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10 Lose Degrees in Southern U. Grade-Changing Scandal

By Nikki G. Bannister
Black College Wire

Graphic credit: Ryan P. Knight/Southern Digest

Ten former students at Southern University have lost their degrees after a two-year investigation into charges that a student presented false credentials to the graduate school.

The former students are subject to criminal indictment.

A former assistant registrar pleaded guilty Dec. 19 to bribery charges stemming from the grade-buying scandal, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate, which said that Cleo Carroll Jr., 56, of Baton Rouge, faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A sentencing hearing was expected in late February or March, the newspaper said.

Carroll was accused of taking $7,700 from five former and current students to change their transcripts. Prosecutors alleged that Carroll took bribes between October 2001 and February 2003. He worked at the university from 1971 until 2003.

"Southern University is an important institution that has received $107 million (in federal funds) over the last three years," U.S. Attorney David Dugas was quoted as saying. "This prosecution goes a long way toward maintaining the integrity of the university."

“As indicated in our press conference in March, Southern University will not tolerate any illegal or unethical behavior of any of its operations,” Edward R. Jackson, chancellor of Southern University-Baton Rouge, declared in a November statement. “Where we find such behavior, we will stop it, correct it, and report it to the proper authorities,” said Jackson, who also serves as interim president of the Southern University System.

In addition to the 10 students who lost their degrees, 27 others had academic credits revoked, according to the Advocate.

Jackson announced in March 2004 that Southern University System internal auditors had discovered that at least 541 current and former students had been involved in a grade-changing scheme on the Baton Rouge campus.

The university was alerted that a student who had enrolled in one of Southern's graduate programs presented credentials indicating that she was a graduate of the university. The department had no record of her having earned a degree, Jackson said then.

The university was able to trace the undocumented entries of other students and to identify the employee codes that were used to alter academic records, Jackson had said.

These students lost their degrees, Jackson announced:

• Robert Smith of Vicksburg, Miss., awarded a bachelor's in elementary education in 1989 and a master's in counselor education in 1993.

• Tocquen Hill of Opelousas, La., bachelor's in agriculture and home economics, 1994.

• Shanda Franklin of Baton Rouge, bachelor's in business management, 1996.

• Gregory Thompson of Baker, La., bachelor's in electrical engineering, 1997.

• Donald Kelly of Baton Rouge, bachelor's in biology, 1999.

• Richard Dumas of Baton Rouge, bachelor's in political science, 1999.

• Chanda Rollins of Baton Rouge, bachelor's in speech pathology and audiology, 2000.

• Takiyah Peoples of Baker, bachelor's in therapeutic recreation and leisure, 2001.

• Kimberli Mason of Baker, bachelor's in accounting, 2003.

• Shawanda Leslie of Houma, La., bachelor's in computer science, 2003.

The university shook up the registrar's office after the discrepancies came to light. Marvin Allen, the former registrar, was reassigned and Brenda K. Williams became registrar. State-of-the-art monitoring mechanisms were installed, along with other staff changes.

“With the new internal control systems, along with other changes in the registrar’s office, there is no reason for anyone to question the integrity of the records maintained at Southern University,” Williams said. “The lapses that happened were in the past. We are an institution with integrity."

Some students said they feared the effect of the scandal on their own degrees.

“This makes it harder for the people who work for it, “ said Semeko Cox, a graduate student in mental health from New Orleans. “When you tell people you go to Southern University, they second-guess you and your degree.”

Nikki G. Bannister is a senior at Southern University-Baton Rouge and editor-in-chief of the Southern Digest.

Posted Jan. 4, 2006