Last month, the Eligibility Center released the automatic waiver criteria for students enrolling in Fall 2021-22, and the delayed enrollment flexibility for the 2020-21 academic year. Please join us on October 15 for a webinar to discuss those adjustments and ask questions to the Eligibility Center staff presenters related to navigating initial eligibility during COVID-19.
COVID-19 Automatic Waiver
Due to the continued impact of the pandemic on standardized testing opportunities, the EC applied COVID-19 relief in mid-August to all students enrolling in Fall 2020 or Winter/Spring 2021, regardless of graduation date. More than 1,800 students with these enrollment periods indicated in their NCAA account received the COVID-19 Automatic Waiver as a result of this application. (Member institutions were notified via email if a student on their active IRL had a status change.) Combined with student-athletes who received the COVID-19 Automatic Waiver in May, the total number of students who have received the COVID-19 Automatic Waiver is has surpassed 38,000.
Certification Error Policy
Based on membership feedback, the EC is implementing a new error policy as it relates to academic and amateurism certifications. Beginining October 1, the EC will correct inaccurate information identified in a PSA’s released preliminary or final certification. The error will be documented in the PSA’s account and a task will be assigned to the PSA’s account alerting them to the error. The released error will be considered in the waiver process.
Additional information regarding visibility in student accounts will be made available prior to October 1.
2020-21 Guide for the NCAA Compliance Administrator
The updated 2020 version of the Guide for the NCAA Compliance Administrator is now available! The first of three newly available resources, the Eligibility Center's guide for compliance administrators provides a look into EC policies and procedures and best practices when working with PSAs. This guide includes links to important resources and an overview of each department in the EC. A great resource for both new and seasoned compliance administrators!
Request Final Amateurism
Now that the fall semester is underway, we know many of you will begin to focus on your Winter/Spring 2021 enrollees. These mid-year enrollees can begin requesting their final amateurism on October 1. Encourage your PSAs to check their EC accounts for open tasks and submit information to the Eligibility Center as soon as possible. Remember, in order to request final amateurism PSAs must have either paid their registration fee or received a fee waiver from their high school. For PSAs with questions on how to request final amateurism, encourage them to review this easy resource.
Enrollment Period Updates
If students decide to defer enrollment for any reason, they will need to update that information in their EC account. To do so, students simply click on “Enroll: Fall 2020” in the upper right-hand corner of their EC account. The box that appears allows them to update their enrollment period to Winter/Spring 2021 or Fall 2021. After clicking "Save," their enrollment period is updated.
After changing their enrollment period, midyear enrollees will receive a reminder on October 1 to re-request their final amateurism reviews. Fall 2021 enrollees must wait until April 1 to re-request their final amateurism certification, regardless of when they update their enrollment period.
2020-21 Two-Year and Four-Year Transfer Guides
The second and third of three newly available resources, the 2020-21 Two-Year Transfer Guide and Four-Year Transfer Guide are available for download. These are a great reference to have at your desk and to share with your coaches and incoming transfer students!
Eligibility Center Furloughs and Office Closures
Due to recently announced staff furloughs at the National Office, the NCAA Eligibility Center will be closed during the following weeks:
Week 1 – October 19-23.
Week 2 – November 16-20.
Week 3 – December 7-11.
During these weeks, no business processes—including academic and amateurism certifications, urgent requests, or initial-eligibility waivers—will be completed.
Please note that our Customer Service team will be unavailable to address questions via call or email during these weeks.
When the Eligibility Center re-opens each time, we anticipate impact to our typical timelines for responses to inquiries and processing of certifications/waivers in the weeks immediately following the closures. Thank you for planning accordingly and for your patience as we work through these challenging times.
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