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  • Institutions Offering 2-Year & 4-Year Degrees

    Article I, Section Y: Four-Year Institutions Which Offer Associate (Two-Year) Degrees Should a student receive an associate (two-year) degree from an institution that also offers a baccalaureate (four-year) degree, the student is identified with the four-year institution. The higher education landscape has changed quite a bit since this bylaw was created in the early 1990’s. […]

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  • Repeat Courses

    Article V, Section C, Item 12 A repeat course is defined as a course term, summer or nonpreviously passed with a grade of “D” or better in any term, and subsequently retaken. For the purposes of this rule, the NAIA does not recognize a +/- attached to a letter grade. Consequently, a B+ or B- […]

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  • Mid-Year Certification

    Article V, Section C, Item 14 A student who is eligible the last day of a term (as reported on the institution’s official academic calendar) may retain eligibility until midnight of the 30th calendar day following the close of a term to allow an institution time to recertify eligibility through the official Eligibility Certification Process. […]

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  • Mid-Year Eligibility for Freshmen

    Article V, Section C, Item 5: Mid-Year Eligibility & 9-Hour Rule Definition of an Entering Freshman, V.B.5 : A student who upon becoming identified with an NAIA institution has not been previously identified with any institution(s) of higher learning for any two semesters or three quarters (or the equivalent). V.C.5.a (Nine-Hour Rule)  An entering freshman who […]

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  • Use of Non-Term Credits – Reliance on Transcript

    For the 2021 Convention, the membership passed a bylaw on how to apply inter-term credit earned for eligibility purposes. While this bylaw application is listed under Article V, Section B, Item 10: Definition for Inter-Term, the guidance on how to evaluate inter-term credits covers all non-term credits such as summer courses or online, non-traditional courses. […]

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  • Tryouts with Prospective Students & 24-Week Season

    Approved Ruling: Tryouts of prospective students, in accordance with NAIA Bylaws, shall not constitute practice per Article I, Section H, Item 6, although institutional team members may be involved. Such activity if conducted outside of the team’s 24-week season will not trigger the 24-week season. The National Eligibility Committee has ruled that the “prospective student” […]

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  • 24/36-Hour Rule Exception Junior College Transfers

    Article V, Section C, Item 6, Exception 2 states: EXCEPTION 2: A transfer student who has met the graduation requirements for an associate degree from a junior college will be exempt from meeting the 24/36-Hour Rule for the first term upon transferring to an NAIA institution provided: a. The transferring student passed all hours required […]

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  • Transfer Residency Casebook Examples

    Transfer – Participation at Four-Year and Two-Year Schools Case: A student competed at a four-year institution for one year. The following year, he transferred to a two-year institution where he competed. The student has not identified at any other schools. The student is now transferring to an NAIA institution. Does the 16-week residency requirement apply? […]

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  • Participation Prior to Enrollment in the Fall

    Approved Ruling: When an institution has scheduled an intercollegiate contest prior to the opening of school in the fall, a student shall be allowed to represent the institution although the student is not officially identified at the time of participation. The NAIA Official Eligibility Certificate must be filed with the eligibility chair with the column […]

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  • Recruitment: Responding to Contact

    Responding to Contact from Student, Representative of a Student, Potential Student-Athletes, & When Notification is not Required NAIA Bylaws Article II, Section D, Item 1 states,“If, during the school year or summer vacation period, the athletics director, faculty athletics representative, or coach of a member institution is contacted or becomes aware of contact by an […]

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