Daily Compliance Item- 11/25/13- 14.4.3.1.2- Credit Hours for Transfers

Kukka Burra is a field hockey student-athlete at Bay State College.  Kukka will be transferring to Ocean State University in January, making her a 4-4 transfer.  She attended Bay State College for a total of 3 full-time semesters.  How many hours will Kukka need to have completed when she enrolls at Ocean State University in January?

1. 6 hours
2. 24 hours
3. 30 hours
4. There are no credit hour requirements for transfers

The answer is 3.  NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.1.2 states that to be eligible for competition, a transfer student-athlete must meet the following credit-hour requirements based on attendance at the previous institution(s) for the specified time and may use any hours of academic credit earned at any collegiate institution: (Adopted: 10/31/02 effective 8/1/03 for those student-athletes first entering a collegiate institution full time on or after 8/1/03, Revised: 5/12/05)

(a) Equivalent of one semester/one quarter:  six-semester or six-quarter hours of academic credit;

(b) Equivalent of one academic year (e.g., two semesters/ three quarters):  24-semester or 36-quarter hours of academic credit;

(c) Equivalent of three semesters/four quarters:  30-semester or 42-quarter hours of academic credit; or

(d) Equivalent of four semesters/six quarters and thereafter:  six-semester or six-quarter hours of academic credit during the previous term of full-time enrollment, if applicable (see Bylaw 14.4.3.1.2.1).

This legislation is specific to Division I.  For Division II, NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.1 states that eligibility for competition shall be based on the following requirements:  (Revised: 1/10/92)

(a) Satisfactory completion of six-semester or six-quarter hours of academic credit the preceding regular academic term in which the student-athlete has been enrolled full time at any collegiate institution; and  (Adopted: 1/12/04 effective immediately following the institution’s 2005 fall term; thus, applicable to hours earned during the 2005 fall term)

(b) For a midyear transfer student-athlete, for a student-athlete following the student-athlete’s first academic year in residence or after the student-athlete has used one season of eligibility in any sport at the certifying institution, the certification shall be determined by the student-athlete’s academic record in existence at the beginning of the fall term or at the beginning of any other regular term of that academic year, based on:

(1) Satisfactory completion before each fall term of a cumulative total of academic semester or quarter hours equivalent to an average of at least 12-semester or quarter hours during each of the previous academic terms in academic years in which the student-athlete has been enrolled in a term or terms; or

(2) Satisfactory completion of 24-semester or 36-quarter hours of academic credit since the beginning of the previous fall term or since the beginning of the certifying institution’s preceding regular two semesters or three quarters.

Daily Compliance Item- 9/13/13- Current Event

Faculty group lobbies for NCAA changes

USATODAY.com

A group of faculty athletic representatives from the NCAA’s largest football schools recommended on Wednesday a change to the association’s governance structure.

The 1A FAR Board of Directors, which is made up of representatives from Football Bowl Subdivision schools, submitted its proposal to the NCAA outlining recommended changes that would put FBS schools in their own division.

The proposal suggests the division would have its own board of directors made up of at least one president or chancellor from each FBS conference. Those representatives would have one vote each or the voting would be weighted for current BCS automatic-qualifier conferences, which currently consists of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. The American Athletic Conference, a successor to the Big East, could also be considered for weighted voting.

The group also recommended a management council made up of an athletics director and faculty athletics representative from each conference. Senior woman’s administrators and conference commissioners could also be included.

Over the summer, there was a chorus of calls for something to be done about the structure of Division I from commissioners of the BCS automatic-qualifier conferences.

“If the five conferences were to break off, I mean, that’s a complicated move,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford told USA TODAY Sports in July. “You’d have to, in essence, duplicate the NCAA in some form or fashion, and then what does that mean for intercollegiate athletics? So if you’ve got another division, if that’s the answer within the NCAA, you can maneuver and find an appropriate way, I think, to address those kinds of issues.”

Earlier this month the NCAA requested input for redesigning the Division I governance structure. With the gap widening between the richest athletics programs in the biggest conference and schools with smaller budgets, criticism of the one-size-fits-all rule book has increased.

The Division I Board of Directors will hear thoughts from eight different groups at a meeting Oct. 29. That information will then be used to build an agenda for a town hall-style meeting scheduled in conjunction with the NCAA convention in January. The board also has set up an online survey. Those results also will be used to shape the January town hall agenda.

“A separate FBS division would allow smaller governance groups that can include more senior level athletics administrators and FARs with broad-based responsibilities than is possible under the current structure, and the new governance groups and board could focus directly on FBS issues and be better positioned to resolve issues and provide workable and needed solutions for FBS institutions,” said Brian Shannon, president of 1A FAR and the representative for Texas Tech.

The group’s recommendation says FBS programs should continue to participate in combined championship events where possible.

“There is wide consensus that the current Division I governance model is not working. A separate FBS division offers more stream-lined governance among schools with comparable revenue streams that face issues either unique to them or that fall on them with more acute impact,” said Jo Potuto, immediate past president of 1A FAR and the representative for Nebraska.

Daily Compliance Item- 8/27/13- 14.4.3.1.7, 14.4.3.2- Designation of a Degree Program

Today’s DCI applies to Division I only

Direct Snap is a football student-athlete at Ocean State University (OSU).  The 2013-14 academic year will be Direct’s third year of enrollment.  Which of the following is true?

A.  Direct must designate a degree program by the beginning of the 2013-14 academic year.

B.  Direct must have completed at least 40% of the course requirements for his designated degree program.

C.  Both A and B

D.  Neither A or B

The answer is C.  Although RWG-14-1 eliminated the formality, documentation, etc. associated with a student-athlete’s degree program designation, it did not eliminate the timing.  A program still has to be designated for purposes of determining percentage of degree (14.4.3.2) and whether the hours earned are degree applicable.

NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.1.7 states that the provision that the calculation of credit hours under the progress-toward-degree regulation shall be based on hours earned or accepted for degree credit at the certifying institution in a student-athlete’s specific baccalaureate degree program (see Bylaw 14.4.3.1) shall be met as follows:

(a) During the first two years of enrollment, a student-athlete may use credits acceptable toward any of the institution’s degree programs; (Revised: 1/9/06 effective 8/1/06)

(b) By the beginning of the third year of enrollment (fifth semester or seventh quarter), a student-athlete shall be required to have designated a program of studies leading toward a specific baccalaureate degree. From that point, the credits used to meet the progress-toward-degree requirements must be degree credit toward the student’s designated degree program;

(c) A student-athlete who changes his or her designated degree program may comply with the progress-toward-degree requirements if:

(1) The change in programs is documented appropriately by the institution’s academic authorities;

(2) The credits earned prior to the change are acceptable toward the degree previously sought; and

(3) The credits earned from the time of the change are acceptable toward the new desired degree.

(d) Once a student-athlete has begun his or her third year of enrollment (fifth semester or seventh quarter), a course may not be used to fulfill the credit-hour requirements for meeting progress toward degree if the student ultimately must repeat the course to fulfill the requirements of the student’s major, even if the course fulfills an elective component of the student-athlete’s degree program. (Adopted: 1/14/97, Revised: 3/12/12)

NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.2 states that a student-athlete who is entering his or her third year of collegiate enrollment shall have completed successfully at least 40 percent of the course requirements in the student’s specific degree program. A student-athlete who is entering his or her fourth year of collegiate enrollment shall have completed successfully at least 60 percent of the course requirements in the student’s specific degree program.  A student-athlete who is entering his or her fifth year of collegiate enrollment shall have completed successfully at least 80 percent of the course requirements in the student’s specific degree program.  The course requirements must be in the student’s specific degree program (as opposed to the student’s major). (Adopted: 1/10/92 effective 8/1/92, Revised: 1/9/96, 10/31/02 effective 8/1/03)

Daily Compliance Item- 11/19/12- 14.4.3.1.6- Football Eligibility Requirement

Blown Coverage is a football student-athlete at Ocean State University. What is the minimum number of credit hours Blown must successfully complete during this fall term in order to be eligible for competition at the start of the 2013 season?

A.  6 hours

B.  9 hours

C.  18 hours

D.  No credit hour requirements

 

The answer is B.  NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.1.6 state that in football, a student-athlete who is a member of the institution’s football team and who does not successfully complete at least nine-semester hours or eight-quarter hours of academic credit during the fall term and earn the Academic Progress Rate eligibility point for the fall term shall not be eligible to compete in the first four contests against outside competition in the following playing season.  (Adopted:  4/28/11 effective 8/1/11)

 

This is Division I Legislation.

Men’s basketball, FBS football grad rates highest ever

NCAA.org
Division I men’s basketball and Bowl Subdivision football student-athletes are finishing their college degrees at their highest rates ever.

And for the first time, the graduation rates in both high-profile sports have reached or exceeded 70 percent, according to the latest national figures from the NCAA.

In men’s basketball, the latest Graduation Success Rate has climbed to 74 percent, up 6 points from last year. In FBS football, the GSR has hit 70 percent, up 1 point.

These figures reflect GSRs for student-athletes who started college in 2005.

“Our academic reforms continue to bear fruit,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. “We are not satisfied, but we are proud that we have reached another milestone, as now seven of every 10 student-athletes in our highest-profile sports are earning their degrees.”

Emmert noted that only 1.3 percent of men’s basketball student-athletes and 1.6 percent of football student-athletes go on to careers in professional athletics.

Men’s basketball and football traditionally have posted the lowest graduation rates among all sports. But in the 11 years since GSR data have been collected, men’s basketball is up 18 points – and is 21 points higher for African-American males in the sport. FBS football is up 7 points, and African-Americans in football have seen their GSR climb 9 percentage points.

The GSR for the last four graduating classes of all Division I student-athletes (2002-2005) remains at 80 percent, still an all-time high for the NCAA, Emmert said. The most recent one-year GSR for the 2005 class is 81 percent, down 1 point from last year. Most other sports remained steady or were down slightly in year-to-year comparisons (Download the 2012 GSR and Fed Trends PDF).

The overall GSR for the 2005 entering class is 7 points higher than the 1995 entering class.
The NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate includes transfer students and student-athletes who leave in good academic standing, unlike the federal graduation rate, which does not count transfers. The GSR and federal rate calculations measure graduation over six years from first-time college enrollment.

The federal graduation rate, while less inclusive than the GSR, provides the only measure of historic academic comparison between student-athletes and the general student body. By this standard, student-athletes consistently outperform nearly all their peers in the student body.

The latest data show that Division I student-athletes who entered college in 2005 equaled their highest federal graduation rate of 65 percent – 2 percentage points higher than the general student body at Division I institutions.
Every student-athlete group is graduating at rates higher than their peers except for white males, who are 1 point behind their counterparts in the student body under the federal rate.

“We are not satisfied, but we are proud that we have reached another milestone, as now seven out of every 10 student-athletes in our highest profile sports are earning their degrees.”
— Mark Emmert, NCAA president

Federal rates also provide a longer look at student-athlete academic achievement. They were first collected with the 1984 entering class, and in the past nearly quarter century there has been significant upward trending.

The overall federal graduation rate is up 13 points (from 52 percent), and the rate for African-American student-athletes jumped 19 points to 54 percent. African-American male student-athletes increased their federal rate 16 points to 49 percent, which is 10 points higher than African-American males in the student body. African-American female student-athletes increased their federal rate 19 points to 64 percent, outpacing their student body counterparts by 16 points.

Walter Harrison, president of the University of Hartford and chair of the Division I Committee on Academic Performance, noted the important progress in academic achievement by student-athletes over time.
Harrison said there are 1,600 more student-athlete graduates from the most recent cohort compared to 1995 had the GSR stayed constant.

“This represents real lives impacted in a positive way,” Harrison said. “I am impressed with the increasing focus on academics on our campuses nationally. Indeed, we have moved from academic reform to expectation.”
Divisions II, III student-athletes perform well academically
The NCAA also released the latest Division II graduation rate data, including the division’s Academic Success Rate. This is the seventh year the NCAA has released the Division II ASR, which is similar to the Division I Graduation Success Rate and also includes student-athletes not receiving athletically related financial aid.

The latest figures show a 72 percent ASR for the latest four years of Division II student-athletes, remaining steady compared to last year. The most recent one-year rate for the entering class of 2005 is down 1point, to 72 percent.
Even when using the less-inclusive federal rate, Division II student-athletes perform significantly better than the general student body. The federal rate for Division II student-athletes is 55 percent, the same as last year and 7 points higher than the overall student body at Division II colleges and universities.

Division III, meanwhile, has collected three years of data on student-athlete academic success from institutions participating in a voluntary academic reporting program that the Division III Presidents Council authorized in 2009.
For the 128 schools reporting success rate data for the 2005 entering cohort, the Academic Success Rate for student-athletes was 88 percent (83 percent for men and 94 percent for women). Those ASR rates have been consistent among the three years of the voluntary reporting program in Division III.

The federal graduation rate for student-athletes at these pilot schools for the 2005 cohort was 67 percent, as compared to 63 percent for the student bodies at those same campuses.