Policy and Procedures Updates

Two policy and procedure updates have taken place regarding Division II official visits and the Eligibility Center's COVID policies for certain impacted recruits.

Official Visit Account Requirements

In December 2023, Eligibility Center account requirements were adjusted for recruits making an official visit to a Division II campus. While all student-athletes must be registered with the EC and be on your school's IRL prior to any official visit, please note the following EC account requirement differences now in place:

For a Division I official visit, there is no change: A certification account is required for recruits taking a Division I official visit. (Fee must be paid or a fee waiver requested.)
For a Division II official visit: Recruits may take an official visit to a Division II school with a free Profile Page account. Click here to review the interpretation.

Please note: All prospective student-athletes must have a paid certification account prior to signing an NLI or financial aid agreement. (The specific certification account is based on your school's requirements.)

Before recruits come to your campus for an official visit, please remind them about the following additional official visit needs:

Know their NCAA ID.
Send you a copy of their high school transcript(s).
Know their standardized test scores, if required by your school.
Arrive with questions!

EC COVID Policy and 2024-25 Enrollees

An updated quick-reference chart (below question 7) has been added to the COVID-19 FAQ that was released in spring 2023. This update clarifies that the COVID-19 policy regarding the Division I core-course time limitation applies to 2023 graduates or prior who delay initial full-time enrollment until the 2024-25 academic year or beyond.

If you have a version of the COVID FAQ downloaded to your computer locally, please be sure to replace it with the updated version (dated "January 2024" in the footer of the last page). For an easy-to-understand chart that outlines the ongoing COVID relief policies and their applications, refer to question 7 of the updated FAQ.

Submission of Academic Documents COVID Policy Expires April 30, 2024

As a reminder, official academic records are required for initial-eligibility certifications. If only unofficial records are available for students who initially enroll full time in the 2023-24 academic year, they may be submitted to ec-processing@ncaa.org directly from the email address associated with the student’s Eligibility Center account and should include the student’s NCAA ID in the subject line.

Please note: This policy will expire as of April 30, 2024. Starting May 1, 2024, official academic records will be required and must be submitted via an approved channel for domestic and international students.

IRL and Preliminary Documents Reminder

Thank you for continuing to actively manage and monitor your school's IRL for students your school is recruiting. Adding recruits to your school’s IRL early in the process helps the Eligibility Center staff ensure resources are focused on completing preliminary (and final) certifications in a timely manner for your school. Keep in mind there are no limits to the number of students who can be added to your school's active IRL, and we encourage early activation whenever possible.

Once a student's EC account has been added (activated) to your school's IRL, be sure you follow up with recruits and coaches regarding submission of the student's academic records. Records from each source of education should be submitted as early as possible, which ensures the student's account is put in line in the EC's system for a preliminary evaluation once those records are received.

Actively managing your IRL also helps EC staff focus resources on our year-round outbound proactive projects. These projects focus on early transcript and document submissions, course-title submissions, and task responses needed to complete certifications. If your school is no longer recruiting a particular student, please remove that student from your IRL so that resources are not spent on students no longer being recruited. Thank you for your efforts and partnership to move student-athletes' dreams forward!

Early Academic Qualifier Reminder

Early academic qualifier regulations include a requirement to submit a student’s final high school transcript to the Eligibility Center by a specific date, as outlined in each Division’s bylaws. For students who have met the EAQ requirements, please ensure your recruit has a final transcript on file by your division's legislated date.

International Guide Quarterly Update

The 2023-24 Guide to International Academic Standards for Athletics Eligibility has been updated to reflect changes to these countries' information:

Australia (New South Wales)—New proof of graduation added.
Canada (Ontario)—Approved course added.
International Baccalaureate—New issuing body added.
Paraguay—Year nine location updated.

If you have a version of the guide downloaded to your computer locally, please be sure to download this updated version and replace.

2023 Membership Survey Results

Thank you to the 478 member representatives who responded to the Eligibility Center's 2023 Membership Survey! Our team values your input and evaluates the survey content for opportunities to better serve our membership.

NCAA membership was represented by all three divisions and various roles. Respondents broken down by role and division were as follows:

Results found the majority of respondents were satisfied with their interaction with the EC during the 2022-23 academic season. From the responses received, 86% of respondents stated the EC exceeded or met their expectations during the 2022-23 academic year, as shown below.

Watch this newsletter for additional survey results. Thank you again for your input and continued collaboration supporting college-bound student-athletes. The Eligibility Center looks forward to continuous improvement and enhanced services for our membership based on these survey results.

Webinar Recordings Available

Do you have international or home-schooled recruits? Are you new to the world of NCAA initial eligibility and compliance? Annually, the Eligibility Center hosts webinars for a number of different audiences, including home-schooled and international student-athletes and their families. The EC staff also provides an annual review on the basics of NCAA Eligibility Center initial-eligibility requirements. These one-hour presentations are a great resource to share with your recruits, or to review yourself in order to better understand the initial-eligibility process and requirements.

Links to recordings of the most recent webinars can also be found in the New Website Resources section (top-left) of the Membership Portal .