NCAA Eligibility Q & A for Home Educators

If a student athlete is talented enough to play at the college level, it is very important to become very familiar with the NCAA website at least when the student enters 8th grade, if not before. The requirements are very strict and failing to meet those requirements could deny a star athlete eligibility to play college sports and receive a scholarship.  The NCAA Eligibility website is very helpful. (www.ncaa.org ,  Go to Academics & Athletes, then click on NCAA Eligibility Center)

Home educated students must meet the same academic requirements as other students, although the documentation is a little different.  The academic requirements and other information are on the NCAA website.  However, additional questions to those on the website come up from time to time for home education students.  Because home education students have so many choices and paths to achieve their educational goals, they don’t always fit the mold for public or private school students. Therefore, the HEF has asked the following questions and answers which have been approved by the NCAA in order to provide parents more information.

1.  Can courses taken in the 8th grade count toward the NCAA required core courses?

Yes, if the course satisfies the core course requirement and is an approved high school course.  The course must be:
Algebra or above
Biology, physical science or above
English if it can be proved that the course is a college-prep course level

2.  Will the NCAA accept Credit by Exam?
No.

3.  How can home educated students document their coursework?

The NCAA will want to know the textbooks and publishers for each course taken.  They will accept Rosetta Stone for foreign language if done at home.  However, Florida colleges will not accept a foreign language taken at home.  It must be through a public or private school or through dual enrollment.

4.  Can a student have too many credits on the high school transcript?

There is no cap on the number of credits a student can earn.  The NCAA only considers the required core courses for determining eligibility and grade point average.  At this time, Division 1 requires 16 core courses and Division II requires 14, but on August 1, 2013, Division II will also begin requiring 16 core courses.  See the NCAA website for specific requirements.

5.  May college courses count as core courses?

College courses may be used to satisfy core-curriculum requirements if the courses are accepted and are awarded credit by the high school (or in a home education program) for any student and meets all other requirements for core courses.

For NCAA Division I only, such courses must be placed on the student's high school transcript. Courses taken at a college will NOT appear on the high school's NCAA List of Approved Core Courses. The high school's NCAA List of Approved Core Courses will include only those courses taught/offered by the high school.

6.  How would a home education parent know if the college courses taken through dual enrollment satisfy the NCAA core-curriculum requirements?

Florida students who take dual enrollment courses can view the Dual Enrollment Course/High School Equivalency List on the FL Dept. of Education website at http://files.facts.usf.edu/AdvisingManuals/Dual_Enrollment_List_2008.pdf

This list equates the college course content to the content of high school courses.  The course codes for college courses and high school courses are specified on this list.  The Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation has examined the content of each course, as required by law, to establish this approved list.  It is used by public and private schools to determine if a dual enrollment course meets the high school graduation requirement.

7.  Can a high school student take too many college courses?

Not if the courses are taken concurrently in the high school or in a home education program.  A student can even earn an AA degree as long as the courses are taken part-time through dual enrollment.  The college eligibility clock starts running the moment a student is enrolled full-time in college.

Caution: High school students need to know how the college is classifying them.  Early admission programs may classify the student as a full-time college student, even though the student has not completed home education. This would cause the college clock to start running and the student would lose a year of eligibility.

8.  How many years of college eligibility does a student who has completed an AA degree have?

Generally, if a student has never been classified as a full-time college, the student has 5 years in a Division I college and 10 semesters in Division II or III colleges to complete 4 seasons. However, to guarantee accurate information in each situation, student-athletes and/or their parents are urged to contact NCAA Membership Service at 317-917-6000, Monday-Friday, from Noon to 4:00 pm to obtain official information about individual eligibility.  NCAA will be glad to advise and answer specific questions.

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