Wall Street Journal

[BigWhiskey91 632]

Looks like were going to make a run at the title boys! Media is already starting to stir the pot!

http://www.wsj.com/articles/at-auburn-athletics-and-academics-collide-1440635278

[doc4aday 1,887]

I think we will eat steaks instead of stew when it is all said and done.

[Taiyushka 0]

The story is a bit troubling. The new dean of CLA says he didn't know there was a single student athlete in public administration; I find that very hard to believe. I am a born and bred Auburn fan and graduate and the last thing I want to do is trash my school, but this is embarrassing.

[AUUSN 823]

I'm a Public Admin major. During my time, I only had one football player in any of my classes, Tyrone Goodson. Must have really taken off in popularity after I graduated.

[Mikey 16,546]

Much ado about nothing. There are no grade scandals, or in fact any scandal at all. The Tuscaloosa News is owned by the New York Times. I don't know the connection between the NYT and WSJ, but you can bet there is some back and forth. This smells of bammer. To hell with 'em is my thought.

[WarEagle123 28]

Here is the only rebuttal needed for this story. Anyone that was on track for a public admin degree could have changed majors if the university got rid of that major. Why is this a story? There were athletes in good standing academically for a public admin degree. They would still be in good standing for any other degree. This wouldn't change the grades they already received which puts them in an eligible status to participate in athletics.

[mustache eagle 2,388]

I'm not clicking the link ... Can someone summarize the issue

[jmcrosson 203]

The fact that this is even a story in the WSJ smells of a smear job. OF COURSE the athletic administration is going to speak up if a large number of student athletes are majoring in a curriculum that's about to be terminated. This story never states that public administration is a lemon degree, nor does it even address the difficulty of the curriculum. Instead, it's full of innuendo and weak/faulty references to the academic scandal at North Carolina. How do you even make the comparison to an athletic department standing up to an administration and being a voice for their athletes that will be affected in their degree pursuit with a scandal of utter impropriety and not come off smelling of an agenda?

Think about it - "Hey Coach, they're doing away with my degree! Me and half the team are going to have to choose another major. Can you do something?" This should not be a story at all. What's embarrassing is that this kind of "story" meant to hint and insinuate impropriety finds a voice in the wall street journal. Journalism is dead.

[Taiyushka 0]

The fact that this is even a story in the WSJ smells of a smear job. OF COURSE the athletic administration is going to speak up if a large number of student athletes are majoring in a curriculum that's about to be terminated. This story never states that public administration is a lemon degree, nor does it even address the difficulty of the curriculum. Instead, it's full of innuendo and weak/faulty references to the academic scandal at North Carolina. How do you even make the comparison to an athletic department standing up to an administration and being a voice for their athletes that will be affected in their degree pursuit with a scandal of utter impropriety and not come off smelling of an agenda?

Think about it - "Hey Coach, they're doing away with my degree! Me and half the team are going to have to choose another major. Can you do something?" This should not be a story at all. What's embarrassing is that this kind of "story" meant to hint and insinuate impropriety finds a voice in the wall street journal. Journalism is dead.

I seriously doubt that the Wall Street Journal has some sort of plot to smear Auburn. I really don't get the persecution complex some folks on this board seem to have. I'll admit there are certain journalists who are obviously biased against Auburn, but most of them are doing it to get reads from rival fan bases. The next week, they turn around and do it to another school and we flock to the articles. Again though, I don't think that's what's going on here.

Also, even if the major had been shut down, I'm 99% sure they would've let any current majors finish their degrees. That's how these things work; it's not like all of those players would've been hung out to dry with a bunch of useless credits. The issue here is that athletics wants to keep up a specific major that a large amount of athletes tend to major in. Are we really going to say it's coincidence that all of these athletes are just interested in public administration? Does no one here remember what was going on with sociology under Tuberville when we nearly lost our accreditation? Let's take off the orange and blue glasses and hold our school accountable for its mistakes. Not because we want to hurt it, but because we want it to be as great as possible.

Academic integrity ought to always come first.

[gman87 398]

I'm not clicking the link ... Can someone summarize the issue

Auburn's football team will be better than $puat's this year.

[jmcrosson 203]

The fact that this is even a story in the WSJ smells of a smear job. OF COURSE the athletic administration is going to speak up if a large number of student athletes are majoring in a curriculum that's about to be terminated. This story never states that public administration is a lemon degree, nor does it even address the difficulty of the curriculum. Instead, it's full of innuendo and weak/faulty references to the academic scandal at North Carolina. How do you even make the comparison to an athletic department standing up to an administration and being a voice for their athletes that will be affected in their degree pursuit with a scandal of utter impropriety and not come off smelling of an agenda?

Think about it - "Hey Coach, they're doing away with my degree! Me and half the team are going to have to choose another major. Can you do something?" This should not be a story at all. What's embarrassing is that this kind of "story" meant to hint and insinuate impropriety finds a voice in the wall street journal. Journalism is dead.

I seriously doubt that the Wall Street Journal has some sort of plot to smear Auburn. I really don't get the persecution complex some folks on this board seem to have. I'll admit there are certain journalists who are obviously biased against Auburn, but most of them are doing it to get reads from rival fan bases. The next week, they turn around and do it to another school and we flock to the articles. Again though, I don't think that's what's going on here.

Also, even if the major had been shut down, I'm 99% sure they would've let any current majors finish their degrees. That's how these things work; it's not like all of those players would've been hung out to dry with a bunch of useless credits. The issue here is that athletics wants to keep up a specific major that a large amount of athletes tend to major in. Are we really going to say it's coincidence that all of these athletes are just interested in public administration? Does no one here remember what was going on with sociology under Tuberville when we nearly lost our accreditation? Let's take off the orange and blue glasses and hold our school accountable for its mistakes. Not because we want to hurt it, but because we want it to be as great as possible.

Academic integrity ought to always come first.

Hold our school accountable to what, exactly? The fact that athletics wants to keep up a specific major that a large amount of athletes tend to major in, as you put it? No - perhaps we should hold them accountable with your next statement: "Auburn University - are we really going to say it's coincidence that all of these athletes are just interested in public administration?"

Furthermore, if this was a story about Ohio State, Louisville, or insert-any-college-name here, I'd say the same thing (well, except for Bama, because they're the devil) - it's a smear job. I'm not saying that the writer or the WSJ has an agenda against Auburn, per say, and I certainly don't have a persecution complex. Maybe the author just doesn't like football in general. Maybe they have an agenda to get page hits by placing prominent schools on the headline of a story. I call that a smear job, regardless of the writer's personal preference either for or against Auburn, if you fail to give me one solid fact in your entire "article" that demonstrates something amiss. All that aside, I simply don't have my head in the sand when it comes to an innuendo-driven story meant to draw clicks on the thinnest of what is even a stretch to call the appearance of impropriety. The fact remains - this was no story. It was meant to hint at and point to something that is not proven to be there at all. It's infuriating.

[Tiger 8,817]

Yuck right before the season

[TexasTiger 12,808]

Much ado about nothing. There are no grade scandals, or in fact any scandal at all. The Tuscaloosa News is owned by the New York Times. I don't know the connection between the NYT and WSJ, but you can bet there is some back and forth. This smells of bammer. To hell with 'em is my thought.

No connection other than the same city.

[Randman5000 4,223]

It wouldn't be much of a story if the athletic department hadn't offered to subsidize the major. Lobbying for a major to stay open because you have athletes in is one thing, trying to pay for it is anther.The AD better answer the tough questions or it will haunt us all season. I'm tired of any reasoning to casts doubts or suspicion on the university and athletics no matter how off base they are.

They need to get out in front of this and say it's because public administration is a good major for athletes both during and after sports. They were thinking about the athletes and that particular major. And give examples.

[PatBoCamRob 30]

Author is a young Duke graduate. At least it's not Roopstigo. I think journalists know that articles about SEC schools get clicks. No telling how much ad revenue the Cam saga made the media.

[au75 75]

I do not think the story has legs to last very long.

[creed 1,629]

Maybe the wsj should write an article on the art studio and dance degree paths offered a bama. You may find a few or 20 athletes enrolled.

[aujeff11 6,243]

I'm a Public Admin major. During my time, I only had one football player in any of my classes, Tyrone Goodson. Must have really taken off in popularity after I graduated.

If a couple things fall through, I will be going back to school to get my MPA.

[aushrink 22]

The only thing that surprises me about the non story is that is was not written by that Selena Roberts witch who has made a career trying to destroy Auburn.

Maybe this is her intern.

[chimesAU 89]

The fact that this is even a story in the WSJ smells of a smear job. OF COURSE the athletic administration is going to speak up if a large number of student athletes are majoring in a curriculum that's about to be terminated. This story never states that public administration is a lemon degree, nor does it even address the difficulty of the curriculum. Instead, it's full of innuendo and weak/faulty references to the academic scandal at North Carolina. How do you even make the comparison to an athletic department standing up to an administration and being a voice for their athletes that will be affected in their degree pursuit with a scandal of utter impropriety and not come off smelling of an agenda?

Think about it - "Hey Coach, they're doing away with my degree! Me and half the team are going to have to choose another major. Can you do something?" This should not be a story at all. What's embarrassing is that this kind of "story" meant to hint and insinuate impropriety finds a voice in the wall street journal. Journalism is dead.

I seriously doubt that the Wall Street Journal has some sort of plot to smear Auburn. I really don't get the persecution complex some folks on this board seem to have. I'll admit there are certain journalists who are obviously biased against Auburn, but most of them are doing it to get reads from rival fan bases. The next week, they turn around and do it to another school and we flock to the articles. Again though, I don't think that's what's going on here.

Also, even if the major had been shut down, I'm 99% sure they would've let any current majors finish their degrees. That's how these things work; it's not like all of those players would've been hung out to dry with a bunch of useless credits. The issue here is that athletics wants to keep up a specific major that a large amount of athletes tend to major in. Are we really going to say it's coincidence that all of these athletes are just interested in public administration? Does no one here remember what was going on with sociology under Tuberville when we nearly lost our accreditation? Let's take off the orange and blue glasses and hold our school accountable for its mistakes. Not because we want to hurt it, but because we want it to be as great as possible.

Academic integrity ought to always come first.

This guy gets it. I'm really not sure how so many of you can quickly dismiss this as a "nonstory". Athletics should not be influencing academics. ATHLETICS.SHOULD.NOT.BE.INFLUENCING.ACADEMICS. The fact that so many academic review boards voted to do away with PA and the football team basically stepped in and said "Not gonna happen" is troubling. Auburn University is about educating people first. This is troubling whether y'all are willing to admit it or not.

[juscAUse 1]

The fact that this is even a story in the WSJ smells of a smear job. OF COURSE the athletic administration is going to speak up if a large number of student athletes are majoring in a curriculum that's about to be terminated. This story never states that public administration is a lemon degree, nor does it even address the difficulty of the curriculum. Instead, it's full of innuendo and weak/faulty references to the academic scandal at North Carolina. How do you even make the comparison to an athletic department standing up to an administration and being a voice for their athletes that will be affected in their degree pursuit with a scandal of utter impropriety and not come off smelling of an agenda?

Think about it - "Hey Coach, they're doing away with my degree! Me and half the team are going to have to choose another major. Can you do something?" This should not be a story at all. What's embarrassing is that this kind of "story" meant to hint and insinuate impropriety finds a voice in the wall street journal. Journalism is dead.

I seriously doubt that the Wall Street Journal has some sort of plot to smear Auburn. I really don't get the persecution complex some folks on this board seem to have. I'll admit there are certain journalists who are obviously biased against Auburn, but most of them are doing it to get reads from rival fan bases. The next week, they turn around and do it to another school and we flock to the articles. Again though, I don't think that's what's going on here.

Also, even if the major had been shut down, I'm 99% sure they would've let any current majors finish their degrees. That's how these things work; it's not like all of those players would've been hung out to dry with a bunch of useless credits. The issue here is that athletics wants to keep up a specific major that a large amount of athletes tend to major in. Are we really going to say it's coincidence that all of these athletes are just interested in public administration? Does no one here remember what was going on with sociology under Tuberville when we nearly lost our accreditation? Let's take off the orange and blue glasses and hold our school accountable for its mistakes. Not because we want to hurt it, but because we want it to be as great as possible.

Academic integrity ought to always come first.

This guy gets it. I'm really not sure how so many of you can quickly dismiss this as a "nonstory". Athletics should not be influencing academics. ATHLETICS.SHOULD.NOT.BE.INFLUENCING.ACADEMICS. The fact that so many academic review boards voted to do away with PA and the football team basically stepped in and said "Not gonna happen" is troubling. Auburn University is about educating people first. This is troubling whether y'all are willing to admit it or not.

With friends like these, who needs bammers? 80% of the people on al.com agree with you, sir. I will wait for one solid fact to come out of this story before I make a judgment either way. But being from an AU family, I will grant AU the benefit of the doubt before I jump on the bash AU bus.And to reply to the poster who accuses some of us to be paranoid of the media, guilty as charged. I am unable to unlearn things I have found to be true, but I'm older, I guess. As far as the athletic dept being involved with course work, I sure wish the AD had the foresight to fight for the journalism dept when it was cut to the bone by Lowder. Maybe there would be less of these probable non stories to comment on if we had a few grads in the journalism business. Just my opinion, no offense meant to anyone that is an AU fan.

[chimesAU 89]

The fact that this is even a story in the WSJ smells of a smear job. OF COURSE the athletic administration is going to speak up if a large number of student athletes are majoring in a curriculum that's about to be terminated. This story never states that public administration is a lemon degree, nor does it even address the difficulty of the curriculum. Instead, it's full of innuendo and weak/faulty references to the academic scandal at North Carolina. How do you even make the comparison to an athletic department standing up to an administration and being a voice for their athletes that will be affected in their degree pursuit with a scandal of utter impropriety and not come off smelling of an agenda?

Think about it - "Hey Coach, they're doing away with my degree! Me and half the team are going to have to choose another major. Can you do something?" This should not be a story at all. What's embarrassing is that this kind of "story" meant to hint and insinuate impropriety finds a voice in the wall street journal. Journalism is dead.

I seriously doubt that the Wall Street Journal has some sort of plot to smear Auburn. I really don't get the persecution complex some folks on this board seem to have. I'll admit there are certain journalists who are obviously biased against Auburn, but most of them are doing it to get reads from rival fan bases. The next week, they turn around and do it to another school and we flock to the articles. Again though, I don't think that's what's going on here.

Also, even if the major had been shut down, I'm 99% sure they would've let any current majors finish their degrees. That's how these things work; it's not like all of those players would've been hung out to dry with a bunch of useless credits. The issue here is that athletics wants to keep up a specific major that a large amount of athletes tend to major in. Are we really going to say it's coincidence that all of these athletes are just interested in public administration? Does no one here remember what was going on with sociology under Tuberville when we nearly lost our accreditation? Let's take off the orange and blue glasses and hold our school accountable for its mistakes. Not because we want to hurt it, but because we want it to be as great as possible.

Academic integrity ought to always come first.

This guy gets it. I'm really not sure how so many of you can quickly dismiss this as a "nonstory". Athletics should not be influencing academics. ATHLETICS.SHOULD.NOT.BE.INFLUENCING.ACADEMICS. The fact that so many academic review boards voted to do away with PA and the football team basically stepped in and said "Not gonna happen" is troubling. Auburn University is about educating people first. This is troubling whether y'all are willing to admit it or not.

With friends like these, who needs bammers? 80% of the people on al.com agree with you, sir.

Woe is me, right?

[AU64 10,122]

The fact that this is even a story in the WSJ smells of a smear job. OF COURSE the athletic administration is going to speak up if a large number of student athletes are majoring in a curriculum that's about to be terminated. This story never states that public administration is a lemon degree, nor does it even address the difficulty of the curriculum. Instead, it's full of innuendo and weak/faulty references to the academic scandal at North Carolina. How do you even make the comparison to an athletic department standing up to an administration and being a voice for their athletes that will be affected in their degree pursuit with a scandal of utter impropriety and not come off smelling of an agenda?

Think about it - "Hey Coach, they're doing away with my degree! Me and half the team are going to have to choose another major. Can you do something?" This should not be a story at all. What's embarrassing is that this kind of "story" meant to hint and insinuate impropriety finds a voice in the wall street journal. Journalism is dead.

I seriously doubt that the Wall Street Journal has some sort of plot to smear Auburn. I really don't get the persecution complex some folks on this board seem to have. I'll admit there are certain journalists who are obviously biased against Auburn, but most of them are doing it to get reads from rival fan bases. The next week, they turn around and do it to another school and we flock to the articles. Again though, I don't think that's what's going on here.

Also, even if the major had been shut down, I'm 99% sure they would've let any current majors finish their degrees. That's how these things work; it's not like all of those players would've been hung out to dry with a bunch of useless credits. The issue here is that athletics wants to keep up a specific major that a large amount of athletes tend to major in. Are we really going to say it's coincidence that all of these athletes are just interested in public administration? Does no one here remember what was going on with sociology under Tuberville when we nearly lost our accreditation? Let's take off the orange and blue glasses and hold our school accountable for its mistakes. Not because we want to hurt it, but because we want it to be as great as possible.

Academic integrity ought to always come first.

This guy gets it. I'm really not sure how so many of you can quickly dismiss this as a "nonstory". Athletics should not be influencing academics. ATHLETICS.SHOULD.NOT.BE.INFLUENCING.ACADEMICS. The fact that so many academic review boards voted to do away with PA and the football team basically stepped in and said "Not gonna happen" is troubling. Auburn University is about educating people first. This is troubling whether y'all are willing to admit it or not.

Gotta disagree.....unless someone can show that this is a "non-degree" solely meant to provide an easy path to eligibility. This is what some schools call poli-sci....... see the curriculum....it's real college despite what is implied by the WSJ and some people posting here.

http://bulletin.auburn.edu/undergraduate/collegeofliberalarts/departmentofpoliticalsciencepoli/publicadministration_major/

As for the Athletic Dept "stepping in and saying it's not going to happen".....show me it happened that way? AU and most universities tinker with their offerings from time to time and it's not surprising that those affected by the change would protest. Generally those in the affected major just have to accept whereas in this case the athletes had a "representative" to speak for them.....gee, almost sounds like a union.

I've complained about athletics creating image issues for AU over the years but I think this is a made up crisis....just sayin'

[AU64 10,122]

Academic integrity ought to always come first

I suspect this is a business decision, not an academic integrity decision.

A bunch of bureaucratic academics are dividing up the financial pie and looking for little curricula that can be eliminated to give themselves a bigger slice of the pie. JMO but his is not some high minded decision about improving the academic standing of AU....it's about the MONEY. All that academic integrity stuff is cover, otherwise about half of the PC driven courses would be dropped.

CADS 3700/3703 GENDER, WEALTH AND PHILANTHROPY (3) LEC. 3. Study of wealth and philanthropic theories, principles, and applications as it applies in gender.

This is kind of like the decision to eliminate Journalism .....a decision that still chaps some folks on this board.

[AURaptor 1,121]

Looks like were going to make a run at the title boys! Media is already starting to stir the pot!

http://www.wsj.com/a...lide-1440635278

The QB situation at bama must be worse than we're being told.