The NCAA News - News & Features

Clearinghouse adds staff, reserved phone lines

The improvements were reviewed by the Special Committee to Oversee Implementation of the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse during a July 8-10 meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Using funding approved last spring by the NCAA Executive Committee, the clearinghouse hired nine new staff members to answer telephone lines that will be accessible only to callers from member institutions.

The installation of the lines and addition of staff is part of an effort to improve institutions' access to the clearinghouse's staff and records.

Institutions will receive a letter from the clearinghouse notifying them of the dedicated telephone number and asking institutional personnel not to share that number with anyone outside their institutions.

The special committee also advised the clearinghouse to accept calls only from the same institutional representatives who currently are authorized to call the clearinghouse.

In a related action, the clearinghouse also has increased the number of computer modem links available for use by member institutions. There are now 22 modem links through which institutions can obtain records from the clearinghouse.

As a result of action by the NCAA Council last January, Division I institutions will be required to install computer modems for that purpose no later than January 1, 1997. The special committee noted that institutions can use NCAA academic-enhancement funds to purchase equipment needed for compliance with the requirement.

The committee recommended to the Council that Division I institutions be asked to indicate compliance with the requirement on the institutional compliance form that is submitted annually to the national office.

Committee members also discussed concerns that some institutions already using the modem link are remaining on line for excessive periods of time. The committee asked the clearinghouse staff to make recommendations regarding ways to limit connection time, for consideration at the committee's October meeting.

E-mail access

In other discussion of communication between the clearinghouse and the membership, the committee received the clearinghouse staff's response to a Council request that consideration be given to accepting inquiries via the Internet.

The clearinghouse staff advised the committee that it currently is capable of handling up to 500 contacts daily via electronic mail, but cannot handle inquiries exceeding that number without upgrading its current e-mail capabilities. The estimated cost to upgrade is between $7,000 and $10,000.

In response, the committee asked the clearinghouse staff to study establishing a system for receiving e-mail inquiries through designated clearinghouse contacts for conference offices.

The clearinghouse already has organized a conference-contact program in which conference members can submit and receive clearinghouse information through a conference staff member, and the committee envisions the clearinghouse handling e-mail inquiries in a similar manner.

Regardless of the approach selected, the committee recommends that the clearinghouse offer e-mail accessibility by January 1. The committee believes the availability of that option, combined with institutions' use of the direct modem links, eventually will result in a significant reduction in telephone calls to the clearinghouse and more efficient service to the NCAA membership.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Special Committee to Oversee Implementation of the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse
July 8-10/Sun Valley, Idaho

* Directed the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse to request verification from high schools when course grades or titles reported on preliminary transcripts submitted to the clearinghouse are significantly changed on final transcripts. The directive follows an NCAA Council action in January that permits the clearinghouse to accept transcript changes related to courses in grades nine through 11, provided that they are reflected on the first final transcript received by the clearinghouse. The committee determined that the Council's action does not require the clearinghouse to accept a change if there are questions regarding the legitimacy of that change, and that the clearinghouse has a responsibility to request explanation of significant changes from high schools.

* Noted an NCAA Academic Requirements Committee action recognizing variations among states in the number of high-school classroom hours that are required for a unit of credit. The special committee also endorsed an Academic Requirements Committee plan to collect information regarding state classroom-hour requirements for granting credit. The NCAA previously has recognized only units of credit based on a minimum of 150 classroom hours and has applied that standard nationally, but the Association has learned that some states require fewer than 150 hours.

* Acted on recommendations from a March meeting in which high-school representatives expressed concerns about the Association's initial-eligibility certification procedures, including concerns about the core-course review process, NCAA knowledge about current high-school curricula and lack of direct communication between the Association and high schools.

As one result of the meeting, the National Federation of High School Activities Associations and National Association of Secondary School Principals will identify a panel of high-school curriculum specialists who regularly will assist the Academic Requirements Committee in reviewing core-course requirements and standards.

The special committee also supports a proposal to schedule a video conference addressing NCAA requirements for high-school administrators, parents and prospective student-athletes. The committee recommended that the video conference be given a high priority and that the national office staff make every effort to schedule such a conference in fall 1996.

* Noted a proposed core-course review procedure that is being considered by the Academic Requirements Committee. The procedure would identify clearinghouse and Academic Requirements Committee responsibilities in the review process and establish a 90-day time period during which documentation in support of courses may be submitted by high schools for clearinghouse review (see story on page 7).

* Directed the clearinghouse to note in its records all occurrences of the following situation: A two-semester course that produces only a half unit of credit because only one semester's course content meets the "75 percent" standard of acceptable content (and both semesters, considered cumulatively, do not meet the 75 percent standard).

* Instructed the clearinghouse to remove from its automated-voice-response system and weekly status reports all specific references to whether a prospective student-athlete is "certified" for an early official visit to an institution. The committee took the action in response to a Council action in April that granted a waiver of early-official-visits certification by the clearinghouse. The committee noted that institutions still may determine a prospect's eligibility for an official visit (excluding what previously was referred to as the "early official visit period") by learning via the automated-voice system or weekly status reports whether the clearinghouse has received a transcript and official test scores for that individual. An institution also may obtain the transcript and scores directly from a high school.

* Recommended to the Council that the clearinghouse be permitted to receive documentation from high schools in cases where a state awards a unit of credit for a year-long course but does not report a yearly grade on the transcript. The recommendation would permit the clearinghouse to base its decisions on such official high-school documents as graduation-plan reports or report cards that provide a means of determining the equivalent of a yearly grade. Approval of the recommendation would eliminate the need for the Council Subcommittee on Initial-Eligibility Waivers to handle such cases as waiver requests.

* Agreed to continue a policy of informing institutions that submit fewer than 30 requests for final certifications in a year that a low number of requests indicates a possible violation of NCAA legislation. Institutions are required to obtain a final certification report for all incoming freshman student-athletes.

In a related action, the committee agreed that such notices should not be provided to Division III institutions that sponsor one sport in Division I.

The committee also requested that the NCAA enforcement staff provide a summary of actions taken during the 1995-96 academic year involving institutions that were in violation of the final-certification legislation.

* Directed the clearinghouse to issue certifications for prospects in non-NCAA sports only when an institution uses such a sport to comply with the Association's sports-sponsorship requirements.

* Re-emphasized its position that the clearinghouse shall not assume responsibility for detecting questionable results from a specific testing agency's standardized test, noting that the agencies employ security divisions that are specifically responsible for detecting such results. The committee stated its position in response to concerns that some institutions may believe -- because the clearinghouse receives test scores for certification purposes -- that they are relieved of responsibility for the consequences of test fraud or culpability in such cases.

In another action involving test security, the special committee noted that the Academic Requirements Committee and NCAA Research Committee are continuing to review an ACT "flagging study" that is designed to establish parameters for analyzing disparities in test performance by individuals who take only one ACT and SAT examination. The special committee and the other committees ultimately will consider whether the NCAA should assume responsibility for challenging test scores on the basis of such disparities.

* Resumed discussion of concerns about a large number of students who register annually with the clearinghouse but who never are listed on an Institutional Request List (IRL). The committee considered but rejected a suggestion that the clearinghouse initiate processing of documents only for students who are listed on an IRL, noting that many students are listed for the first time only a month or two before the beginning of those students' freshman year of enrollment. The committee will continue to study the problem.

* Noted the completion of a financial and operational audit of the clearinghouse by NCAA staff members and the Price-Waterhouse accounting firm. The audit identified minor issues involving computer use and overhead costs that will be discussed by the NCAA staff and ACT.

* Noted ongoing discussions between the NCAA staff and ACT for the purpose of establishing unit costs for the third, fourth and fifth years of the current clearinghouse contract. Anticipated increases in that cost will be taken into consideration as the committee continues to discuss the possibility of increasing the $18 fee assessed on student-athletes who register with the clearinghouse.

* Noted clearinghouse staff concerns related to an April 1996 interpretation that permits the clearinghouse to accept and use faxed documents for certification of foreign student-athletes. The clearinghouse staff reported problems resulting from a provision of the interpretation that permits foreign student-athletes to receive financial aid and practice but prohibits participation in competition until the clearinghouse receives a "hard copy" of faxed documents. The staff reported that it has no effective means of informing institutions whether a final certification decision is based on faxed or hard documents. The staff also has encountered difficulties in determining the source of faxed documents and therefore in determining the acceptability of those documents. Responding to those concerns, the committee asked the Council to reverse the April interpretation and asked the Academic Requirements Committee to review the issues raised by the clearinghouse staff.