Buckeye Insider – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | General
Although outside of the traditional academic year and playing season, summer remains a busy time for student-athletes. During the summer, student-athletes may enroll in classes to gain additional credit hours or work a summer job to earn additional money. The NCAA and Big Ten rules pertaining to financial aid and employment are slightly different for the summer compared to the academic year. This article will discuss rules pertaining to summer financial aid and eligibility requirements, as well as summer employment rules for student-athlete.
NCAA Bylaw 15.2.7: Summer Financial Aid
Summer financial aid may be awarded only to attend the awarding institution’s summer term, summer school or summer-orientation program, provided the following conditions are met:
a) The student has been in residence a minimum of one term during the regular academic year;
b) The student is attending a summer term, summer school or summer-orientation program and financial aid is administered pursuant to Bylaw 15.2.7.1.1 for enrolled student-athletes or for incoming student-athletes during the summer prior to their initial full-time collegiate enrollment; and
c) The student is a two-year or a four-year college transfer student and is receiving aid to attend the awarding institution’s summer-orientation program.
Big Ten Rule 15.01.5
Requires a student-athlete to have completed a minimum of 12 units per quarter during the academic year in order to receive athletic grant-aid in the summer.
NCAA Bylaw 15.2.7.1.1: Enrolled Student-Athlete
A student-athlete can receive summer athletic financial aid only if he received such athletic financial aid during the previous academic year at that institution.
Below are pertinent questions and answers focusing on summer financial aid and employment:
Q: May a student-athlete who is eligible for summer financial aid enroll in a part-time, rather than full-time program of studies, during the summer term?
A: A student-athlete who is eligible for summer financial aid is not required to enroll in a full-time program of studies. If a student-athlete attends summer classes part-time, the amount of his financial aid will be prorated based on the number of hours he is enrolled.
Q: Are there limits on how much summer athletic financial aid a student-athlete may receive?
A: Yes. A student-athlete may only receive summer financial aid in proportion to the amount of athletic aid he received during the previous academic year. For example, if a student-athlete receives 75% of an athletic grant-in-aid during the academic year, he would only be eligible to receive 75% of an athletic grant-in-aid during the summer.
Q: Is a transfer student-athlete who only attends spring quarter during the regular academic year eligible to receive athletic financial aid during the following summer term?
A: A student-athlete who attended the institution only one regular term during the previous academic year may receive the same percentage of athletic financial aid during the following summer term provided the student-athlete was enrolled in at least 12 units during the previous term.
Q: May a student-athlete take classes during the summer term to fulfill the minimum number of quarter hours requirement and meet satisfactory progress?
A: A student-athlete shall earn no more than 25% of the minimum number of semester or quarter hours required for satisfactory progress during the summer.
Q: Is it permissible for a junior student-athlete who has a 1.98 cumulative GPA after the spring quarter to take summer courses to improve his GPA in order to meet the satisfactory progress requirements for the upcoming academic year?
A: Yes, it is permissible for student-athletes to take summer school classes in order to improve their grade point average and to meet the satisfactory progress requirements. In this particular situation, the satisfactory progress requirements mandate a junior student-athlete must maintain a 2.0 GPA to be eligible. However, keep in mind that student-athletes are limited to the number of hours that they can take in order to meet satisfactory progress hour requirements during summer term.
Q: Are there any restrictions on the amount of earnings a student-athlete may receive for summer-employment?
A: A student-athlete may receive unlimited summer-employment earnings without any restriction provided the earnings are legitimate compensation for the work actually performed. The student-athlete must be compensated at a rate commensurate with the going rate in the locality for similar services. Summer-employment earnings are not considered in determining the amount of athletically related financial aid the student-athlete may receive for the summer term.
Please remember that the above information provides a brief overview of the compliance issues concerning summer financial aid and employment and is not an exhaustive discussion. For questions or to receive more information, please contact Heather Lyke, Associate Athletics Director for Compliance at (614) 292-2681.
