A too-close relationship between a football player and a tutor University officials discovered last summer has resurfaced as part of the ongoing investigations.
After the academic support office identified the potentially problematic relationship, the tutor was dismissed, Chancellor Holden Thorp told trustees Thursday morning.
How the Honor system works
-?When the student attorney general learns of Honor Code violations, his office begins investigating to determine whether to file charges. Guidelines call for charges to be filed within 30 days, although that can be extended.
- If the office decides to proceed with a case, the individuals are informed of the charges in writing. A preconference hearing is scheduled where the student attorney general will explain the charges and possible consequences.
- The case then moves on to the Honor Court. The time frame between the investigation and the court case varies but can’t be sooner than five days from that point unless the student agrees to an earlier hearing date or a delayed hearing is requested by either party. Accused students have the right to student counsel.
- The Honor Court debates the charges. They will find the individual either not guilty, guilty, or guilty of a portion of the charges. They then decide on appropriate sanctions. Academic dishonesty usually results in a one-semester suspension, but the minimum sanctions include a one-semester probation and a failing grade.
- An individual may appeal the Honor Court’s decision.
Head coach Butch Davis said he wasn’t told of the situation regarding her dismissal. When he later asked about her status as an employee he learned she hadn’t been retained, he said.
“When I inquired there was no cause for concern,” Davis told reporters before practice Thursday. “Everybody just said she wasn’t retained, and so we just moved on.”
It wasn’t until the NCAA began to investigate the team in July — initially for players who received improper benefits from agents — that the tutor and allegations of academic misconduct came up again.
All of the information uncovered in the University’s subsequent investigation has been passed along to the student attorney general’s office, Thorp told trustees.
The student-run judicial system is the next step in the process, and means the players accused of academic dishonesty are one step closer to finding their fate.
It’s not clear exactly how many players that means. Eleven were still outstanding earlier this week, but that number includes players accused of academic misconduct as well as those implicated in the NCAA investigation. Administrators won’t say which players are part of which investigations but have said some are part of both.
“We are trying very hard to protect the individual student athletes,” Thorp said.
Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams, who are among the 11, received NCAA sanctions Wednesday for improper benefits they received in connection with agents. They must sit out a total of six and four games respectively. They also must pay back some of the benefits.
Thorp cautioned trustees that the honor system’s process won’t be complete for some time and stressed the need for patience with it’s pace, which one trustee described as thus-far “glacial.”
UNC is unique among many universities for its student-run judicial system. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp described the honor system process, outlined in the Instrument of Student Governance, as a “series of stages.”
In the meantime, UNC plans on continuing to sit out all of the players in question to avoid the risk of playing someone who might later be ruled ineligible.
“You cannot afford to rush things,” athletic director Dick Baddour said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
