Bylaw: Article V, Section D, Item 5
โA student who has completed all academic requirements for graduation from a four-year institution as defined by that institution shall no longer be eligible to compete in intercollegiate athletics.
EXCEPTION 2: A student who has completed all academic requirements for graduation and who is enrolled in a graduate program, professional school or fifth-year, post-baccalaureate degree teacher education program may participate in intercollegiate athletics provided the student has athletic eligibility remaining and the following conditions are satisfied:
- The graduate must be enrolled in a full-time class load as defined by the school in lieu of 12 institutional credits at the time of participation.
- To maintain eligibility status, the student must successfully complete the full-time class load as defined by the institution.
- The registrar must certify in writing to the eligibility chair that the above conditions have been met prior to participation of the student.โ
Interpretation
A student who is accepted in a graduate program may utilize undergraduate-level courses for identification if the institution requires the student to enroll in these courses as prerequisites for graduate coursework.
Application
Upon certification from the schoolโs registrar that the student is officially considered a graduate student by the school (not as an undergraduate who will become a graduate student if she completes the requirements, or as a provisional admit into the graduate school), the student can be eligible by taking the undergraduate courses certified by the registrar as being required for the masters program. However, since all or part of the studentโs load will be undergraduate institutional credit, the student must meet and maintain the 12-hour requirement even if some of the courses are graduate level.
Example
A student who graduated with a BA in Business this past spring has now been admitted to a Masters in Education program. The student is currently taking additional undergrad courses that are required for the Masters in Education program. The courses the student needs are all part of the undergraduate education major, but are required as prerequisites for the masters program. Even though these courses are not actually graduate courses in the masters program, the student can be certified as meeting Exception 2 under Article V, Section D, Item 5 upon certification from the schoolโs registrar that the student is officially considered a graduate student and fully (not provisionally) admitted into a graduate program.
Related Bylaws
Article V, Section B, Item 21
Article V, Section C, Item 3
Related Interpretations
Identification for Graduate Students
NEC Interp – Creation date: August 2016