Freshman Eligibility Requirements

Article V, Section C, items 1 and 2 of the NAIA Bylaws

1. An entering freshman student must be a graduate of an accredited high school or be accepted as a regular student in good standing as defined by the enrolling institution.
   
   
2. An entering freshman student must meet two of the three entry level requirements:

1. A minimum score of 18 on the Enhanced ACT or 860 on the SAT (for tests taken on or after April 1, 1995).
   
   

NOTE: In order to meet the requirement of Article V, Section C, item 2, paragraph a above, an entering freshman taking the SAT as of March 1, 2005 must achieve a score of 860 or higher on the Critical Reading and Math sections.

2. An overall high school grade point average of 2.000 or higher on a 4.000 scale.
   
   
3. Graduate in the upper half of the student's high school graduating class.

Interpretation

Item 1
A student does not have to be a high school graduate to meet freshman eligibility standards. As long as the student is accepted as a regular student in good standing (not placed on probationary status by institution) then this requirement can be met. If the student is a high school graduate then they must have graduated from a properly accredited high school. Accreditation in most instances will be through the applicable state agency.

Item 2a
A student must achieve a minimum score of 18 on the ACT or 860 on the SAT to meet this requirement. The score must be achieved at a single test sitting administered by a certified tester on a National or International testing date. No composite scores or sum scores can be utilized. A test not administered as stipulated above will be considered a residual test and not applicable for the freshman requirements.

The test must be taken prior to the term in which the student initially participates. This means prior to the first day of class for the fall term, winter term, or spring term. A student who may not be eligible in the fall may take the ACT or SAT again that term and if the student meets the requirement participate in the spring, granted that test was taken prior to the first day of class in the spring. The student will not be eligible to participate until they attend a class in the spring term.

Students diagnosed with a learning disability may use untimed ACT/SAT test results to meet freshman standards. The untimed test, though, must be arranged, approved, and conducted according to the procedure established by the ACT or SAT national office for the administration of such tests. A minimum score of 18 or 860 must still be achieved.

Item 2b
A student must achieve an overall high school GPA of 2.000 on a 4.000 scale based on the student’s high school transcript which includes all course work taken through the term immediately prior to graduation. There are no core course requirements for the NAIA. If the high school does not report GPA on a 4.000 scale, the institution’s registrar shall convert all high school grades to the 4.000 scale and establish the GPA. If the high school reports grades in percents then the NAIA institution is to receive high school’s percent grading scale. A student in the “C” range is considered to have met this requirement.

A student who has taken and passed the GED will be considered to have met the 2.000 requirement. The student must still meet the ACT/SAT requirement. A student who has been identified with a preparatory school for one full academic shall have the GPA achieved at the prep school combined with the overall high school GPA for application to the 2.000 requirement.

Item 2c
A student must graduate in the upper half of their high school graduating class based on the student’s high school transcript which includes all course work taken through the term immediately prior to graduation. High schools that do not rank students may elect to certify on official high school letterhead signed by the high school principal, headmaster, or registrar that if the high school were to rank their graduating class this student would have graduated in the upper half of the graduating class.

A student who graduates the equivalent of 50 out of 100 (50 percentile) will be considered to have graduated in the upper half of the graduating class.

Home-Schooled Students
To meet the NAIA freshman requirements a home-schooled student must receive the certificate (or equivalent) granted by the appropriate state agency verifying that the student successfully completed the home schooling requirements of that state. “Equivalent” can be interpreted in several ways but the key is that in some way the appropriate state has verified iin an official capacity that the student has fulfilled the proper home school requirements. The student must also achieve a minimum score of 18 on the ACT or 860 on the SAT as mandated under item 2(a).

In rare instances, a student may have been home schooled in a state that has no home school requirements or a state agency that can verify that the home school requirements have been successfully completed. In that instance the institution will need to seek an exception to the standard rule for the student under the process detailed at Article V, Section L of the NAIA Bylaws. In prior requests, a student who has scored well on the ACT or SAT has had an outstanding chance of receiving an exception.

International Students
An incoming international freshman student must meet the same requirements required of a domestic freshman student. If high school GPA and class ranking cannot be determined then the international student can be determined eligible by meeting the NAIA institution’s admission criteria for international students and by meeting the following NAIA criteria:

1. A minimum score of 18 on the ACT or 860 on the SAT as mandated under item 2(a).
   
   

2. Meet the entering freshman requirements as defined for students from each country in the most current Guide to International Academic Standards for Athletics Eligibility (GIAS on freshman form) published by the NCAA using AACRAO guidelines.