Eligibility
Charging of eligibility in 2020-2021
The U SPORTS Board of Directors supported the recommendation that in the event there is no U SPORTS National Championship in a sport, that those student-athletes are not charged with a year of eligibility based on their participation. This is to say that if a sport culminates in a Conference Championship, Conference regular season play, or a lack of a structured season, that student-athletes be permitted to Participate without a year of eligibility being charged at the conclusion of the academic year. The Board also supported the recommendation that student-athletes Participating would need to be eligible to do so, and that all U SPORTS eligibility regulations continue to apply.
Should there be a U SPORTS National Championship in the sport, then the current regulations relating to the charging of eligibility shall apply.
Note that there are several decisions that need to be made as a result of this decision; for example, the Committee continues to discuss the transfer policy and the number of other policies that impact year-to-year participation. Those discussions are ongoing, and more information will be circulated in the future on these matters.
Academic Standing
Following the data review of the member survey, the Eligibility Committee confirms that current Academic Standing policies will stand for the 2019-2020 academic year. Student-athletes must complete 18 or more degree-granting credits, or otherwise meet one of the pre-existing exceptions within the Academic Standing policy.
Incoming and student-athletes transferring from other jurisdictions
The Eligibility Committee also confirms that the current eligibility regulations shall apply to all student-athletes entering from high school, CEGEP and transfer student-athletes entering from other jurisdictions or leagues.
AFA
Providing AFAs in 2020-2021
The U SPORTS Board of Directors supported the recommendation that institutions be permitted to – at their own discretion – provide AFAs, should sport delivery be compromised in a way where our AFA regulations do not apply.
The AFA Committee has heard that some institutions may be altering their Declaration of Participation to reflect membership with U SPORTS, but perhaps a smaller sport offering than previous years. In order to offer a fair outcome to both student-athletes and institutions, the U SPORTS Board has supported the concept that rather than the ability to provide AFAs being tied to sport declarations, that it be tied to the institution itself being a member of U SPORTS.
The U SPORTS Board also supported the concept that all regulations apply, which is to say that student-athletes must meet the current criteria in order to receive AFAs. The Committee is still working through the practicality of being listed on Eligibility Certificates if the institution didn’t Declare in that sport, so further clarity will be circulated in the coming weeks or months. Should the sport delivery not be compromised, current AFA regulations will apply.
Criteria for Spring Awards (19-20) and Continuing Students (20-21)
The AFA Committee reviewed Spring Awards and Continuing Student AFA Criteria in tandem, as they shared the same values. The U SPORTS Board supported the following recommendation, and the following exception. I’ve included a couple examples to illustrate who is able to access this exception, though should you have any questions about your student-athletes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or your committee rep to discuss.
For the 2019-2020 academic year, the following regulations apply for student-athletes progressing to 2020-2021 AFAs (continuing awards) and for 2019-2020 Spring Award AFAs:
- The student-athlete must have been listed on an Eligibility Certificate; and,
- The student-athlete must meet 2019-2020 Academic Standing requirements; and,
- The student-athlete must have an 65% or higher (or equivalent GPA) according to that institution’s official average calculation for courses completed during the academic year.
Exception:
The following exception may be applied to student-athletes who, for 2019-2020 Academic Year, were unable to receive 18 numerical or letter grade credits (ie: required to receive P/F in Winter 2020; would not apply to those who elected to receive P/Fs when graded credits were available):
- The student-athlete had less than 18 credit hours of graded work available; and,
- The student-athlete had between a 60-64.99 average (or equivalent) in Fall 2019; and,
- The student-athlete meets Academic Standing requirements; and,
- The student-athlete was listed on an Eligibility Certificate during 2019-2020.
Examples:
EX 1: Student-athlete A is a law student, and the faculty of Law implemented Pass / Fail only grades in Winter 2020. This student-athlete would be allowed to access the exception.
EX 2: Student-athlete B took 9 credits in the fall, and 9 credits in the winter. In the Winter 2020 semester, they elected to take “Pass” grades instead of their letter grades. This student-athlete would not be allowed to access the exception, because they were able to receive 18 numerical or letter grade credits.
Institutions would need to track the number of student-athletes and provide that number to the National Office later in the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
EX 3: Student-athlete C took 9 credits in the fall and 9 credits in the winter. In the Winter 2020 semester, they received 6 graded credits, but the professor in one of the classes mandated P/F grading. Consequently, this student-athlete was only able to receive 15 numerical or letter grade credits and would be allowed to access the exemption.
Criteria for Academic All-Canadians (19-20)
The U SPORTS Board of Directors supported the following recommendation surrounding the Academic All-Canadian criteria and exception for 2019-2020. As with the above Spring Award and Continuing Student AFA Criteria, should you have any questions surrounding the application, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or your committee representative.
For the 2019-2020 academic year, the following regulations apply for Academic All-Canadian status:
- The student-athlete must have consumed eligibility; and,
- The student-athlete must have successfully passed 18 or more degree-granting credit hours; and,
- The student-athlete must have an 80% or higher (or equivalent GPA) according to that institution’s official average calculation for courses completed during the 2019-2020 academic year.
Exception:
The following exception may be applied to student-athletes who, for 2019-2020 Academic Year, were unable to receive 18 numerical or letter grade credits:
- The student-athlete meets following criteria; and,
a) The student-athlete must have consumed eligibility; and,
b) The student-athlete must have successfully passed 18 or more degree-granting credit hours;
- The student-athlete must have been an Academic All-Canadian in their last year of U SPORTS eligibility; and,
- The student-athlete received between a 75% or higher (or equivalent GPA) according to that institution’s official average calculation during the Fall 2019 academic semester; and,
- The student-athlete received passing grades in all coursework completed in the Winter 2020 academic semester, according to that institution’s grading scheme.
Examples:
EX 1: Student-athlete A is a law student, and the faculty of Law implemented Pass / Fail only grades in Winter 2020. This student-athlete would be allowed to access the exception.
EX 2: Student-athlete B took 9 credits in the fall, and 9 credits in the winter. In the Winter 2020 semester, they elected to take “Pass” grades instead of their letter grades. This student-athlete would not be allowed to access the exception, because they were able to receive 18 numerical or letter grade credits.
EX 3: Student-athlete C took 9 credits in the fall and 9 credits in the winter. In the Winter 2020 semester, they received 6 graded credits, but the professor in one of the classes mandated P/F grading. Consequently, this student-athlete was only able to receive 15 numerical or letter grade credits and would be allowed to access the exemption.
Incoming and student-athletes transferring from other jurisdictions
The AFA Committee also confirms that the current AFA regulations and criteria shall apply to all student-athletes entering from high school, CEGEP and transfer student-athletes entering from other jurisdictions or leagues.