The NCAA News - News & Features

New standards create wave of waiver requests

BY SALLY HUGGINS
Staff Writer

Enhanced academic standards for NCAA student-athletes have created a tidal wave of initial-eligibility appeals this fall.

The NCAA initial-eligibility appeals staff feels like it has been under siege since August, and members of the NCAA Council Subcommittee on Initial-Eligibility Waivers feel like they have taken on a second job because of the volume of waiver requests they are reviewing.

The new standards -- approved overwhelmingly at the 1992 Convention and modified in 1993 -- affect the 1996 high-school graduating class.

The enhanced requirements for Division I include four core courses in English (up from three) and one year of algebra and one year of geometry as part of the mathematics core-course requirements.

A requirement of 13 core courses became effective in 1995, but the enhanced English and mathematics core-course standards were not implemented until this year. Also in effect for the first time this year is a new sliding scale for combined core-course grade-point averages and standardized-test scores.

In this fall's crush of activity surrounding the waiver process, it has become apparent that many high-school counselors and college coaches did not become sufficiently familiar with the new standards in time to counsel students to take approved core courses. As a result, disputes over core courses have become by far the largest source of waiver requests.

Worked diligently

Robert J. Baugh, chair of the initial-eligibility subcommittee and director of athletics at Eastern Kentucky University, said that even though the NCAA worked diligently to get information on the new standards out to high schools and member institutions, many did not hear the message.

"We did everything we could to make sure the message got out," Baugh said. "The Association postponed implementation for a year to give more time. The Academic Requirements Committee, the subcommittee, the Eligibility Committee -- everyone made every effort to make sure the message got out."

The appeals have made it clear that the primary issue is the increased English core-course requirement. Many high-school students take basic English classes in the ninth, 10th and 11th grades but take an English-based elective in the senior year. Those classes are the focus of waiver requests because often they were not included in the courses approved in advance as core courses by the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse.

The result has been a deluge of waiver requests from member institutions seeking to gain eligibility for student-athletes whom the clearinghouse has declared "not certified."

From July 15 to September 15, 800 waiver requests were received at the NCAA national office -- sometimes as many as 60 a day. The average during the period was 40 waiver requests per day -- compared to 10 to 20 requests per month during the rest of the year. So far in October, the average is down to about 20 requests a day.

When a student-athlete is not certified by the clearinghouse, it means he or she cannot compete for the institution or receive financial aid once classes begin. The clearinghouse makes its determinations based on guidelines established by the NCAA membership through the Academic Requirements Committee.

Institutions frequently have appealed "not certified" rulings, typically contending that an error was made in not classifying a certain course as a core course.

The clearinghouse re-examines such courses. If it still finds that the course does not qualify, institutions usually take their case to the NCAA initial-eligibility appeals staff.

A staff of seven legislative assistants, headed by Stacey F. Herman, handles initial-eligibility waiver requests. That staff approves or denies requests based on precedent established by the initial-eligibility subcommittee in reviewing previous waiver requests.

New precedents

Because new standards are in effect, new precedents have had to be developed, Herman said. As of August 1, all waiver cases had to go to the subcommittee because no precedents existed for the staff to use as a basis for decisions, she said.

To begin with, the subcommittee conducted an in-person meeting to establish precedents that would allow the staff to approve and deny waiver requests more quickly.

With the precedents in hand, Herman examines all requests and -- within 72 hours -- either approves them, denies them or sends them on to another legislative assistant with expertise in the area in question. Selected legislative assistants develop specialties in handling such topics as home-schooling situations, learning disabilities, foreign students and grade changes.

"That allows us to acquire a certain expertise in these areas so we can educate the institution about the proper documentation," Herman said. "Then we can give the case to the subcommittee in the most accurate manner."

Staff looks at specifics

When reviewing a waiver request, the staff looks at the specifics of that case:

* When was the student recruited? If the individual was recruited before his or her senior year in high school, the student should have been advised to take approved courses.

* Was the course approved by the clearinghouse and then later removed from the approved list?

* The overall academic record -- grade-point average in the core course, GPA in the area where a core course is missing, and the ACT or SAT test score.

"The subcommittee is looking for evidence that they have overcome whatever deficiency caused the case to be appealed in the first place," Herman said. "If the test score also is low in that area, that doesn't show that the student overcame the deficiency. If the student scored high, that could show he or she has overcome the deficiency."

A waiver request usually is approved or denied by the staff within one to two weeks after the request is submitted. During that time, the legislative assistants may contact the institution for more information or documents that are needed for the waiver to be processed.

For instance, if an institution is asking to have an eighth-grade course reviewed as a core course, the eighth-grade transcript must be attached as proof of the grade.

Herman said one important document that is missing from at least half of the waiver requests is the final certification report (form 48C) from the clearinghouse. That report is needed for any waiver request.

"In 50 percent of the cases, it is not attached," she said. "We have to contact the institution and have them send it. Many institutions think we can get it from the clearinghouse, but if the clearinghouse sent them all to us, that's all they would be doing."

If the staff denies an institution's appeal, the institution typically will appeal the ruling to the Council subcommittee.

Next stop: subcommittee

By the time a case reaches the Council subcommittee, its file may include as many as 60 pages of documentation. A legislative assistant examines the material to be certain that all required documents are included and then summarizes the case for the subcommittee, highlighting facts and pertinent precedent.

"The staff does not recommend to the subcommittee," Herman said. "We give them the facts and the precedent.

"We inform the subcommittee if the case was previously denied by the staff and the precedent the denial was based on. Our decision is based on the objective facts of the case and the corresponding precedent of the subcommittee."

The subcommittee has seven Council-appointed members, of which five are voting members at any one time. Additional subcommittee members were added so that a full complement of five members can be available for all conference calls.

The subcommittee has weekly conference calls, which generally last more than two hours. The conference calls formerly were conducted every other week, but the recent caseload has required more frequent conferences, Herman said.

Every Monday, a packet is mailed to subcommittee members containing information on waiver requests that will be discussed that Friday. That allows subcommittee members a couple of days to review the cases before the call.

All of the legislative assistants are included in the conference calls to present the cases they have researched and to answer any questions.

"The staff assistants present the cases and we answer questions," Herman said. "Then the subcommittee votes. The staff has no vote. The staff does not give an opinion."

Subcommittee members discuss the aspects of a waiver request and then make a decision to approve or deny it.

10 to 15 hours per week

Baugh said subcommittee members -- all of whom have full-time responsibilities at their institutions -- spend 10 to 15 hours a week on initial-eligibility appeals. They spend that time ensuring that they are fully informed about the cases they will discuss during the conference calls.

The subcommittee carefully considers each request, Baugh said, not only out of concern for the individual in question but because of the impact one waiver can have on others. Very seldom is there a split decision, he said.

"We try to be fair and consistent," Baugh said. "We have to look at the individual case but also at the overall picture.

"The membership has to understand these are students who didn't meet the standards we set. Every time we approve one of these waivers, because we are working with a finite group where there are limited opportunities, we cut out someone who does meet these standards."

Baugh believes more people would understand the impact of waivers if they could imagine a student who met the standards sitting at a table. Next to that student would be another student who does not meet the standards but who will take the place of the other student if the subcommittee approves the waiver request.

The final avenue of appeal, if the subcommittee denies the waiver request, is the full Council. After the subcommittee makes a decision, the institution has 30 days to inform the staff if it plans to appeal to the Council.

The increase in the number of waiver requests is reflected in the number of appeals the Council considered at its most recent meeting. Herman said the Council received 19 appeals for its October 7-9 meeting, compared to two or three cases per meeting in the past.

It's up to membership

To stem the tide of appeals, Herman said, member institutions and high schools need to advise students to take only courses already approved for core-course purposes, rather than to try to get courses approved as core courses after the fact.

It is up to the NCAA membership to help decrease the number of waiver requests and to ease the burden of the process, Baugh said.

"If this (standard) is what the membership wants -- and that is the first decision: does the membership really want the standards it has approved enforced? -- then the institutions will realize that they must live up to these standards," he said. "Then I think we will see fewer requests."

But until then, the siege will continue.