McGee Defends USC Class Credit Policy : Athletic Director Says Goal Is to Improve Graduation Rates

Athletic Director Mike McGee of USC said Tuesday that an athletic department policy requiring student-athletes to complete 28 credit hours a year is aimed at improving graduation rates and was not motivated by financial considerations.

McGee spoke in response to Willie Wu, director of USC’s student-athlete academic program, who has resigned, effective June 30. According to Wu, money-saving was behind the requirement, which went into effect last fall.

According to the policy, athletes will be considered for financial aid after their athletic eligibility is finished only if they have completed at least 28 credit hours a year.

“It had nothing to do with financial considerations,” McGee said. “The 28-hour program really is an effort to elevate standards.”

McGee added that the athletic department has committed money through two programs to help athletes meet the 28-hour requirement.

Wu was quoted in Saturday’s Times as saying that requiring athletes to complete more than the 12 credit hours a semester--24 a year--required by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. does not take into consideration the athletic and academic burdens put on the student-athlete. Wu said he had resigned because he was not consulted about the policy and because it seemed to be motivated by McGee’s desire to save financial-aid money.

McGee said that the university has doubled the financial aid available for summer school, giving athletes an additional opportunity to complete the 28 credit hours a year, and two years ago implemented a graduate-assistant program that pays tuition and fees to students who have work toward their bachelor’s degree remaining after their athletic eligibility is over. In return, the students must work 10 hours a week in the athletic department.

Thirty-five athletes, most in non-revenue sports, have been granted aid under the graduate-assistant program in the last two years, McGee said.

He added that under the 28-hour policy, student-athletes are expected to take at least 12 hours a semester during their season and 16 during their off-season.

At USC, at least 128 credit hours are needed for a bachelor’s degree, with many programs requiring 130 or more. At 12 credit hours a semester, it would take a student at least 5 1/2 years to graduate.

“Too often, the minimum NCAA eligibility standard is used as a guide,” McGee said. “It’s probably the biggest problem nationally in holding back graduation rates.”

McGee said that USC conducted a study 18 months ago comparing the number of credits earned and credits attempted by student-athletes and found that there was a disparity leading to poor graduation rates.

The results of that study prompted him to implement the 28-hour policy last fall, McGee said. Since this year was a transition year for implementation of the policy, he said, figures on how the graduation rate was affected are not available.