CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Bogus classes and automatic A’s and B’s are at the heart of a cheating scandal at the University of North Carolina that lasted nearly two decades, encompassing about 3,100 students — nearly half of them athletes.

At least nine university employees were fired or under disciplinary review, and the question now becomes what, if anything, the NCAA will do next. Penalties could range from fewer scholarships to vacated wins.

Most of the athletes were football players or members of the school’s cherished basketball program, which won three of its five national titles during the scandal (1993, 2005, 2009).

Many at the university hoped Wainstein’s eight-month investigation would bring some closure. Instead, it found more academic fraud than previous investigations by the NCAA and the school.

The UNC case stands out among academic scandals at Harvard, Duke and the Naval Academy, said Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education who studies cheating.

“I think the existence of fake classes and automatic grades — you might say an athlete track, where essentially you might as well not have the university at all — I think that’s pretty extreme. I hope it’s pretty extreme,” he said.

North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham wouldn’t speculate on any possible sanctions.

“We’ll work with the NCAA and work through the report with them as part of our ongoing investigation,” Cunningham said. “That’s going to take some time.”

The scandal reached back to the final years of legendary men’s basketball coach Dean Smith’s tenure, as well as John Swofford’s stint as athletic director before becoming Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner.

The NCAA reopened its probe over the summer. Cunningham said the school had no immediate plans to impose its own penalties as it did during an NCAA investigation into the football program that began in 2010.

The school and the NCAA said in a joint statement they would review Wainstein’s report “under the same standards that are applied in all NCAA infractions cases.” They declined to comment on possible rules violations.

The focus was courses that required only a research paper that was often scanned quickly by a secretary, who gave out high grades regardless of the quality of work. The report also outlined how counselors for athletes steered struggling students to the classes, with two counselors even suggesting grades. Several knew the courses were easy and didn’t have an instructor.

Chancellor Carol Folt wouldn’t identify the terminated employees or those facing disciplinary review.