Recently, 32 Division II students-athletes were notified that they had been selected to receive a degree-completion award to assist them in finishing their academic requirements necessary for a baccalaureate degree. These were the initial awards made through an exciting new program in Division II to provide direct financial assistance to students-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility but have not graduated.

Many institutions do not have the resources or have chosen not to provide athletics aid to these student-athletes even though such aid is allowable in some situations. Division I has had a similar program for a number of years.

In the initial awarding cycle, applications were received from 97 student-athletes from about 50 institutions. The 32 recipients, from 21 different institutions, received awards totaling in excess of $90,000. The dollars available for these awards are expected to increase in future years. The awards committee was surprised that applications were not received from a greater number of institutions. The committee encourages directors of athletics, faculty athletics representatives and senior women administrators to be aggressive in raising the awareness of this awards program among those student-athletes who qualify.

To be considered for a Division II degree-completion award, a student-athlete must complete the application packet and meet the following criteria:

Have exhausted eligibility within the past calendar year.

Received athletics-related financial aid from the Division II institution.

Be within 30 semester (45 quarter) hours of completing an undergraduate degree.

Have a 2.000 cumulative grade-point average (4.000 scale).

Recipients of the award receive the lesser of tuition or $5,000 to pay for no more than two semesters (three quarters) and one summer at the accredited institution where the student-athlete competed. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.000 in at least 12 hours is necessary to retain the award after the first semester (quarter) of the award period.

In developing the evaluative criteria, the committee relied significantly on Division I criteria and experience with some adjustments to incorporate the Division II environment. The criteria considered were financial need, academic record, required remaining credit hours, academic awards and scholarships, extracurricular activities, varsity/club sports and athletics-related awards, leadership roles, a recommendation letter and the student statement. The awards committee was in agreement about the criteria but found significant differences of opinion among its members as to the weight to be assigned to each of the criteria. The committee proceeded with an agreed upon algorithm but agreed to continue the dialogue as to the purpose or philosophy of the degree-completion awards in Division II.

The key philosophical issue is whether the degree-completion program primarily serves student-athletes who are most at risk of not completing a degree or those who have the best academic record and least amount of credit remaining to complete a degree. Who would you rate as the student for whom the degree-completion awards are intended: Student A, who has a 2.200 grade-point average with 28 remaining credit hours, or Student B, who has a 3.600 grade-point average with15 remaining credit hours? Is Division II willing to take the risk that some of the awards may go to student-athletes who will not graduate even if provided a degree-completion award?

The relative importance of athletics achievement is another issue on which committee members had different opinions. Are the awards intended more for an all-conference student-athlete than for a member of a team who served in an important backup role?

The NCAA postgraduate scholarship criteria places a 50 percent weight on athletics achievement while the Division I degree-completion award criteria would not significantly differentiate between the two students.

A third issue facing the awards committee is the relationship of the amount of athletics-related aid provided a student-athlete to the amount of the degree-completion award. In some cases the tuition award ($5,000) is significantly less than the athletics aid ($11,000) while in other cases the tuition award ($3,500) exceeds the athletics aid ($800). Is it the intention of Division II to provide a larger award to a student-athlete than the athletics aid provided by the institution?

Fundamentally, is the purpose of the degree-completion awards to support the general population of Division II student-athletes who have done relatively well academically but have not graduated or is the purpose to assist student-athletes who for academic or financial reasons might not otherwise graduate?

If you have thoughts on this topic that you would like to share with the Degree-Completion Awards Committee, please send suggestions in writing to Bob Oliver or Denise O'Grady at the NCAA or one of the members of the committee: Diane Husic (East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania), Mary Lisko (Augusta State University), John Rich (Emporia State University), Phil Roach (Rollins College) or Val Sheley (Presbyterian College). Additionally, please assist your deserving student-athletes in applying for these awards. Applications for the 2002-03 awards will be mailed to Division II institutions in April.