Independent Study.

It’s one of those phrases. It’s like the word non-profit. They both sound so damn good until you look closely at what they might actually mean.

Harvard University and the NCAA, for instance, are non-profits.

And independent study at universities with major sports teams is often code for Players do jackshit and get one A after another.

It’s independent, see. It’s between professor and student and it’s none of your business what anybody does or doesn’t do to get credits.

UD has followed one independent study scandal after another (Auburn’s the biggie) since she birthed University Diaries.

Now there’s one at Marshall University — not sports-related, but, as is the West Virginia custom, political corruption-related.

The Marshall University student newspaper reports:

West Virginia State Treasurer John Perdue’s daughter, Emily Perdue … received two incompletes [in independent study courses] from [Marshall University College of Education and Human Services professor] Laura Wyant.

The incompletes were changed to letter grades [both A] by Rosalyn Templeton, dean of the college of education, after a meeting with the student and her father. Templeton was not listed as an Instructor of Record when she changed the incompletes, which is a violation of university policy.

Wyant’s really pissed.

Professor Laura Wyant presented a petition with 42 faculty signatures to the executive committee Monday asking them to investigate.

The grades in question are for Emily Perdue in two independent study courses last spring.

Wyant says Education Dean Rosalyn Templeton improperly removed her as Perdue’s instructor and took over the grading herself. Wyant said Perdue and his wife both met with faculty and administration officials before the change was made.

Wyant gave an interview a couple of weeks ago:

… Wyant said Emily Perdue never showed up for any class meetings and never turned in any work during the semester.

“It was a concern to me when my students don’t come to class or show progress in the course, and I usually call them in and talk to them,” Wyant said.

She says nothing happened until the end of the semester in May when Emily and her father met with several school officials, including herself and Dr. Rosalyn Templeton, the dean of the College of Education and Human Services.

“The dean and her and her father went into a closed door meeting,” Wyant said. “When the dean returned, she said, ‘I will be assuming the responsibilities for this student,’ and that was the end of the discussion.”

Wyant added, “When Dr. Templeton made it clear that she was going to be handling this student’s academic progress then I said, ‘Well, she needs to be in a class in your name.’ I made several attempts to make that happen and every time they were disregarded.”

[The interviewer asks:] “Yet those grades changed and had you seen any of Emily’s work?”

“No, I had not seen any work, and the grade was changed and that was the concern for me because my legal adviser said if I changed a grade without seeing the work or supervising the work then that could be fraud,” Wyant responded…

After denials up and down from the school’s president and a bunch of other administrators, the school is now investigating.