While Stanford University's athletic department was recently implicated for encouraging athletes to take easy classes through a "Courses of Interest" list, Dartmouth's athletic department does not maintain a list of easy class offerings for in-season Big Green athletes, Athletic Director Harry Sheehy said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
The athletic department will never compile such a list, Sheehy said, adding that it would be very unlikely for a list to be distributed from any athletic department in the Ivy League.
An anonymous member of the football team confirmed that a physical list does not exist in an interview with The Dartmouth, but went on to say that the team works together to determine which courses to take during the season.
"It's more of people talking to each other and telling each other what's easy," he said. "The football team Blitz Mail list is also a great way to communicate information about classes, and with 120 guys, you can learn a lot about what classes are easy or hard."
A member of theClass of 2013 who wished to remain anonymous said in an interview with The Dartmouth that the existence of a list would not be a surprise to her.
"I can't name anybody specific I've heard it from, but I've definitely heard of easy athlete courses," she said. "I feel like I've heard it also not just about football players but about skiers and other sports, too."
Dartmouth's athletics are inherently different that those at institutions like Stanford because athletic scholarships are not offered to athletes, Sheehy said.
"The opportunity at a Stanford or a Dartmouth to short-circuit these opportunities is really a shame," he said.
Women's hockey head coach Mark Hudak said student athletes need to manage and balance all of their responsibilities and make sure that their course load is both realistic and geared toward their major even when in-season.
"I don't think taking easier courses is a good answer to getting a good education, and I don't think it produces better hockey players quite the opposite," Hudak said in an email to The Dartmouth. "It produces people who look to find the easy way versus the right or appropriate way."
Sheehy said there would always be "conflicts of time but not conflicts of purpose" for athletes, and that coaches need to keep perspective on the greater wrong of sacrificing academics.
"You end up in this profession because you are competitive," he said. "But [coaches] should be realistic about whether you are gaining an advantage."
Molly Hassell '13, who does not play a sport at Dartmouth, said it makes sense for athletes to take classes that are suitable to their time constraints. She added that she disagrees with the spirit of an easy course list, and thinks that it undermines the goals of higher education.
"I think what we have now CourseRank, the ability to shop classes gives you more perspective than any two-dimensional list would," she said.
Sheehy said choosing a manageable course load is a matter of time and scheduling considered by all Dartmouth students.
"When you come to Dartmouth, you want to do lots of things, and some students want to do everything much more so, I think, than when I went to college," he said.
Student-athletes do not need easy-course suggestions due to the strength of resources the athletic department offers, according to tennis player Sarah Leonard '13.
"I think the athletic department does a really good job of helping athletes now, especially with academic advising," Leonard said. "Dartmouth has done a great job of getting us the resources we need."
Sheehy said that the academic resources made available to Dartmouth athletes are stretched thin.
"I would say, frankly, what needs to change is that [Assistant Athletic Director for Student Enhancement Anne Hudak] needs to spread the workload out over a few more people," Sheehy said. "I know she's working really hard."
Hudak confirmed that she is the only person in in the department who has such responsibilities in an interview with The Dartmouth.
"We want to make it right here, whatever the correct balance is here for Dartmouth," Sheehy said. "That is the sweet spot that we are looking to hit."
