The NCAA is investigating allegations of academic misconduct on the campuses of 20 member schools, the association's head of enforcement told The Chronicle of Higher Education.
While no schools were named in the report, the official did say that 18 cases are in Division I, with one in Division II and one in Division III. The cases are all in different stages, and involve a wide range of allegations of impermissible assistance from professors, academic advisers or third-party representatives from outside the athletic department.
The report goes on to detail the NCAA's increased investment of resources into punishing academic fraud at its member institutions, including the establishment of a academic integrity group within its enforcement department and additional training for the association's investigators.
These cases could involve any number of sports within the Division I structure (Georgia's recent issues in the swimming and diving program, for example, is mentioned in the article), but the ongoing investigation at North Carolina will continue to be the most frequently mentioned case on the national radar.
An independent report by Kenneth Wainstein, released in October, found that students and student-athletes at UNC had benefited from no-show classes in the African-American Studies department for 18 years. That report was sent to the NCAA, which announced in June 2014 that it had reopened an investigation in academic fraud after the cooperation of key witnesses.
NCAA officials said, per the Chronicle on Higher Eduction report, that the increase in alleged academic violations can be attributed to many factors, including "stricter NCAA academic standards and a rise in cheating among college students in general."
