A transcript from the Respondus anti-cheating software shows in detail how Augusta University men’s basketball Head Coach Dip Metress’ and former Assistant Coach O’Neal Armstrong’s helped a student-athlete cheat on classwork in the spring of 2021.
In the transcript, included in the investigation report released to The Augusta Press as a result of an Open Records Act request, a conversation between Armstrong and the student-athlete at the center of the matter (who will remain unnamed for privacy purposes) documents the two essentially taking a test together for a criminal justice course at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Saturday, March 6, 2021:
Armstrong: “That s*** recorded?”
Armstrong is referring to a camera that documents the taking of the test.
Student-Athlete: “Yeah! I’ll lift this s*** up in the air though.”
Armstrong: “I’ll be right back.”
Student-Athlete: “Dip just texted me. He asked me if we are working on the quiz. He is working on the discussion. I have to log in for you. She said some of this s*** is in the glossary. I have to log into my email.”
The report concluded that several answers were entered and saved while the camera could not track the progress of the student-athlete, an action that flags the anti-cheating software.
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According to a guide to the anti-cheating software, “When students use Respondus LockDown Browser to access an exam, they are unable to print, copy, go to another URL, or access other applications. Once an assessment is started, students are locked into it until it’s submitted for grading.”
The student-athlete received certain accommodations from the university based on his status on the “Special Education” track in high school. The accommodations are listed below.
In the investigation report the Augusta University Human Resources Department’s released in December, investigators concluded that Metress and Armstrong were not complying with the required accommodations.
“Standard practice per Mrs. [Angie] Baker, Director of Testing and Disability Services, is for students with disabilities and extensive accommodations (for [Student athlete] to take tests in the Testing Center, which is within Testing and Disability Services). Professors do have the right to administer the test with extreme caution but most do not, particularly with [Student Athlete], because [Student Athlete’s] accommodation need is extensive,” the report reads.
The report continues, “We know tests were being taken in the Academic Resource Center and [Christenberry] Fieldhouse and never in the Testing Center. Looks like from one of the videos ([Paula] Owens’ class), is taking a test where multiple people (possibly students or players) are in the room; this goes against the need for limited distractions. There are Conflict of Interest (COI) concerns with taking tests in the Academic Resource Center where his tutors and/or his professors (Paula Owens) have invested in him.”
Paula Owens is the academic success coordinator for the Hull College of Business; the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; and the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences.
In the previously released portion of the investigation report, Owens said she noticed the discussion posts submitted by the student-athlete had improved drastically from the beginning of the semester and did not “match” other work submitted. The student-athlete told Owens that he “only enters what his Coach tells him.”
Additionally, the student-athlete accused Owens of not providing him the accommodations he receives for his education impacting disability. When Owens asked later which accommodation she was not providing him, the student-athlete stated that he “lied so he could play,” per the report.
Owens also recounts an instance where the student-athlete did not show up to take a test at an agreed-upon time in the testing center. Armstrong told Owens that the student-athlete “took the test later that day so he could get the answers for the test from someone else in the class.”
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The remainder of the previously unreleased documents detail the investigation from a clerical sense, including dates and times of when various benchmarks in the investigation were reached.
The information listed includes involvement from NCAA personnel in an independent investigation that is still ongoing. Attempts to reach the NCAA and the specific investigators involved have been unsuccessful, as have attempts to communicate with Metress and Armstrong.
A source at the university close to the situation said that Metress like “would talk” about the scandal but cannot for legal reasons. Metress did send a statement of apology to Athletic Director Clint Bryant on Aug. 18 after the school’s investigation concluded.
“It was never my intent to do anything that would reflect negatively on me, my program, or the university,” Metress wrote to Bryant. “I have worked very hard over the past 17 years to manage a basketball program to be proud of.”
As the report wrapped up its findings, concerns for members of the basketball coaching staff were listed. The investigators were “suspicious that these might not be isolated instances.”
The Augusta University men’s basketball team is currently 9-1 and will face off with Georgia College at Christenberry Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
