Answer: (A) 3 (p. 56)
Comment: 3 of 9 falls within the definition of several.
Q28: On p. 39, Wainstein states that two counselors regularly contacted Crowder and Nyang'oro to "request" certain grades for athletes, but on p. 67 he states that those two counselors only "suggested" grades for athletes. Regardless of the discrepancy, which two counselors were they?
Answer: (A) Boxill and Cynthia Reynolds
Comment: Suggest removing the phrase "regardless of the discrepancy" since it is superfluous to the question. Given that the semantic differences aren't sufficient to represent a discrepancy, please remove the phrase "regardless of the discrepancy." (See what I did there?)
Q29: On p. 42, Wainstein quotes an email from an ASPSA staff member who jested that paper-class papers were more like middle school reports than college papers. Wainstein then writes, "This one comment speaks volumes about the low expectations placed on the players." What do the actual volumes of tutor summary forms reveal about ASPSA's approach to tutoring athletes in the paper classes?
Answer: (A) That ASPA staff collectively and earnestly attempted to teach athletes the "building blocks of a research paper, such as how to write a thesis statement, how to create an abstract, how to conduct research, and ultimately, how to do critical analysis" (p. 119)
Comment: Beside the fact that a case could be made for the absence of inconsistency between these two pieces of evidence, this question asks for a subjective assessment, expecting the test taker to balance documentary evidence versus interview testimony. Some may consider the former to be more candid and thus more trustworthy making the answer more a matter of opinion than a matter of fact.
Q30: On p. 67, Wainstein states that "counselors often steered players toward AFAM majors." What evidence does he provide to support that claim?
Answer: Intentionally left blank
Comment: Opted not to answer since none of the provided choices offers an accurate enough answer to qualify for "best." This question would be more suitable to a short answer or essay test format, but like the previous question, it leans more toward subjective rather than objective assessment.
Q31: Between 1999 and 2011, there were 963 enrollments of football players in the paper classes. How many football players did Wainstein interview to learn about football players' experiences enrolling in paper classes?
Answer: (A) 4 (p. 47)
Comment: None
Q32: During the two years following Crowder's retirement, how many paper classes did Nyang'oro offer?
Answer: (A) 6 (p. 23)
Comment: None
Q33: On p. 2, Wainstein states that Nyang'oro offered those six classes after Crowder's retirement "at the request of ASPSA football counselors." On p. 4, Wainstein states that those football counselors "undertook an effort to persuade Nyang'oro to continue the paper classes." On p. 23, Wainstein states that Lee "lobbied Nyang'oro to offer certain paper classes." On p. 44, Wainstein contends there was a "demonstrably concerted effort by the counselors to have Lee persuade Nyang'oro to continue the [paper] classes after Crowder's retirement, an effort that is clearly laid out in the email traffic between them." What does that email traffic actually reveal?
Answer: Intentionally left blank
Comment: None of the provided options are correct. Suggest/request a fourth option, either supplying the actual answer or "none of the above."
Q34: On p. 23, Wainstein states that Bridger "seized" on the idea of Lee's establishing a relationship with Nyang'oro, insinuating that establishing a professional relationship with a professor was out of the ordinary for the counselors. How does Wainstein support his insinuation?
Answer: Intentionally left blank
Comment: See comment for Q33. The last two questions are geared toward opinion and not testing understanding of facts. Remember what the stated mission of this test is.
Q35: On p. 64, Wainstein contends that Reynolds, Bridger, and Lee were "aware of every irregular aspect of these paper classes." What evidence does he provide to demonstrate that Bridger and Lee were aware Crowder was conducting the paper classes without Nyang'oro's approval and supervision?
Answer: (C) No evidence...
Comment: None of the available answer options are suitable choices, but (C) is the best of 3 flawed options because it does offer some valid evidence, albeit loaded to reflect an arguable position. The answer should be left blank until a revision can be completed, but here I've chosen (C) only for the purpose of scoring so as to achieve a certifying score, particularly in light of having conceded 3 points previously.
Pencils down.
Edit: the Web form on the Coaching the Mind site would not allow submission with any answers left blank, so I had to intentionally choose incorrect answers for those several (or is it few?) questions I would have preferred to leave blank, just for the purposes of completion. I approached the bonus questions the same way, not desiring the fill them out but being required to by the test mechanism. In cases where I felt the question was loaded and the "correct" answer wrong, I intentionally chose wrong answers to simulate leaving them blank.
