The NCAA News - News and Features

October 6, 1997

Legislative assistance

NCAA Bylaws 15.02.6 and 15.5.3.3.1

Honorary academic awards/academic honor awards

NCAA Division II institutions are reminded that academic honor awards administered to student-athletes per Bylaw 15.5.3.3.1 may be exempted from the institution's equivalency computations. In this regard, a student is considered to have received an academic honor award if he or she meets the conditions of Bylaw 15.5.3.3.1 and either Bylaw 15.5.3.3.1-(a) or 15.5.3.3.1-(b). Accordingly, the award the student receives must be part of the institution's normal arrangements for academic scholarships, awarded independently of athletics interests and in amounts consistent with the pattern of all such awards made by the institution. In addition, under Bylaw 15.5.3.3.1-(a), the recipient must (a) be ranked in the upper 20 percent of the high-school graduating class; or (b) have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.500 (based on a maximum of 4.000); or (c) presented a minimum ACT score of 100 or a minimum SAT score of 1140. If the recipient has not met the conditions of Bylaw 15.5.3.3.1-(a), he or she still may qualify for an academic honor award pursuant to Bylaw 15.5.3.3.1-(b) by having completed at least one academic year in college and achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.300 (on a 4.000 scale) for all academic work completed during the student's collegiate enrollment resulting in degree credits at the awarding institution.

Please note that academic honor awards should be distinguished from those honorary academic awards referenced in Bylaw 15.02.6. For example, Divisions I and II institutions are permitted to exempt honorary academic awards from equivalency computations, while academic honor awards (which also may be exempted from equivalency computations) apply only to Division II. While Divisions I and III institutions must include the value of the honorary academic award in determining the student's cost of attendance, Division II institutions are not required to count the value of the honorary academic award in either the individual's full grand-in-aid limit or cost-of-attendance limit. Finally, honorary academic awards must be based on the student's academic record at the awarding institution, and may not relate in any way to the student's academic performance while in high school. An award that originally was based on a student's high-school academic record and, in subsequent years, is renewed based on the student's continued academic performance while in college, does not meet the conditions of an honorary academic award. Accordingly, such an award would be considered institutional financial aid and countable toward the Division I or II institution's equivalency limits.

Correction

This is to notify readers of an error on page 100 of the 1997-98 NCAA Guide to Financial Aid as follows:

NCAA Divisions I and II institutions should note that in case study Number 3 of the chapter entitled "Understanding Institutional Limits," the example improperly states that University Z is a Division I institution. To the contrary, the example should state that University Z is a Division II institution. Thus, the sentence should read as follows: Ann attends the University of Z, a Division II institution, and is receiving a full athletics grant-in-aid to participate as a member of Z's intercollegiate softball team.

Correction

This is to notify readers of an error in the 1997-98 NCAA Divisions I, II and III Manuals under Bylaw 14.5.5.3 (exceptions or waivers for transfers from four-year colleges) as follows:

NCAA institutions should note that the phrase "and any of the following conditions is met" was omitted from the end of the first sentence of the bylaw. Accordingly, Bylaw 14.5.5.3 should read as follows: A transfer student (other than one under disciplinary suspension per 14.5.1.4) from a four-year collegiate institution is not subject to the residence requirement for intercollegiate competition, provided the student does not have an unfulfilled residence requirement at the institution from which he or she is transferring and any of the following conditions is met. (This modification correctly implies that a student-athlete must meet one of the transfer exceptions in order to compete immediately at the certifying institution.) During the student-athlete's first academic year of full-time enrollment, such conditions may serve as a basis for a waiver of or an exception to the residence requirement only for Division I and Division II transfer students who at the time of initial collegiate enrollment, met the requirements for "qualifiers" (set forth in 14.3.1) in the division to which they are transferring.

This material was provided by the membership services staff as an aid to member institutions. If an institution has a question or comment regarding this column, such correspondence should be directed to Richard C. Perko or Kristen L. Davis, membership services representatives, at the NCAA national office. This information is available on the Collegiate Sports Network.