The NCAA News - News & Features

High schools' clearinghouse concerns receive attention

The chairs of the NCAA Academic Requirements Committee, Council Subcommittee on Initial-Eligibility Waivers and Special Committee to Oversee Implementation of the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse also have made recommendations on accommodation of learning-disabled students and appeals of clearinghouse decisions regarding core-course acceptability since meeting with the high-school representatives in March.

At an April 10-11 meeting in Chicago, the three committee chairs agreed to continue working with the National Federation of State High School Associations, National Federation of Secondary School Principals and high-school accrediting agencies to monitor curriculum issues.

Specifically, the committee chairs will monitor whether NCAA initial-eligibility requirements sufficiently accommodate curricular trends in such areas as types of courses and instructional settings.

The effort is expected to help produce information that can be used by the Academic Requirements Committee in recommending changes in initial-eligibility requirements that are responsive to curricular trends.

The committee chairs will pay particular attention to distinguishing types of courses intended to prepare students academically for higher education from those that focus more on life skills.

Learning-disabled issues

The committee chairs also reviewed recent Association efforts to improve the accommodation of learning-disabled students seeking to comply with NCAA initial-eligibility standards.

The committees are cooperating in the development of procedures for identifying such students and providing information on accommodations that are available from the Association.

Specifically, the chairs have asked the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse to provide a place on the clearinghouse's student release form for registrants to indicate their desire to receive additional information regarding learning-disabled accommodations. After a student indicates this interest on the form, the clearinghouse will mail a packet to the registrant describing accommodations, such as the availability of nonstandard testing opportunities, and including information regarding the acceptability of nonstandard high-school courses for initial-eligibility certification.

The clearinghouse also will ask high schools to identify courses that are designed specifically to accommodate learning-disabled students. The clearinghouse will use information submitted by schools to evaluate such courses for inclusion in a high school's Form 48-H course listings.

Information on the Association's efforts to accommodate learning-disabled students will be mailed to counselors at all United States high schools.

Core-course appeals

In the March meeting with high-school representatives, the committee chairs also heard concerns about a perceived lack of opportunity to appeal clearinghouse decisions regarding core-course acceptability.

Currently, only member institutions can appeal clearinghouse rejections of core courses, on behalf of specific student-athletes. Those appeals are handled by the Academic Requirements Committee.

In April, the committee chairs agreed to initiate discussion of whether to permit high schools to submit appeals to the committee. The Academic Requirements Committee and Council Subcommittee on Initial-Eligibility Waivers will be asked to consider the issue during meetings this summer.

There is concern that permitting high schools to appeal clearinghouse decisions will result in a heavy load of cases for the Academic Requirements Committee.

The committee chairs, however, believe that there is some value in permitting high schools to appeal clearinghouse decisions on a course's merits at the time core courses are submitted to the clearinghouse. In such cases, a disagreement is more likely to be resolved before a specific student becomes involved in the dispute.

Under the current system, a member institution typically appeals a clearinghouse ruling because it adversely affects the eligibility status of one of the institution's recruits. The appeal usually comes after the student has enrolled at the institution or after a final determination of eligibility by the clearinghouse. Any resulting changes in core-course status may benefit only that student, while others from similar circumstances receive no benefit.

The committee chairs also noted that high schools' involvement in the appeals process could shorten the time that is required to determine the eligibility status of prospective student-athletes.