Athletic Academic Eligibility Requirements

Athletic Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse
Student Athlete Handbook

NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse	Grade Point Requirement Rule
NCAA 12 Hour Minimum Rule	Degree Requirements Rule
NCAA Satisfactory Progress	"C" Minimum Courses
Designation of Degree Program	Prior Approval for Course Substitutions
NCAA 6 Hour Rule

Brought to you by: Academic Services for Student Athletes

For more information on NCAA rules please visit http://www.ncaa.com/

For forms of the Athletic Compliance Office please visit http://www.ucfathletics.com/section_front.asp?arttypeid=529

For a printable version of this site click here

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NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse
Students wishing to attend and participate in athletic competitions in the Division I or II level during their freshman year must be certified by the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse. Students must complete and return the student-release form along with the registration fee to be registered for certification. Their guidance counselor may waive a student’s registration fee if their ACT or SAT testing fee was also waived.

Students must also request that an official high school transcript. It is important to check the NCAA List of Approved Courses to make sure you will be eligible. The Clearinghouse’s test score report number is “9999”.
Immediately after high school graduation, a student should request that an official final copy of the student’s high school transcripts be sent to the Clearinghouse to confirm graduation.

Students should remember that this process only applies to initial eligibility for athletic participation and is a separate process from applying to the University of Central Florida.

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NCAA 12 Hour Minimum Enrollment Rule
Students should be aware of the NCAA rules and their course load, especially during competition season. As stated in the NCAA Handbook 14.1.6.2.2, “ At the time of competition, a student-athlete shall be enrolled in not less than 12 semester or quarter hours, regardless of the institution’s definition of a minimum full-time program of studies.” However, students who need fewer than 12 credit hours to graduate may still be eligible for practice, competition, and financial aid.

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NCAA Satisfactory Progress
The NCAA requires student athletes to earn or average no less than 24 degree applicable semester hours during an academic year (the first day of the fall term to the day before the new fall term). Student-athletes must earn an average of 9 semesters for every degree-applicable fall and spring semester of enrollment. Student athletes may only apply 6 semester hours from summer term courses toward their athletic eligibility. See the Degree Requirements Rule for more information.

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NCAA 6 Hours Rule
Every spring and fall. all student athletes MUST pass 6 hours in that semester to be eligible to play either post season or in the following semester of competition.

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Designation of Degree Program
The NCAA requires that student athletes entering their third year of enrollment must declare a degree program or major. The declaration must be towards a specific baccalaureate degree at the certifying institution. From this point on, students must make satisfactory progress towards that degree program. Students can declare their major by seeing their academic advisor.

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Grade Point Requirement Rule
An NCAA rule has been established stating that student-athletes must obtain a minimum G.P.A. based on the University’s overall cumulative minimum grade-point average required for graduation. The University has set a minimum 2.0 GPA requirement for graduation. The University has also determined that student-athletes must have a 2.00 cumulative G.P.A. to be elgible for practice and competition. Please see the Degree Requirements Rule for the minimum grade point average required.

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Degree Requirements Rule
The NCAA also requires student athletes to complete a certain percentage of their degree requirements by the beginning of their third, fourth, and fifth years of enrollment. As noted above in the “Grade Point Requirement Rule”, a minimum percentage of the institution’s graduating GPA must also be met. The chart below illustrates both requirements.

Year of Percent of G.P.A.
Enrollment Courses Required

                3rd                          25%                     2.00
                4th                          50%                     2.00
                5th                          75%                     2.00

The chart below illustrates both requirements for students whose eligibility clock began after Agust 2004.

Year of Percent of G.P.A.
Enrollment Courses Required

                3rd                          40%                     2.00
                4th                          60%                     2.00
                5th                          80%                     2.00

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“C” Minimum Courses
Many degree programs at the University of Central Florida require students to obtain a grade of “C” or higher in some specific required courses. If a grade of “C” or higher is not obtained in these specific courses, the student is required to retake the course.

Other courses, such as ENC1101 and required historical foundation courses, require that students achieve a “C” or higher for the course to apply toward degree-earning credit.

It is important for students to be aware of these courses because failure to meet degree requirements can cause students to become ineligible due to not meeting the satisfactory progress, the 75/25% rule, and/or the 25/50/75% or 40%/60%/80% degree completion rule.

For complete information about the requirements for these courses and degree programs please consult the Undergraduate Catalog and/or your academic advisor.

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Prior Approval for Course Substitutions
Students at the University of Central Florida may be advised or choose to take summer school courses at another institution. It is at this time that students may find that their selected courses are not pre-approved or do not transfer under their degree program. Students should then seek course substitutions to have these courses count towards their degree requirements at UCF. Students wishing to do so, must obtain prior approval and should meet with their academic advisor or the Registrar’s Office. Failure to do so prior to the summer term could result in a student’s not meeting the satisfactory progress requirement, the 75/25% rule, and/or the 25/50/75% or 40%/60%/80% degree completion rule.