By MATTHEW SELVAThe Associated PressThe Associated The Associated PressMEMPHIS, Tenn.
— With less than a year until the start of the school year, the University of Memphis is grappling with the fallout of a controversial scholarship program that allowed students to attend schools with the potential to be among the most selective in the nation.
In one of the most shocking examples of the university’s admissions policies in decades, an undergraduate student who was enrolled at Tennessee State University and later applied for admission to Memphis State University, ended up at the top of an undergraduate class.
The student, whose name has not been disclosed, attended Memphis State with his mother, who is an administrator for the university, and her boyfriend.
The student’s mother, whom the AP identified only as Mary, told The Associated Statesman on Thursday that she was shocked and saddened to learn about her son’s admission.
Mary said she didn’t think her son had the opportunity to pursue a career in higher education, and that her son didn’t get a fair shake at Memphis State, where she worked for six years.
She said her son was accepted into Memphis State because he was a good student, but he was not a student who did well in school.
He had trouble getting into class, Mary said.
Mary said she told her son he would have to do better in order to be admitted, and he agreed.
He never got into Memphis and never made it into the graduate program.
She said she hoped he would attend the school next year, but she said she never heard back from the university.
“I wish they would have known about this before they started this,” she said.
“I hope they would do something about it.”
Memphis State said in a statement that it is committed to ensuring students are treated equally and that it has an in-house investigation into Mary’s allegations.
It also said that Mary has not taken the allegations seriously, and there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the student.
The university said it has suspended Mary indefinitely and that she has resigned.
The school said it will not comment further.
Mary and her mother declined to comment for this story.
A Memphis student who attended Memphis in the early 1990s who asked not to be identified said he had to take a two-year hiatus from school in order for his parents to support him financially.
He said he was disappointed by the university and its admissions policies, but said he believes Memphis State’s decision was a step in the right direction.
“Memphis is the biggest school in America and it’s the best, the best school in the world.
The admissions are very high,” the student said.”
The admissions is good.
Memphis State was just one of a number of schools where they gave him an opportunity to do well and he got that opportunity, but it didn’t go his way.”
In the fall of 2010, the Memphis Star-Banner published an article in which a Memphis State student reported that he had been admitted to Memphis state for the purpose of obtaining a master’s degree and that his mother was unaware of his decision to pursue that degree.
The article prompted a backlash that included a letter from the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board, which wrote that Memphis State had failed to demonstrate that it had done enough to ensure students who had applied for its programs were eligible to graduate.
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission said in an e-mail to The Associated Schools that the board is “committed to ensuring that our state’s higher education institutions are open to all students regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or any other characteristic that may be associated with a particular group.”
Memphias statement did not address Mary’s accusations.
A few months after the article was published, the university opened an investigation.
The Tennessee State Board of Regents said it was “deeply concerned about the reports” and had opened an internal investigation.
Memphis state officials said the investigation was closed before it was completed.
The investigation did not include the student’s parents.
Memphians statement said the university has been working with Mary to “ensure that this matter is resolved to the extent possible and the student is offered a full and fair chance at Memphis state.”
A spokesperson for Memphis State did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The AP’s Matt Cohen and Eric Duhon contributed to this report.