ChancellorEdward Jackson met with the Student Senate on Tuesday, April 6 to explain stepsthe administration will take to handle the grading scheme involving 541 formerand present Southern University students from 1995 to 2003.
”One word that describes everything thatwe are trying to do now is honesty,” Jackson said. “Students and parents should feel very good about Southernand remember Southern has had 124 years of remarkable success.”
The gradescandal was made public March 31 after a yearlong investigation by universityinternal auditors.
Most studentswanted to know if the names of the students involved will be published and if aformer student who may have used a fake degree will lose his or her job.
“Because of theright to privacy, a student’s grades cannot be made public.” Jackson said. “However if someone used a fraudulentdegree to get a job, Southern can not fire the person but will send the correctgrades to that place of business that hired the student.”
Those involvedin the scandal will be notified by mail and will be allowed to gather allevidence proving that their grade was earned, Jackson said.
If unable toprovide proof, they will go through a due-process hearing before a panelfaculty and administrators.
The panel willdecide whether to revoke the grades and degrees in question.
SU has reportedthe issue to the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office, the SUSystem Board of Supervisors and to Legislative Auditors.
Jackson said hewants this be a lesson to all students that there are no shortcuts to gettingout of school.
He also urgedstudents not to be ashamed of Southern.
“Every schoolhas its pitfalls, they are doing everything they can do about it and beingfair,” said Yvonne Griswold, a freshman agriculture major from BatonRouge. “People do not realize thatit was 541 students over a course of almost ten years.”
Jackson alsoread letters of encouragement he received via e-mail that were sent to him frompeople around the world supporting SU.
A letter fromJackson will also be mailed to current students and parents concerning theissue.
He (Jackson) andthe rest of the administration is taking the right approach to say this is whathappened and this is what we are going to do about it,” said Student GovernmentAssociation President Wayne Hayden. ”We are getting a bigger spotlight because we are an HBCU.”
