Distance learning-only institutions such as Penn Foster
normally don’t get embroiled in things like NCAA eligibility for prospective
college athletes, but that’s exactly what is happening in Mississippi.
The case involves Jerrell Powe, a defensive tackle whose academic
eligibility to play football for Ole Miss is being questioned by the NCAA. Powe attended brick-and-mortar schools for
some of his high school courses, but he also took courses through BYU and Penn
Foster High School.
In particular, the NCAA is questioning why Powe “showed a
significant improvement in his overall academic progress in the Spring of 2007
versus his previous academic endeavors” and “why there was a significant
increase in the number of courses taken at Penn Foster High School relative to
the number of courses he took” at the other four institutions he attended,
according to “The Clarion-Ledger”. In other
words, why did Powe take so many courses at Penn
Foster High School
and why was he able to do so well there compared to the other schools?
Usually in cases like this, the NCAA is investigating claims
of academic cheating, or whether an athlete actually did the work to pass
courses and earn a degree. I’m just an
outsider looking in, but to me it seems like the NCAA has a fundamental
misunderstanding about distance education.
I suppose it’s entirely possible the courses at Penn
Foster High School
were easier than the courses Jerrell Powe took at the other schools he
attended, but doing something easy isn’t the same as doing something
wrong. Then again, distance learning may agree with
Powe, while “butt-in-the-seat” courses at a brick-and-mortar school do
not. Perhaps the coursework at Penn
Foster High School
was more effective than what he was learning at the brick-and-mortar
schools. I know I have that opinion of the
college courses offered by Penn Foster versus the courses I took in high
school. Some of the high school courses
I attended at public school were flat-out a complete waste of time.
Powe’s attorney has been quoted in news reports as saying he
has provided NCAA officials about 2,000 pages of documents in regard to Powe’s
studies at Penn Foster
High School. Two thousand pages? I’m not sure Powe even read that much
material while studying at Penn Foster.
It will be interesting to see how this case plays out. What’s at stake is not just Powe’s ability to
play football for Ole Miss, but the acceptability of distance learning
credentials by an organization such as the NCAA. At a time when distance learning programs are
being embraced by more and more state colleges and universities, the federal
government and private industry, it is disheartening to see them being questioned
in this manner by an organization which should be very familiar with different
modes of education.