A controversy over academic integrity rocked West Virginia University in 2008. The painful and embarrassing period that involved the awarding of an unearned degree to a politically connected graduate student is giving way today to optimism.

Interim President C. Peter Magrath brought a sterling reputation to the university. He speaks plainly and directly, applying salve to the wounds that WVU suffered during a difficult year that saw key administrators resign.

The WVU Board of Governors, with several new members, is involved in a search for a new university president. It appears to be a thoughtful, comprehensive undertaking.

Sadly but understandably, questions about the university's academic record keep lingering in the aftermath of the university awarding an unearned master's degree to Heather Bresch, the governor's daughter. WVU announced this week the results of a consultant's review of the academic records system.

Yes, the system had some flaws. Consultants said they found problems with records of 288 of the more than the 36,000 students who received degrees from May 1997 through August 2008. AACRAO Consulting, a service of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, noted the records system's shortcomings and made numerous recommendations to resolve those problems.

During a news conference this week, Magrath said the university would heed the consultants' advice. The result, he promised, would be a better records-keeping system, one that supports the integrity of a university's principal mission -- to educate its students and honestly verify they have completed their courses of study. WVU clearly has learned that any breach of that system undermines the entire university.

Magrath also noted the very real differences between what the independent review panel found in its review of tens of thousands of university students' records and what happened in the Bresch affair.

In effect, the consultants found inefficient records keeping contributed to the uncertainty of the 288 degrees. An earlier investigation showed that prominent university officials pulled Bresch's records "out of thin air." That's a world of difference.

This chapter in WVU's history has been difficult on many levels. But that is in the past. Those loyal to the university are eager to see it solve its problems and build on its considerable strengths. It appears the university, through strong leadership, has made progress in reinforcing its position as a critical institution in this state and beyond.