ShareThisThe NCAA has changed the eligibility rule for Division I student-athletes who use nontraditional courses.
The courses, such as software-based credit recovery, virtual, online, independent study and correspondence courses, now must be completed in a manner consistent with core-course curriculum assignments. That includes programs such as NovaNet, which is popular among student-athletes as a credit-recovery program that allows them to make up classes they have failed through online courses.
This new rule applies to courses completed on or after Aug. 1, 2010, for students entering an NCAA Division I college or university on or after that date.
Nontraditional courses completed before Aug. 1 will be reviewed under existing NCAA standards. Online courses that do not meet NCAA guidelines will be designated on a transcript by appending "AOC" to the course title.
The NCAA has cracked down on nontraditional recovery coursework that allows students to reduce the length and content of the original course. In nontraditional courses, there are no summer reading assignments and students can pre-test or bypass some of the curriculum.
But NovaNet is offering students a way to take online classes without skipping lessons or testing out of modules, said Lisa Jabara-May, director of secondary product management for NovaNet.
The new rule could affect players who are borderline as far as meeting requirements for a Division I school.
In addition to seat hours and assignment criteria, requirements of the NCAA for nontraditional courses include the following:
-- The instructor must be highly qualified and actually "teach" the course.
-- There must be frequent teacher-student communication.
-- Assessments and assignments must be graded by the instructor.
-- The design of the curriculum and content of the course.
(E-mail Putnam(at)sptimes.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
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