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Basics of Eligibility

NAIA Legislative Services

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Topics

Eligibility Center
Freshman Eligibility
Continuing Eligibility
Seasons of Competition
Transfer Students
Amateurism
Eligibility Forms

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NAIA Eligibility Center

All first-time NAIA participants must register at www.PlayNAIA.org and receive an Eligibility Center determination.
Must receive determination prior to participating in any contest (scrimmage, exhibition or regular season).
Update your short lists with regularity.
Encourage students to submit transcripts and applicable test scores as soon as possible.

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Eligibility Basics

An NAIA student:

May compete during his/her first 10 semesters/15 quarters only
Must meet freshman and/or continuing eligibility requirements
Must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours
Must be making normal progress toward a baccalaureate degree
Must have a 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (for juniors and seniors, �athletically or academically)
Must meet transfer eligibility requirements (if applicable)
May compete during four seasons only

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Terms of Attendance

An NAIA student may only compete during the first 10 semesters/15 quarters of full-time enrollment.

Any term (excluding summer sessions) in which the student becomes identified will be considered a term of attendance.
Exceptions: V.E.1a-b

Pregnancy
Debilitating illness

Article V, Section B, Item 19

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Identification

Competes in a contest

Is enrolled in 12 hours and attends one �class while being enrolled in 12 hours

Upon identification the term immediately counts as one �of the student’s 10 semesters or 15 quarters.

✓ Charged with season

✓ Charged with term

A student identifies with an institution if:

Article V, Section B, Item 8

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Freshman Eligibility

Freshman: A student who has not been previously identified at any institution of higher learning for 2 semesters/3 quarters.

To be eligible for competition, a freshman must be:

Graduate of accredited high school or be accepted as regular student in good standing, AND
Meet two of three requirements:

Test Score

Minimum score of:

ACT — 18

SAT — 860 (Critical

Reading and Math

Sections only)

High School GPA

Minimum overall

high school GPA

of 2.000 on

4.000 scale

Class Rank

Top 50% of high

school graduating

class

Article V, Section C, Item 2

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NAIA Basics of Eligibility: Freshman Eligibility

Welcome to a discussion of the NAIA’s freshman eligibility rule. click .

Let’s talk about student’s normal progression through their academic career at your institution beginning with freshman eligibility. . click .

It is important to remember that the NAIA freshman eligibility rules are different than rules other associations have including the NCAA. click One thing we all have in common is that a student must be click a graduate of an accredited high school or click accepted as a regular student in good standing at your institution.

click In the NAIA, the student must meet two of three requirements in order to be eligible to compete as a freshman.

click The student must meet the test score requirement, which is a minimum score of 18 on the ACT or 860 on SAT. On the SAT, it is Critical Reading and Math sections only. click The other important thing to remember on test scores is that they must be taken on the national testing date under national testing conditions. Residual tests taken on campus are not acceptable.

The only exception to the national testing date requirement is for students whose states use ACT for their state testing. There are three states we are aware of right now – Colorado, Michigan and Illinois who use ACT as a part of their state assessment and for “no child left behind.” If the student takes the test as part of the state testing in these three states, and any others who choose to contract with ACT in the future, it is considered to be acceptable and it is permissible for you to use the scores from that test.

click click The second requirement the student has to meet is a high school GPA, a 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. click We accept the GPA calculation the high school provides. We know many high schools have different systems for calculating GPAs, but we don’t get into the business of second guessing high schools. Whatever the high school reports to us is what is used. If the high school says a student has a 2.5 then we accept that. If the high school says the student has a 1.98 GPA we accept that as well. The high school is a determinant as to what the student’s GPA is. The only thing we require is that the students GPA be recorded and awarded in the same manner as every other student at the high school.

click click The final requirement is that the students graduate in the top 50% of his or her graduating class. I will say it is a strict requirement. If you’re ninth in a high school graduating class of 17, it’s not good enough.

Obviously the thing to remember is that you only have to meet two of the three requirements. We typically hear two different arguments from parents about the class rank issue.

One is the student doesn’t test well. We are not going to agree or disagree with that statement. We will accept that if the parents tell us that it’s true. This is why we use only two of the three requirements. For a student who does not test well, he or she has the opportunity to prove his or her academic ability to succeed as a freshman student by finishing in the top 50% of the high school graduating class with a GPA of 2.0.

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Freshman Eligibility

International Students

Must meet 2 of 3 requirement, but those requirements are calculated differently than domestic students
Academic records required will vary per country

Article V, Section C, Item 2

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Freshman Eligibility

GPA

Multiple variations of GPA

GPA used to determine class rank

If multiple ranks, use rank used to determine valedictorian
If no valedictorian, use weighted over unweighted
If don’t rank:

Academic vs. Overall GPA

Use Overall GPA: Academic GPA does not include activity or elective classes

Article V, Section C, Item 2

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Freshman Eligibility

Class Rank

Multiple variations of class rank

Rank used to determine valedictorian

No class rank given

Can accept a letter from the principal/head master certifying student graduated in top 50%

Article V, Section C, Item 2

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Freshman Eligibility

Home-Schooled Students

Home-schooled students must meet both:

State certificate
Minimum test scores: 18 ACT / 860 SAT

Exception

Elevated test scores: 20 ACT / 950 SAT

Request for Exception

ACT/SAT results, including subsection scores
Any college coursework
Home School transcripts
Student’s schedule at NAIA institution

Article V, Section C, Item 2

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Freshman Eligibility

Learning Disabilities

Information required for Learning Disability exception:

Student’s diagnosis
IEP or 504 plan, if applicable
ACT/SAT results, including subsection scores
Accommodations institution commits to make for this student, particularized to student’s specific disability and needs
All transcripts

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2^nd Term Freshmen

9 Hour Rule

Student must meet entering freshman requirements (2 of 3)
Student must also have passed at least 9 hours prior to the second term

Can’t count pre-identification hours

Article V, Section C, Item 5

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Continuing Eligibility

Applies to any student who has previously identified for 2 semesters/3 quarters

To be eligible for competition, must meet:

12 Hour Rule
24/36 Hour Rule

AND if applicable

Progress Rule
2.0 GPA for Juniors

Article V, Section C

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