The NCAA has established a working group to review whether recent trends in secondary-school education circumvent the intent of NCAA initial-eligibility standards in Divisions I and II.

NCAA President Myles Brand authorized the working group after presidents from several NCAA member institutions raised concerns about the legitimacy of high school academic credentials presented by some entering student-athletes. Those concerns centered on student-athletes establishing initial eligibility by using academic credentials earned through nontraditional schools and courses.

For example, presidents have cited cases in which high school athletes, with only a few weeks remaining in their senior year, have transferred to another school that allowed them to graduate and earn core-course credit hours with academic outcomes much different than those achieved at the former school. Also, some athletes at public high schools enroll concurrently at a nontraditional school that offers correspondence courses. The result is that high school graduation and core courses are completed at the nontraditional school while the student competes athletically at the public high school.

Those issues are complicated by the growth of elite preparatory schools that attract high-profile basketball and football prospects. The National Federation of State High School Associations does not regulate such schools, nor are they accredited by the NCAA.

The issue garnered additional attention November 27 when the New York Times published a front-page story examining such practices at a secondary school in Miami.

Presidents urging further review believe NCAA eligibility policies and procedures should be tightened to preclude what they regard as practices that run counter to recent academic-reform efforts.

The NCAA working group will focus on the following four areas:

• The process for reviewing and approving nontraditional courses (including correspondence courses) for use as NCAA core courses.

• NCAA core-course requirements and time limitations on meeting those requirements in Divisions I and II.

• The requirements for reporting ACT and SAT scores to the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse and those requirements' potential impact on test-score fraud.

• The use of core courses earned at preparatory schools and whether those courses meet NCAA minimum academic requirements.

The working group, which is expected to develop recommendations by June 2006, includes a diverse representation of college and university presidents and chancellors, faculty athletics representatives, admissions directors, athletics directors, conference officials, and members of the secondary-school community. The group also will collaborate with the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse as it develops an action plan.

Recommendations, which could include legislative proposals for the 2006-07 cycle, will be submitted to the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet and the Division II Academic Requirements Committee.

"This panel grew out of concerns raised by NCAA member institutions and conferences regarding issues that challenge the integrity of our academic requirements, put at risk the academic reforms underway in Divisions I and II, and create untenable situations for athletics departments and coaches," said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for membership services. "The group will look at tightening eligibility rules and procedures through the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse to ensure that incoming student-athletes meet the spirit of our eligibility standards and are in a position to be academically successful in college."

The working group plans to accomplish its task through two or three in-person meetings and a series of conference calls. Preliminary recommendations may be ready by the time the Divisions I and II Management Councils meet in April.

The group's roster is expected to be finalized soon. Confirmed as members so far are Greg Sankey, associate commissioner of the Southeastern Conference; Carol Iwaoka, associate commissioner of the Big Ten Conference; Jim Castaneda, faculty athletics representative at Rice University; and Calvin Symons, director of the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse.

The working-group concept is an approach NCAA President Brand has deployed successfully in recent years in which a small representative group of experts focuses intensely on a specific issue over the course of several months. Previous working groups have tackled issues such as recruiting, sports wagering, membership growth and football classification.