For a student to be eligible for any NCCAA-recognized intercollegiate competition, a member institution must ensure that the student conforms to the following regulations.
1. An entering freshman student must be a graduate of an accredited high school or be accepted as a regular student in good standing as defined by the enrolling institution.
2. An entering freshman student must meet two of the three entry level requirements:
a. A minimum score of 18 on the Enhanced ACT or 860 on the SAT (for tests taken on or after April 1, 1995).
NOTE: In order to meet the requirement of Section C, item 2 in the paragraph above, an entering freshman must achieve a score of 18 or higher on the Enhanced ACT or score of 860 or higher, achieved on the Critical Reading and Math sections of the SAT. The test score must be achieved at a single test sitting administered by a certified tester on a National, International or official state assessment testing date to apply to this requirement. A test taken under any conditions other than those listed is considered by both testing agencies to be a residual test and cannot be used for certification purposes. The ACT/SAT must be taken prior to the beginning of the term in which the student initially participates.
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b. An overall high school grade point average of 2.000 or higher on a 4.000 scale;
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c. Graduate in the upper half of the student’s high school graduating class. The class rank must appear on the student’s transcript, leaving certificate or other academic document. If the student’s class rank does not appear on the above-mentioned documents, a letter from the student’s principal or headmaster, written on the school’s letterhead and with the school’s official seal, stating that the student meets the class rank requirement can be accepted.
See CASEBOOK for additional information
NOTE 1: GED and home-schooled students: The GED will be recognized as satisfying the grade point average equivalent. The GED student must achieve a score of 18 on the Enhanced ACT or 860 on the SAT to meet the freshman requirements.
Home-schooled students must receive the certificate (or equivalent) granted by the appropriate state verifying successful completion of home schooling requirements and achieve the minimum ACT/SAT score to meet the freshman requirements.
NOTE 2: International students: An incoming freshman international student shall first be reviewed under the same conditions required of a regular freshman student. The evaluation listed below shall be applied only if the high school GPA and class ranking cannot be determined.
If the student has graduated from a high school outside the United States or one of the U.S. territories and the high school transcript is such that the grade point average cannot be determined and the class ranking is not available, this student can be ruled eligible by meeting the specific institution’s admission criteria for international students and by meeting the following NCCAA criteria:
- A score of 18 on the Enhanced ACT or 860 on the SAT
- Meet the entering freshman requirements as defined for students from each country in the most current Guide to International Academic Standards for Athletics Eligibility published by the NCAA (based on AACRAO guidelines).
Students not meeting at least two of the three standards shall be denied athletics participation at a member institution for the first full year of attendance (2 semesters, quarters, or equivalent) that such a student is identified with an institution(s).
