The Student-Athlete Awards, Benefits and Financial Aid Cabinet plans to review the hearing process required by NCAA rules when a student-athlete’s athletics-related financial aid is reduced or revoked at the end of a term.

Cabinet Chair Grace Calhoun, an associate AD at Indiana, said the group identified the matter as a priority after the reorganization of the Division I governance structure. She hopes the review will produce a more consistent process and a set of best practices institutions can use to benefit student-athletes.

Much of the hearing process is left up to individual institutions. The NCAA requires only that decisions regarding the renewal of athletically related aid be made on or before July 1, and that student-athletes whose aid packages are not renewed must be notified in writing and given the opportunity for an appeal hearing.

While no specific part of the regulation troubled the cabinet, Calhoun said some members felt the hearing process was inconsistently applied, and that the group wanted to ensure student-athletes were notified of a reduction or cancelation in a timely fashion.

“It could be as simple as identifying and sharing best practices with member institutions that may need to do better but might not even realize that more effective solutions exist,” Calhoun said. “We want to make sure the regulations are meaningful and not overly burdensome.”

Calhoun said the cabinet will solicit input from the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. SAAC Chair Kerry Kenny said his group has discussed the issue in the past, and while student-athletes are generally satisfied with the current model, some tweaks could be implemented, such as:

•         Have coaches inform student-athletes as early as possible that their aid is in jeopardy. Kenny said coaches often have an idea well before the June deadline whose aid could be revoked or reduced. Additionally, allowing the coach to “break the news” might make it easier on the student-athlete.

•         In addition to the letter informing the student-athlete of the change in aid and the opportunity for a hearing, send an e-mail. Make sure that the communication is sent to correct summer mailing and e-mail addresses at least 10 days before the hearing.

•         In addition to the opportunity to appear in person, allow the student-athlete to submit a letter to the hearing committee. Kenny said that changes in aid can be an emotional issue for student-athletes, and some might present their cases better in writing than in person.

•         Follow up the hearing with an e-mail in addition to the written letter within 10 days of the hearing.

Calhoun said the cabinet would consider the SAAC’s recommendations and also would seek input from campus financial aid officers.

She didn’t specify a timeline for the project, but indicated the hearing process review could take care of another issue on the group’s to-do list – multi-year awards. In the reorganization, the financial aid subcommittee of the former Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet asked the new cabinet to review the concept of multi-year awards. Current NCAA rules allow athletically related financial aid to be contracted for a maximum one-year term.

The subcommittee believed aid was often pulled without a fair hearing or without a legitimate reason, Calhoun said. Ensuring a uniform and fair hearing process division-wide could take care of any objection to single-year awards.

“We look at the (Academic Progress Rate) and the increased awareness of retention and progress toward degree, and we want to feel like we’ve looked at all the things that become barriers,” Calhoun said. “(Losing) financial aid becomes a real barrier to retention and ultimately graduation. If the cabinet feels that is only happening in appropriate situations, the whole conversation of multi-year aid is less necessary.”

As with its review of the financial aid model in its entirety (see the January 2009 issue of Champion), the cabinet hopes to simplify the situation for student-athletes and the staff people involved in the hearing process. The cabinet meets in February.