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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]1. Increase the security around proctors and test sites for SAT and ACT. I think over the years people have been complaining about it getting too strict or creating too many "barriers" but I think this scandal should shut that down.

2. Increase the scrutiny around getting extended time waivers on testing. If I were a parent of a child that actually needed this accommodation, I would be LIVID that people have been using this, and thereby making it that much more difficult for my child to be given appropriate accommodations. If a person is going to be granted this, they have to have an already demonstrated record of a 504, IEP, etc. that can't suddenly develop this need in their Junior year, unless it can be clearly documented why the new need. (I think in another thread someone mentioned a child receiving a concussion, and I could see that being a reason for a new need for accommodation. Even with those accommodations, see my first point--the sites where these test are done and the proctors doing them must be held to a highly secure standard.

3. For the coaching/recruit side of this. It must be a required part of the work of coaches that they:
a. Are responsible for demonstrating they have confirmed the validity of the student athlete they are designating as a recruit. This is super easy to do. Verifiable scores/rankings, etc. can be obtained from independent sources.
b. They must submit reports each year documenting the participation of students that they identified as recruits in previous years. We all know that sometimes there are instances that a student might be recruited but ultimately not play, but there needs to be transparency about it. If student didn't participate for legitimate reasons, there's no reason to hide that information.

4. I think this one might be harder, but...
I would like to see legislation that puts some kind of prohibition against colleges or universities accepting donations from anyone with a child ages 12-20. Like I said, probably really hard to make illegal, so instead perhaps it's about reporting, transparency, spotlight, shaming.
-Make donation information easy to access and reported annually in a consistent format across all institutions (similar to the Common Data Set.)
-Require reporting that shows the names of currently enrolled students who's families have made donations to the schools.
Hopefully, this will discourage schools from accepting these "pay-for-play" students because it will be damaging to their reputation.

Anyway, that's a start....[/quote]

On #3, this is incredibly unpopular in the U.S., but why allow recruiting for sports at all? Why isn't the athletic competition between schools a competition of the students admitted to study there academically? Lots of them will be great athletes anyway, so lucky you if you pick the kid and they happen to be a great athlete. Yale is going to get kids who can row crew whether they specifically recruit them for it or not. This dovetails with the reality that "big team" college sports, like SEC teams, are really semi-pros who should be paid, because it really isn't about "this school's academic kids are the best at this sport." Don't call it a school sporting competition when really it is about who has the best athletic recruiter. It's not longer about "school" when it's really about recruiting. Part of the reason it continues is because athletics creates donors and because it is a way to get kids to college who may not otherwise have had the academic chops or motivation to get there. But maybe there is a better way to do that than to exploit their athletic abilities.

[b]On #4, where are non-research institutions going to get the money to stay open? Private colleges are largely donor funded. They have to have donors. The only reason Kid A gets financial aid to attend swanky private college instead of locally subsidized community or state college is because Kid B's alumni parents wrote a big check to enable the school to continue to function. That's what a private school is. At its smallest level is is a private group of people who pooled their resources to start a school and who began a legacy of gathering donations from people who support the school and want their kids to go there to keep it going. You want your kid to perform in a fancy theatre in college on scholarship, but you think the Daddy Warbucks who donated the money to build the theatre should not be allowed to have a seat in the freshman class for his little Annie?
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I'm fine allowing them to do it. But then I want these schools cut off from public research dollars and federal student financing and grants. If they want to sell admission seats that's great. But then they should not simultaneously hold their hand out and ask Uncle Sam for research dollars (which they they use to file private patents), federal grant and student loan financing, access to government guaranteed bonds for capital projects, not paying taxes, etc. These private institutions appear to be mighty dependent on Uncle Sam for healthiness of their endowments. This isn't capitalist marketing and free association; it's cronyism.[/quote]

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