UNC overstated number of freshmen taking upper level classes in Marvin Austin story

It turns out not so many freshmen had taken upper level classes at UNC-Chapel Hill as a spokesman originally told us in our Sunday story about former football player Marvin Austin's academic transcript.

UNC spokesman Mike McFarland originally said 1,033 freshman had taken a 400 level class in the most recently completed academic year. He has now corrected that to 683 freshmen.

The statistic is significant because McFarland cited it to suggest that Austin's first class at the university -- a 400 level African-American studies course during the second summer session of 2007 -- might not be all that unusual. There were 3,846 freshmen in last year's class, so the original number would suggest one in four freshmen took a 400 level class.

The corrected number indicates it was more like one in six.

That statistic does not reflect how many of those freshmen took a 400 level class in their second semester, when they would have a much better lay of the land and might have taken a prerequisite.  It also doesn't show how many freshman got into a 400 level class after demonstrating they had taken advanced placement classes in high school.

Austin got a B plus in the class, according to the partial transcript we obtained. It was the only class he took that semester before taking a full slate of introductory courses in the fall. Those courses included a remedial writing class.

Austin is one of seven players who had to sit out last season as a result of an NCAA investigation into impermissible perks and academic help.