Term-in-ology. College athletics is not immune to industry acronyms or opaque concepts that can throw off the scent. With that in mind, Term-in-ology seeks each week to educate our readers on key NCAA definitions, terms of art, and policies and procedures encapsulating modern-day college athletics. If you are connected in any way to higher education, the business of education, or simply a college sports fan---this weekly morsel can help you decode college sports.
Transfer Residency Requirement and Conditions Affecting Transfer Status
A few student-athletes beginning the spring 2020 semester on your campus may have been student-athletes at a different institution during the fall semester. It’s not uncommon for college students, including student-athletes, to seek a fresh start on a new campus via a midyear transfer.
One of Division I’s general and longstanding principles related to transfers is the residency requirement. A student who transfers to a Division I member institution from any collegiate institution is required to complete one full academic year of residence at the certifying institution (the one to which the student-athlete transferred) before he or she would be eligible to compete for their second institution. The fulfillment of a full-time academic year is considered the transfer residency requirement.
Suffice it to say, NCAA rules enumerate many exceptions to the transfer residency requirement, ranging from legislated exceptions (e.g. non-recruited/non-scholarship) to NCAA waivers granting a student-athlete relief from the transfer residency.
One other term of art closely tied to the transfer residency requirement is “conditions affecting transfer status.” Before a transfer student-athlete considers the ramifications of serving a year in residency, he or she needs to be sure that their enrollment status from one school to the next is considered a transfer action in the eyes of the NCAA. Here are examples of conditions affecting transfer status:
The student attended a class or classes in any quarter or semester in which the student was enrolled in a minimum full-time program of studies, even if the enrollment was on a provisional basis and the student was later determined by the institution not to be admissible;
The student is or was enrolled at an institution in a minimum full-time program of studies in a night school that is considered to have regular terms (semesters or quarters) the same as the institution's day school, and the student is or was considered by the institution to be a regularly matriculated student;
The student attended a branch school that does not administer an intercollegiate athletics program, but the student had been enrolled in another collegiate institution prior to attendance at the branch school;
The student attended a branch school that conducted an intercollegiate athletics program and transfers to an institution other than the parent institution;
The student reported for a regular squad practice (including practice or conditioning activities that occur prior to certification) announced by the institution through any member of its athletics department staff, prior to the beginning of any quarter or semester, as certified by the athletics director. Participation only in picture-day activities would not constitute "regular practice";
The student participated in practice or competed in a given sport even though the student was enrolled in less than a minimum full-time program of studies; or
The student received institutional financial aid while attending a summer term, summer school or summer orientation program. A recruited student who receives institutional aid pursuant to Bylaw 15.2.8.1.4 is subject to the transfer provisions, except that a prospect (recruited or nonrecruited) who is denied admission to the institution for full-time enrollment shall be permitted to enroll at another institution without being considered a transfer student.
On the flip side, there are certain enrollment scenarios that would not trigger transfer status. This would include enrolling in another institution’s summer school or branch school as well as participating in a regular, joint academic exchange program co-sponsored by two four-year institutions where, upon completion of the program, both sponsoring institutions provide the student-athlete at least two bachelor’s or equivalent degrees at the conclusion of the program.
With the chatter swelling on the future direction of NCAA transfer policies including transfer exceptions, this Term-in-ology is intended to give our readers the baseline transfer definition and corresponding residency requirement applicable to a transferring student-athlete who does not meet an NCAA transfer exception that would permit them to compete right away at their next institution.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
