NEC Interpretation – Concurrent Term vs. Full Withdraw with Second Identification
Link to NAIA Bylaws
Concurrent Terms – Continuous Enrollment
Definition: A concurrent term is a single academic term where a student simultaneously and continuously identifies at two institution by either (A) enrolling in 9 or more credits at an NAIA member institution and at least 12 or more credits at another institution, or (B) enrolling in 12 or more credits at a non-NAIA institution and 12 or more credits at a different non-NAIA institution.
Application
Terms of attendance: Only charge 1 TOA during the relevant academic term.
24/36-Hour Rule: Any hours earned during the academic term in question will be considered term hours (as opposed to non-term hours). For example, student enrolls/earns 12 institutional credit hours at both School A and School B, and plays at School B. Student has been charged 1 TOA, has identified at School B, and has 24 term hours earned.
Determining School of Identification (may be relevant for term conversions, Progress Rule, GPA, etc.): The following tiered system shall be used to determine at which institution the student is identified. This determines where the student accumulated the term of attendance and how to apply hours toward the 24/36-hour rule.
Identification occurs:
- Where the student participated in an intercollegiate contest;
- If no competition, then the student identifies with the NAIA institution;
- If neither institution holds membership in the NAIA, then the student identifies with the institution where the student enrolled in more hours;
- If the student enrolled in an equal number of hours at both institutions, the NAIA institution certifying the student may choose at which institution the student identified.
Example
Potential Student-Athlete’s most recent enrollment is as follows. School A and School B are both on a semester calendar.
| TERM | SCHOOL | ATT | EARN |
| Spring 2024 | School A | 15 | 11 |
| Spring 2024 | School B | 12 | 8 |
| Summer 2024 (non-term) | School B | 3 | 3 |
| Fall 2024 | School B | 17.5 | 0 |
| Winter 2025 (non-term) | School B | 9 | 9 |
Identification: Assuming the student has not competed, and neither institution holds NAIA membership, PSA is identified at School A for Spring 2024 because that is where the student enrolled in more hours.
TOAs: PSA has two terms of attendance. Spring 2024 at School A (where they enrolled in more hours) and Fall 2024 at School B.
24/36: The student is required to earn 24 institutional credit hours over the two most recent terms of attendance. Most recent (Fall 2024) PSA earned 0 hours; second most recent (Spring 2024) PSA earned 19 hours; Non-terms (Summer 2024, Winter 2025) PSA earned the maximum of 12 used toward 24/36.
| Most Recent Term | Fall 2024 | 0 |
| Second Most Recent Term | Spring 2024 (11, School A/ 8, School B) | 19 |
| Non Term | Summer 2024 (3), Winter 2025 (9) | 12 |
| Total | 31 |
Full Withdraw and Second Identification
Article V, Section F, Item 5: If a student identified with an institution officially withdraws from that institution then transfers and becomes identified with another institution, the student shall be charged with a term of attendance (and zero hours credit) if they meet the definition of identification as determined by the official transcript after the institution’s official census date.
Application
Terms of attendance: The student is charged with a two terms of attendance in the given term. The student will have accrued zero credit hours during the term of attendance where the withdraw occurred.
24/36-Hour Rule: A student who has a full withdraw that takes place in either the student’s most recent or second most recent term of attendance will have the 24/36-Hour Rule applied in the following ways:
- If the full withdraw and second identification occurs in the most recent term of attendance, both the full withdraw term and term of continuous identification will be used and the student must accumulate 24 hours to satisfy V.C.6 (example 1 below).
- If the full withdraw and second identification occurs in the second most recent term of attendance, the student is charged three terms of attendance however, the most recent term and the term of continuous identification will be used to satisfy V.C.6 (example 2 below).
Example #1
Potential Student-Athlete’s most recent enrollment is as follows. School A and School B are both on a semester calendar.
| TERM | SCHOOL | ATT | EARN |
| Spring 2024 | School A | 15 | 12 |
| Fall 2024 | School A | 12 | W |
| Fall 2024 | School B | 17.5 | 12 |
TOAs: PSA has three terms of attendance. Spring 2024 at School A, Fall 2024 at School A (full withdraw) and Fall 2024 at School B.
24/36: When certifying for Spring 2025, the most recent terms (Fall 2024 at School B) PSA earned 12 hours; second most recent (Fall 2024 at School A) PSA earned 0 hours. 24/36 hour rule is not met with 12 hours earned in the two most recent terms of attendance.
Example #2
Potential Student-Athlete’s most recent enrollment is as follows. School A and School B are both on a semester calendar.
| TERM | SCHOOL | ATT | EARN |
| Spring 2024 | School A | 15 | W |
| Spring 2024 | School B | 12 | 12 |
| Fall 2024 | School B | 17.5 | 12 |
TOAs: PSA has three terms of attendance. Spring 2024 at School A (full withdraw), Spring 2024 at School B (continuous identification term) and Fall 2024 at School B.
24/36: When certifying for Spring 2025, the most recent (Fall 2024) PSA earned 12 hours; the second most recent (Spring 2024 at School B) PSA earned 12 hours. 24/36 hour rule is met with 24 hours earned in the two most recent terms of attendance. The total terms of attendance will remain at 3 total terms.
