Ogles likes to call self an economist, but transcripts tell a different story

“As an economist…,” is a preface freshman U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Columbia) has been fond of using before launching into his views about the country’s financial situation. But as WTVF-TV’s Phil Williams reports, Ogles as a student took only a single community college course in the subject. And he got a C.

Ogles also claimed to have earned a degree in International Relations. But official academic records kept by Middle Tennessee State University found he had not declared a major and was a awarded a bachelor of science degree in Liberal Studies in 2007.

Ogles has said he has placed a block on MTSU releasing his transcript for fear of becoming a victim of identity theft. WTVF obtained the copy from a job application Ogles made more than a decade ago. It showed he first enrolled at Western Kentucky University in 1990 but left after the fall 1993 semester. He also enrolled at Columbia State Community College in 1991 and 1992.

Ogles transferred to MTSU in 1995. It went well at first, but in his second semester, Ogles got a D in English Pop Culture and failed Intro to Earth Sciences. Things got even worse in fall, when he failed all seven of his courses, including Political Theory, the U.S. Presidency, U.S. National Security Policy, and Child Drama Speech. He tried again in the fall of 1998, and failed those four courses once more. Ogles went back to school in 2008 and managed to get As in classes on International Law and Political Parties, while getting Bs in American Foreign Policy and Non-Western Literature.

While refusing to comment to WTVF, Ogles told the Tennessee Star he had only realized is degree wasn’t in International Relations after requesting an official transcript.

“I realized I was mistaken,” he said. “I apologize for my misstatement.”

As for the failing grades, Ogles said an “an interfamilial matter” had forced him to drop out and return home “to financially support my family during a difficult time.”

Ogles was the owner of a Franklin donut shop and restaurant and an aspiring screenwriter in 2001, according to a story in The Tennessean. Ogles told the paper at the time he had been a student of German, Russian, and Japanese languages and that he had planned for a career in international business. The transcripts show the only foreign language course Ogles took was a single semester of Elementary Japanese in 1995. He got a B.