NCAA Eligibility Center - Our Experience

[sands31210]

Thought I would share my experience with the NCAA Eligibility Center to quell any fears people might have. It was a straight forward process.

 

My DD did a combination of classes. Some were completed at home, some with an online provider, and some dual enrollment at the local university.

 

Summer before junior year:

1. DD created an account and paid the $80 fee.
2. I completed and submitted the Home School Administrator and Accordance Statement.
3. I downloaded the core course worksheets and completed one for each class she took at home or with an online provider. I then signed and dated one sheet, scanned it, and pasted it into all the completed core worksheets.
4. I emailed the core course worksheets according to the year the course was completed. So, all 9^th grade classes were emailed together. The subject line stated my DD’s NCAA # and the grade level of the core course worksheets.  In the body of the email I supplied a numbered list of all the items that were attached to the email.
5. DD had taken the SAT before opening the account so we requested College Board to send a score report.
6. After DD completed her junior year I sent a homemade transcript. I made sure that I included everything they listed on the Home School Checklist.
7. Beginning of Senior year an evaluation was requested by the school that DD has verbally committed to play for. The evaluation took about 10 days. The NCAA Eligibility Center first listed only the college courses that she has completed. The account sat like that for a day or two and I was beginning to worry that they were not going to review the core course worksheets that I spent so much time on. Then all courses were removed. It sat like that for a few days. Then all of a sudden she was cleared to play. Both the dual enrolled college courses and the courses from the submitted worksheets were listed. YAY!!

 

Things to note:

1. For online providers I listed myself as the teacher of record and the instructor’s name for other teacher. For assessments designed/developed by I listed the instructor’s name with approval from me. I also listed the instructor’s name with approval from me for assessments graded by.

2. I filled out the core course worksheets with the title and ISBN # of all books used. I also listed chapter names, topics covered, and the names of the labs completed.

3. My daughter has a hold on her account (long frustrating story) at the local university where she is taking her dual enrolled classes. A transcript has not been sent from this university to verify the coursework that I listed on her transcript. NCAA still approved her to play.

4. I gave one credit for each university course DD took.

5. DD does not officially graduate until spring but has been given Final Qualifier status. All that is left to do is request final amateurism certification sometime after April 1, 2019.

6. We will send official transcripts from the local university and from our home school after graduation.

 

The process really wasn’t bad. It was a little time consuming to fill out the core course worksheets. I really think I put way too much effort into filling them out than what was really needed.

 

I would echo what some people have said and not open an account until you know for sure that your child will be playing a sport that needs NCAA certification. But, I would recommend staying on top of the paperwork.

 

I would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

 

 

[zimom]

Thank you so much!   Honestly, this terrifies me ? .    Is there any disadvantage to opening an account now?  By doing that can I keep track of the paperwork course by course?  I certainly don't mind 'throwing' $80 away if it makes it easier for me in two years.  

[sands31210]

Don't be terrified. It really is not bad, just a little time consuming.

There is no advantage nor is there a disadvantage to opening an account early. They never list individual core course worksheets as they are submitted. The courses will not get listed until a review is requested by a coach.

 

This is how the task is listed on my DD's dashboard (except it has a green check mark in front of it) and how it was listed once I started turning in sheets:

Missing Core-Course Worksheets

08/23/2017

 

So, it seems that once a core course worksheet is turned in they check the task off. I am assuming that once the coach makes a request and if it is determined during the review that they need something a new task will pop up in your tasklist. My daughter just happened to have enough core classes by the end of her sophomore year that her tasklist was complete.

 

This is how the courses are listed now that her review is complete (when I click on the final qualifier link under academic status):

 

ACADEMIC  YEAR	HS CODE	CATEGORY	TITLE	GRADE  GPA	DIV I UNITS	DIV I QUALITY POINTS
Total				4.0	16.0	64.0
1	969999	English	ENGLISH LIT 1	A	1.0	4.0
1	969999	Math	GEOMETRY	A	1.0	4.0
1	969999	Science	BIOLOGY	A	1.0	4.0
1	969999	Social Studies	WORLD GEOGRAPHY	A	1.0	4.0
2	969999	English	ENGLISH LIT 2	A	1.0	4.0
2	969999	Math	ALGEBRA 2	A	1.0	4.0
2	969999	Science	CHEMISTRY	A	1.0	4.0
2	741005	Social Studies	WORLD CIV I	A	1.0	4.0
2	969999	Social Studies	ECONOMICS	A	1.0	4.0
3	741005	English	ENGLISH 101	A	1.0	4.0
3	741005	English	ENGLISH 102	A	1.0	4.0
3	741005	Math	COLLEGE ALGEBRA	A	1.0	4.0
3	741005	Math	STATISTICS	A	1.0	4.0
3	969999	Science	PHYSICS	A	1.0	4.0
3	741005	Social Studies	INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY	A	1.0	4.0
3	741005	Social Studies	US HISTORY 2	A	1.0	4.0

 

Hope this helps. 

 

And, feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

 

 

 

[easypeasy]

1 hour ago, ZiMom said:

Thank you so much!   Honestly, this terrifies me ? .    Is there any disadvantage to opening an account now?  By doing that can I keep track of the paperwork course by course?  I certainly don't mind 'throwing' $80 away if it makes it easier for me in two years.  

 

I'd honestly wait. Opening an account now just means more to keep track of (passwords and log-in information, etc). Each year the NCAA re-evaluates their standards and things can change at any moment, so being super up-to-date & familiar with the website & requirements two years early won't necessarily make it any easier for you when it's game-time, so to speak. ?

When the student starts talking to coaches about official visits, she'll have to have her NCAA # at that point (when they're talking) and then the NCAA eligibility application will be approved before she can go on a first official visit during that senior year. (Of course, some sports vary, if my understanding is correct, about when they can speak to coaches. And DIII can talk to a student sooner than DII, who can talk to the student sooner than DI... lol. Clear as mud, the NCAA is! ?)

So - end of junior year is plenty early enough to open up an NCAA account.

We found that, in hindsight, the NCAA instructions were crystal-clear and their expectations very reasonable.

While going THROUGH the process, though? NCAA was the Evil Demon who was causing me tons of stress and who could possibly keep my kid out of her sport forever. ? They are very open to phone calls and questions, but I didn't always find them very clear in their responses. They didn't want to give me a hard "yes" or "no" to anything I asked... everything was "it could depend on 10,000 variables," which wasn't all that helpful to me at the time.

[ByGrace3]

ok this terrifies me a bit. dd is 8th this year, and trying to work all this out in my head for next  year. I have read about getting around online classes that are not NCAA approved by listing them as parent taught....but what if they don't use a textbook? (Specifically thinking about Mr. D math-- dd is taking Algebra 1 with Mr. D online and I would hate to have to use a different provider for geometry and Algebra 2)

[alewife]

2 hours ago, ByGrace3 said:

ok this terrifies me a bit. dd is 8th this year, and trying to work all this out in my head for next  year. I have read about getting around online classes that are not NCAA approved by listing them as parent taught....but what if they don't use a textbook? (Specifically thinking about Mr. D math-- dd is taking Algebra 1 with Mr. D online and I would hate to have to use a different provider for geometry and Algebra 2)

I am not familiar with Mr. D math, but it sounds similar to the set-up with Derek Owens as Derek Owens also does not use a textbook with his online program.  However, D.O. states the name of the textbook his program is based on.  Does Mr. D math state that its program is based on a specific textbook? If there is no specific textbook listed, I would purchase a cheap textbook that pertains to the class you are using, have your child refer to that textbook if she needs additional clarification, and list that as your textbook.  

I would not use a different provider if what you are using is working for your child just to satisfy the NCAA.  A rep from the NCAA once told me that "The NCAA does not care about the educational outcome."  The NCAA is only concerned with checking boxes.  Give the NCAA what it needs to check its boxes, but don't let their box checking interfere with your child's education.  

[Grantmom]

Thanks for sharing this info! I know this is an old thread, but I'm trying to get my ducks in a row and have some questions about this. If anyone is still around, I appreciate any insight! My son is a rising junior, and I agree that some of the information for homeschoolers on the NCAA website seems very straightforward, but there are some things that aren't as clear to me. If you use a course from an online provider that is already "Cleared" by the NCAA, then it seems straightforward. But what do you do if the provider and course are not pre-approved? And, similarly, what do you do if you want to use a combination of resources for a course?

Also, if the NCAA doesn't review this until they receive a request from a college coach, then do you just have to hope that everything gets approved? Is there a way to know in advance if they will approve your nontraditional courses that you either did yourself or that is from on online provider that is not pre-approved? That feels a little scary.

Thanks for any guidance or hand-holding anyone can offer!