I am of course an "actual alum" and I don't care, but my opinion is irrelevant as I'm retired. But, for the sake of discussion, would this have kept me from getting a job back when? I don't think so.
And some penalty by the NCAA would not have changed whatever perceptions have changed.
I agree that whether or not the NCAA sanctioned them has no bearing on their academic reputation.
My thought was totally based on the argument they set forth, that their fake classes were made available to everyone.
That means several things to me:
1.) That they offer these completely faux classes at all, makes me question their academic reputation
2.) They are committing academic fraud on parents paying for these classes
3.) That to save their banners they would be willing to put forth an argument basically throwing their academic reputation under the bus, makes me question where they prioritize any of it.
And again, if it's NC State, I don't care. I think largely the big state schools are interchangeable, and you can create as difficult or as easy a path as you want, and the admissions variances are only noticeable if you read US New & World Report. But there are a select few public schools (really maybe only UNC, UVa, UM, UCLA and Cal, maybe Texas) that hold themselves above that fray. This certainly makes me scoff any any notion that UNC deserves that type of rep. Not that it's a bad school, just that I can't buy that it's where it holds itself out.
