Saturday, November 29, 2008

News from The Associated Press

Tutoring the jocks in luxury at U. of Illinois: "CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- At the University of Illinois, being an athlete gets you access to a $6 million facility with oversized leather chairs and Oriental rugs.

But it's not a fancy country club - it's a tutoring center.

The Irwin Academic Services Center helps only about 550 of the school's 37,000 students. And places like this in schools across the country leave critics fuming."

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The longer I spend in academia the more convinced I am that intercollegiate sports are on balance an overwhelmingly negative influence on higher education.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Me, too. One problem with these athletic tutoring centers is that the tutors answer to the athletic staff . . . which means the tutors face enormous pressure to make sure that the athletes get decent grades. Each of these centers is a scandal waiting to happen.