A core-course requirement rule change that passed without the awareness of some coaches and administrators is now concerning some individuals who wonder how the rule will apply.

The new legislation (Proposal No. 06-65-A) was part of a broader effort to address abuses with nontraditional high schools and was not controversial as it passed through the 2006-07 legislative cycle. Once the Division I Board of Directors adopted the measure in April, though, some coaches and administrators who hadn’t tracked the proposal began to raise concerns.

The legislation, which requires prospective student-athletes to complete all core courses within the traditional four years of high school enrollment with the opportunity to complete one additional required core course after graduation, will apply to individuals who enroll in college for the first time on or after August 1, 2007. Student-athletes currently in their ninth or 10th semesters of high school will not be affected by the rule change.

The change is designed to encourage student-athletes to graduate within the four-year period prescribed by most high school curricula. The change also indicates that NCAA member institutions do not want to encourage the practice of intentionally delaying high school graduation to improve grades or earn credits solely to obtain NCAA eligibility.

Critics of the change argue that the new rule takes a legitimate option away from student-athletes who need more time to prepare for college and take the preparatory-school route to do so. They also say the rule could force student-athletes to attend junior college and potentially use two years of athletics eligibility.

In the last year, the NCAA has undertaken an effort to address so-called “diploma mills” by reviewing the academic credentials of nontraditional high schools throughout the country. That review has led to a list of high schools from which the NCAA will no longer accept core courses, grades and graduation. That review is ongoing.

“This rule change isn’t designed to negatively impact legitimate prep schools that are in the business of preparing young people to be successful in college,” said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for membership services. “We applaud their efforts. The purpose was to not only discourage students from dropping out of high school their last year and taking an additional year of courses — which we know was happening — but also to encourage students to take academic courses each year of high school, starting with grade 9.”

Data from the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse indicate less than 1 percent of certified student-athletes earn credits after their eighth semester of high school. The initial-eligibility waiver process will continue to address situations in which high school graduation is legitimately delayed.

“For those students who legitimately fail a grade or their parents who feel a need for the individual to attend prep school, the new legislation will not preclude that,” said Jackie Campbell, associate commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference and incoming chair of the Division I Management Council. “It simply means the individual will have to go through a waiver process to consider the coursework beyond eight semesters. The waiver process will be fair and look at all the circumstances surrounding the student’s reason for attending high school for more than four years.”

Lennon said that junior colleges remain an option for prospective student-athletes who want to become better academically prepared.

“The important thing is that prospects who are interested in playing at a four-year school are academically prepared to do so,” Lennon said. “We want to make sure that students are properly set up to succeed in the classroom first, with success on the field or court as a positive supplement to that experience.”

The proposal was sponsored by the Division I Academics/Eligibility Compliance Cabinet and was approved last month by the Division I Management Council and the Division I Board of Directors.