The Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet sponsored noncontroversial legislation that will create a consistent definition for “education-impacting disabilities,” formerly known as “learning disabilities.”

The June 9-11 meeting in Dallas was the final session for the group, which will assemble into several smaller cabinets in the new Division I governance structure, set to be begin its work later this summer.

The legislation, which must be adopted by the Division I Board of Directors, defines an “education-impacting disability” as a current impairment that has a substantial educational impact on a student-athlete’s academic performance and requires accommodation. The legislation will also replace all official references to “learning disabilities” with “education-impacting disabilities.” No current NCAA legislation defines “disability.”

The new definition broadens the scope of accommodations offered by the NCAA to include all handicapping conditions and disorders that could impact academic performance, including physical impairments like hearing loss. Because most of these accommodations already were common practice in the waiver process, the legislation simply codifies and makes consistent policies already in place.

The change also brings the NCAA in line with the federal government and other agencies and is responsive to the needs of the student-athletes. The issue grew from a staff working group on education-impacting disabilities that NCAA President Myles Brand established last year to examine a variety of issues related to the topic, including late diagnosis, current NCAA accommodations (nonstandard testing, core-course requirements) and institutional accountability.

With recommendations from the same staff working group, the cabinet also sponsored legislation for the 2008-09 legislative cycle that would allow prospective student-athletes with a diagnosed education-impacting disability to use up to three core courses completed after high school graduation to count toward the minimum requirements for initial eligibility. The student-athlete must have graduated from high school within the core-curriculum time limit.

Current NCAA rules allow student-athletes with such a diagnosis to take an unlimited number of core courses after graduation, and the change will provide a more consistent application of the rules – other student-athletes are allowed to take one core course after high school graduation.

Cabinet members believe limiting the number of core courses a prospect can take after graduation will prevent prospects from taking too many in too short a time to be successful. Waiver requests would still be considered.

In other business, the continuing-eligibility subcommittee continued work on nontraditional coursework. As a result, the cabinet will sponsor in the 2008-09 cycle legislation specifying nontraditional courses completed at a four-year institution other than the one at which the student-athlete attends may be used to meet both credit-hour and progress-toward-degree requirements (but not full-time enrollment) if certain conditions are met, including regular interaction with the instructor, a conventional grading scale consistent with similar courses, and proper evaluation of coursework.

A similar piece of legislation sponsored for the same cycle would allow nontraditional courses offered by the institution the student-athlete physically attends to be used to satisfy the full-time enrollment requirement, with the same conditions applying.

Nontraditional coursework will be defined as anything not within the classroom setting and includes distance-learning, Internet and correspondence courses, as well as independent study courses.

The cabinet identified nontraditional coursework as an area needing further study in the new governance structure, and encouraged the new Academics Cabinet to consider nontraditional coursework in multiple categories – courses offered by the certifying four-year institution, those offered by an institution other than the certifying institution (including two-year institutions), and courses completed at the high school level for initial eligibility. The cabinet also directed the staff to work with the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics to develop model practices for monitoring student-athlete completion of nontraditional coursework.

Additionally, the Transfer Issues Working Group submitted a report to the full cabinet. The group identified a variety of key concepts and recommended that the Academics Cabinet continue to study the issue.

The group identified several topics needing further study, including the selection of majors of two-year transfers compared to nontransfers at the same institution, the academic profile of successful two-year transfers and the evaluations of incoming transfer student-athletes by admissions professionals.

The group recommended that a best-practices document for two-year transfers be developed and shared with two- and four-year institutions.

Some legislative concepts were also identified, including increasing required academic course-work for two-year transfers and limiting the number of physical education courses a two-year transfer can use to meet requirements.

The Academics Cabinet, Recruiting Cabinet, Awards/Benefits Cabinet and Amateurism Cabinet will all meet in Indianapolis in September.

Other highlights

Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet

June 9-11/Dallas

•         The recruiting subcommittee recommended that the new Recruiting Cabinet consider early recruiting concepts from the Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association. The group expressed concerns that many prospective student-athletes make commitments too early, resulting in undue pressure on coaches and prospects. The possibility of setting a date for all sports before which institutions cannot offer athletics aid was discussed. The subcommittee believed the ideas have merit and could be applied to other sports.

•         The cabinet sponsored legislation for the 2008-09 cycle that would add women’s volleyball to what’s commonly known as the “tennis and swimming and diving rule” – which says that student-athletes who don’t enroll in college full time with a year of high school graduation and participates in organized events in their sports after the one-year period lose a season of competition. The concept was supported by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

•         Another piece of legislation sponsored by the cabinet would prevent scholarship tennis student-athletes who transfer from a four-year institution midyear from being immediately eligible for competition. For example, a tennis student-athlete who receives aid and transfers between the fall and spring semesters would not be eligible for competition until the following fall semester. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association supported the legislation.