New Legislation: Recertification and Inter-Terms
Legislative Services is going to spend the next few months writing briefs on the new legislation that was passed at the annual business meeting held at the 2020 Fall Meetings due to the COVID Virus. You can find all of the changes in one spot here.
This week we are going to address the new exception to Article V, Section C, Item 14. This change has gone into immediate effect!
20-B-08
SUBJECT: RECERTIFICATION
14. A student who is eligible the last day of a term may retain eligibility until midnight of the 30th 21st calendar day following the close of a term to allow an institution time to recertify eligibility. For a student taking inter-term coursework at an institution that has determined the inter-term will stand alone or attach to the fall term (per Article I, Section N), the student may retain eligibility until midnight of the 30th calendar day following the close of the fall term or midnight of the tenth calendar day following the close of the inter-term, whichever is latest. This regulation does not apply to students who complete all requirements for graduation or complete 10 semesters of attendance (or equivalent). Further, students declared ineligible by the institution or conference shall lose eligibility immediately upon such declaration.
Article V, Section C, Item 14
This new exception was proposed by the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference and co-sponsored by the River States Conference. The intent was to extend the window for recertification from 21 days to 30 days following the close of a term, during which time any students who were eligible in the fall term can maintain eligibility and continue to compete. It also specifies that the only special treatment given to inter-term students at an institution where the inter-term stands alone or attaches to the fall term is to allow 10 days following the close of the inter-term to conduct recertification.
Legislative Services has received numerous questions about when transfer students can compete in between the two terms. We’ve answered this question in previous briefs, one of which can be found here. We will also provide a case study below to help answer these types of questions.
The membership overwhelmingly approved this change as it gives the person handling certification additional time to receive and review grades from the fall term while at the same time allowing eligible students to continue to compete. On the other hand it puts a limit on how much time students who are enrolled in the inter-term will be able to compete after the close of the inter-term.
One thing that is important when determining when the 30 days starts is to know when the term actually ends. We actually define when the end of a term is in Article V, Section B, Item 3, which says the end of a term is the date listed in the institutional catalog as the last day of the term. If no such date is given, the end of the term shall be the last day of the final exam period. Thus unless your institutional calendar specifically specifies an “end of term” date then you defer to the last day of finals.
We certainly understand this can be a cumbersome topic, so like always feel free to reach out to Legislative Services with any questions.
Case Studies
*Assume all schools are NAIA institutions unless otherwise noted.
Scenario 1:
Chappelle College (CC) does not designate an end of term on their official calendar but the last day of finals is December 1st. CC attaches their inter-term to the fall term and the last day of finals for inter-term is January 15th. Dave is taking inter-term courses and was eligible in the fall term. When is the last day he could compete before he would have to be certified for the spring term?
Answer 1:
Dave could compete until January 25th before he would have to be certified again for the spring semester. Remember, for those students who are enrolled in the inter-term that attaches to the fall or stand-alone, they can retain eligibility for 30 days after the close of the fall term or 10 days after the close of the inter-term, whichever is later. Here 30 days from the end of the fall term would be December 31, and 10 days from the end of the inter-term would be January 25. Thus he could compete until January 25 before having to be recertified as that is the latest of the two dates.
Scenario 2:
Sebastian also attends Chappelle College and was also eligible in the fall term. Sebastian is NOT enrolled in the inter-term, when is the last day he could compete before needing to be recertified for the spring term?
Answer 2:
December 31 would be the last day Sebastian could compete before needing to be recertified. He does not get the benefit of the additional 10 days because he is not enrolled in the inter-term.
Scenario 3:
Lamar goes to District University who does not have an inter-term session. DU’s last day of the fall term is December 10th. Lamar is taking some inter-term classes at another university, when is the last day he could compete before needing to be recertified for the spring semester.
Answer 3:
January 9 would be the last day he could compete before needing to be recertified. Since his school does not have an inter-term then you simply go off the 30 days from the end of the term.
Scenario 4:
Baker attends Cleveland College which has a stand-alone inter-term session. Baker was eligible in the fall term but you (the FAR) knows he is failing all of his classes and will not be eligible in the spring. Baker has decided to take inter-term courses at your institution in an effort to become eligible for the spring. The fall term ends on December 2, when is the last day Baker could compete?
Answer 4:
December 2 is the last day he could compete. The bylaw states that students declared ineligible by the institution or conference shall lose eligibility immediately upon such declaration. Since you know he will not be eligible for the spring semester, he must cease participation at the end of the fall term.
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