This document summarizes an NCAA presentation about initial eligibility requirements for student-athletes. It outlines the divisions of the NCAA and core course requirements for Division I and II. New requirements beginning in 2016 include a minimum core course GPA of 2.3, a revised sliding scale for test scores and GPA, and that 10 core courses must be completed before a student's 7th semester. It also discusses the role of the eligibility center and reviewing high schools and courses.

1. eLearning Strategies Symposium
Nick Sproull, NCAA
December 7, 2012

2. NCAA Eligibility Center 101
• What is the NCAA Doing Here?
• Overview of the NCAA
• NCAA Initial Eligibility
• High School Review Process
• NEW REQUIREMENTS

5. Overview of the NCAA
• Voluntary organization that governs intercollegiate athletics
• Division I
• 346 member schools
• Typically larger schools
• Athletic grants-in-aid available
• Division II
• 282 member schools
• Typically small to medium sized
• Athletic grants-in-aid available
• Division III
• 449 member schools
• Typically smaller schools
• Grants-in-aid cannot be athletically based

6. What Does the Eligibility Center Do?
• Certifies initial eligibility for incoming prospective student-athletes
in Division I and Division II
• Domestic and international academic certification
• Domestic and international amateurism certification
• Departments
• Academic certification
• Amateurism
• Customer service
• High school review

7. What is NCAA Initial Eligibility?
• Academic requirements that a prospective student-
athlete (PSA) must meet to:
• Practice
• Compete
• Receive athletics aid (scholarship)
• First year at a Division I or Division II college/university
• Subsequent years governed by progress-toward-degree
academic requirements
• An enrolled student-athlete may gain/lose eligibility
in each term

8. Who Makes the Rules?
• Division I and Division II member
colleges/universities
• Representative structure in Division I
• Convention voting in Division II
• Academic rules generally vetted through academic
committees
• Input from iNACOL community
• NCAA Eligibility Center and national office
staff use rules to guide their work

9. Four Elements of Initial Eligibility
• Graduation from high school
• Minimum number of core courses
• Minimum grade-point average in those core courses
• Minimum SAT or ACT test score

10. NCAA Initial-Eligibility Requirements
Courses Division I Division II
English 4 3
Math 3 2
Science 2 2
Social Science 2 2
English, Math or Science 1 3
Other Core 4 4
Total 16 16

11. NCAA Division I Sliding Scale

12. NCAA Divisions II and III
• Division II
• Minimum 2.000 core-course GPA
• Minimum 820 SAT (critical reading/math only)
or minimum 68 sum ACT
• Division III
• Based on admission standards
• No specific NCAA requirements

13. Roles of Students/Schools
• Role of the student
– Academic preparation
– Registration
• Role of the recruiting college/university
– Monitoring student progress
– Identifying potential issues
• Role of the high school/program
– List of NCAA courses
– Transcripts

14. Reviewing High Schools
• History
• Types of schools
– Schools new to the NCAA
– Established schools
• Two-part review of schools new to the NCAA
– Review of school/program
– Review of individual courses
• What does a list mean? What doesn’t it mean?

15. Review of School/Program
• Call NCAA Customer Service Center
• Academic Review Questionnaire (ARQ)
• Nontraditional Academic Review
Questionnaire (NARQ)
• Curriculum delivery/Instructional design
• Quality control
• Issuance of transcripts or grade reports
• Nontraditional Coursework Questionnaire
(NCQ)

16. NCAA Definition of a Core Course
• English, mathematics, natural/physical science,
social science, foreign language or comparative
religion;
• Academic, four-year college preparatory;
• Algebra I or higher;
• Taught by a qualified instructor; and
• At or above the high school’s regular academic
level

17. NCAA Definition of a Core Course
• “Typical” core courses:
– AP Calculus BC, Biology, Advanced Composition,
French V
• “Typical” non core:
– Consumer Math, Personal Finance, Resume Writing,
Fundamentals of Algebra
• Not so easy:
– Film Literature, Transition to College Math, English 9
CP2, Conceptual Physics etc.

18. NCAA Legislation for Nontraditional Courses
• Requires teacher/student access and interaction
– Must be required
– Must be for the duration of the course
– Teaching, evaluating and providing feedback
• Defined time period for completion
– Allows staff to compare/contrast with what was actually
completed
• Student work must be made available
– Suggests learning management system

19. Review of School/Program
• Possible outcomes
– Cleared
– Extended evaluation
• May require production of student-specific
documents
– Not approved
– Not cleared

21. NEW Requirements
• For students enrolling full time at an NCAA Division I
college or university on or after August 1, 2016, there are
three possible academic outcomes:

22. Summary of Changes
• Full Qualifiers must:
– Minimum core-course GPA of 2.300 required;
– Change in GPA/test score index (sliding scale);
and
– Ten core courses required before beginning of
the seventh semester

24. Abbreviated Sliding Scale

25. Core Course Progression
• Must complete 10 core courses before seventh semester
of high school (e.g., senior year)
• Of the 10 core courses completed, seven must be in the
area of English, math, or science
• These 10 core courses become “locked in” for the purpose of
GPA calculation
– A repeat of one of the “locked in” courses will not be
used if taken after the seventh semester begins

26. Helpful Information
• www.eligibilitycenter.org
– 2011-12 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete
– High school portal; resources page
• 877/NCAA-EC1 (877/622-2321)
– Dedicated to the high school community