National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

February 10, 1997

Work continues on 'educational assessment' program in II

"Educational assessment" planning continues in Division II after approval at the 1997 Convention of legislation requiring provisional members to complete such an assessment program.

Division II members voted, 230-6 with two abstentions, to require institutions that petition for Division II provisional membership on or after August 1, 1997, to complete an educational assessment before achieving active membership.

All three NCAA divisions also adopted legislation increasing the length of the Association's provisional-membership period from three to four years, effective August 1.

The NCAA Division II Presidents Council Transition Team reviewed a preliminary plan for the educational assessment program during a pre-Convention meeting in Nashville. It approved the plan "in concept" and asked the NCAA Division II Management Council Transition Team to provide a more detailed recommendation for consideration by the presidents in late March.

The preliminary plan reviewed by presidents in Nashville was created by NCAA staff members and approved in early December by the Management Council Transition Team.

The proposed program is based on these principles:

  • Chief executive officers should be involved at least to some extent in each year of the program, including certifying before the provisional member achieves active membership that the school has completed the requirements of the assessment program.

  • Other key institutional and athletics officials should be encouraged to participate in as many of the scheduled educational activities as possible.

  • In completing the program, provisional members should achieve an enhanced awareness of the realities and practicalities of joining the NCAA and Division II; a more complete understanding of NCAA rules and membership requirements; the knowledge and ability to develop systems for complying with NCAA rules; and an appreciation for the importance of campuswide involvement in the conduct and oversight of the athletics program.

    Among the activities anticipated in the proposed program are a visit by a Division II chief executive officer to a provisional member's campus to discuss the implications of overseeing a Division II athletics program; a required orientation session scheduled in conjunction with the annual Convention for new provisional members' CEOs and athletics directors; completion of the Institutional Self-Study Guide during the institution's first year of provisional membership; self-assessments of institutional rules and compliance awareness; and participation in Convention open forums and NCAA regional seminars.

    The Division II Presidents Council Transition Team asked the Management Council Transition Team to fine-tune some of the details of the plan and present more detailed information regarding the cost of the program for review in late March.

    If the presidents give final approval for the plan at that time, it is expected that materials and specific components of the program will be developed by the NCAA staff by the summer of 1998.

    Programs for active members

    The Presidents Council Transition Team also received information during its pre-Convention meeting from the Management Council Transition Team regarding current NCAA compliance programs and services for Division II active members and possible ways of encouraging use of those services.

    The presidents endorsed in concept a variety of suggested approaches for increasing Division II awareness of and enhancing current compliance programs, and asked the Management Council Transition Team to recommend a detailed plan for that purpose for review in March. The presidents also asked the Management Council to include details about costs with those recommendations.