The Division II Academic Requirements Committee continued to take a hard look at Division II academic eligibility standards during its June 5-6 meeting in Indianapolis.

The committee is not developing any recommendations or proposals as a result of the meeting. It is collecting information on important issues, such as how Division II standards relate to those in Division I and how changes in standards might affect prospective and enrolled student-athletes.

A key part of the meeting was a report from the NCAA research staff on how eligibility and ineligibility rates would be affected by changes in Division II initial-eligibility standards. The research staff projected changes based on:

* Altering the core-course grade-point average.

* Increasing the required number of core courses.

* Requiring a higher verbal score on standardized tests.

* Modifying the existing sliding scale.

The committee also received a report on initial-eligibility discussions underway in Division I. In particular, the committee was advised that Division I is exploring whether academic initial-eligibility standards can adequately predict college graduation. Rather, Division I interests are discussing whether a better application of initial-eligibility standards would be to predict how a prospect will perform over the next 12 to 18 months. The burden for projecting college graduation then would fall on continuing-eligibility standards.

The committee also heard a report on the concept of having academic initial-eligibility standards satisfied by meeting two of three (or three of four) standards. Those standards might include core-course grade-point average, the number of core courses and standardized test scores, among others.

The committee also met jointly with the Division I initial-eligibility subcommittee of the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet. The groups discussed several issues of mutual interest to Divisions I and II, including the status of the Cureton lawsuit (a challenge to Division I initial-eligibility standards), the reconfiguring of the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse Committee, a report on core courses and a report from the foreign student records consultants.

The Division II Academic Requirements Committee plans to continue to meet with the the Division I subcommittee on initial eligibility. It also is exploring a similar meeting with the Division I subcommittee on continuing eligibility.

On another matter, the committee continued its examination about whether it would be appropriate to require midyear academic certification for Division II student-athletes. As it examines this issue, the committee will be guided by the results of two key Division II studies: a survey about the academic performance of two-year college transfers and the academic performance census.

The membership's response to the two-year college transfer inquiry has been good. However, the committee noted the importance of the information and reminded institutions that have not responded that they have until July 1 to return the survey to the national office.

The committee also expressed its desire to be closely involved in the deregulation of Bylaw 14 (eligibility). Although the Division II Bylaw 14 deregulation summit will not take place until summer 2001, the Academic Requirements Committee wants to make certain that it has a major role in analyzing legislation relating to academic issues. To that end, the group is planning to meet with the Division II Legislation Committee at the 2001 Convention in Orlando.