REPORT OF THE

NCAA DIVISION III FINANCIAL AID COMMITTEE

 

 

1.      ACTION ITEM.

 

·              U.S. Military Annuitant Pay.

 

(1)         Recommendation:  Adopt noncontroversial legislation to amend NCAA Bylaw 15.2.2.1 (exempted government grants) to exempt U.S. military annuitant pay and other family member’s service-related death benefits from a student-athlete’s individual financial aid limit.

 

(2)         Rationale:  Currently, student-athletes cannot receive the U.S. military annuitant pay for educational purposes without having the benefit included in their individual limit.  However, this preclusion from the benefit causes student-athletes to be treated differently than nonathletes.  The U.S. military annuitant pay is a part of the military's pension program and is a legal benefit and entitlement for designated beneficiaries.  The annuity is disbursed only to students who are enrolled full time in school.  Student-athletes should not be precluded from receiving this entitlement when other full-time university students are eligible to receive the benefit without having it affect other scholarships or entitlements.

 

(3)         Estimated Financial Impact: Increased flexibility with student-athletes’ cost of attendance limit.

 

 

2.      INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

 

a.            Financial Aid Reporting Process - Level II Reviews.

 

(1)     The Financial Aid Committee reviewed 48 written justifications for institutional financial aid variances and identified three possible outcomes to the reviews:  (1) approve the institution’s justification; (2) approve the institution’s justification with conditions; or (3) do not accept written justification for financial aid variance and forward institution to NCAA enforcement services.  The committee noted that additional information may be requested, if necessary, from institutions that made a direct response to the committee’s initial questions but who still needed to provide specified information germane to the committee’s final decision.

 

[NOTE:  Final results of 2005-06 Level II reviews will be delivered as an addendum to this report at the Management Council meeting.]

 

 

(2)           NCAA staff, on behalf of the Financial Aid Committee, will send decision letters to institutions after all Level II justifications are reviewed and decided by the committee.  Committee liaisons are in communication with NCAA enforcement services staff about referrals.  The committee noted that all referrals made to enforcement will be treated as secondary violations and penalties will be driven by an educational emphasis, unless the enforcement services staff and Division III Committee on Infractions determines the violation to be major, requiring further investigation and corresponding additional penalties.

 

b.            Division III Financial Aid Committee Policies and Procedures.

 

The committee reviewed and adopted a policies and procedures document by which the committee’s objectives, policies and procedures are codified.  The committee suggested including additional details regarding the legislated composition of the committee and clarification of the conflict of interest and recusal policy.

 

c.             Legislating Financial Aid Reporting Process Variance and Review Procedures.

 

The committee discussed the proposal submitted by the University Athletic Association (UAA) to incorporate the four percent variance into the existing financial aid legislation and noted that the proposal has since been withdrawn.  While the UAA remains interested in the topic, they are comfortable with the current status of this process.  The committee recognized that there is no urgency to legislate the acceptable variance because there is only one year of data available and it is not possible to decipher any trends in the data.  The committee noted its commitment to review the financial aid variance threshold each year and re-emphasized that the variance threshold is not the legislative standard but rather a tool used to evaluate an institution’s compliance with the established financial aid legislation.

 

d.            Communicating Aggregate Results from 2005-06 Academic Year Reporting Process to the NCAA Division III Membership.

 

The financial aid reporting process was highlighted in the NCAA News.  As an educational initiative, the articles explained the referral process to enforcement, the review process going into the 2006-07 reporting cycle and provided reference points (e.g., quartile ranges) to enable institutions to compare themselves to other institutions.  The NCAA News and other Division III communication mediums (e.g., press release, Division III


Newsletter, Division III commissioners update, etc.) will deliver aggregate results from the 2005-06 financial aid reporting process to the Division III membership this spring.  Further, information on updates to the 2006-07 reporting process will be communicated prior to July 1, the first date to submit the next round of institutional financial aid data.

 

e.            Financial Aid Legislation and Reporting Process Educational Initiatives.

 

The committee discussed several upcoming educational initiatives on financial aid legislation and the reporting process overseen by NCAA staff.  These initiatives include presentations at the NCAA Regional Rules Seminars this spring, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics meeting in June, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) convention in July and the National Association for College Admissions Counseling convention in October.  The committee will review presentation content during its April teleconference.  Further, financial aid reporting process outcomes and updates will be forwarded to the NASFAA list serve, as direct communication with financial aid administrators is essential to the success of the reporting process.

 

f.              Review Division III Strategic Plan.

 

The committee reviewed areas in which the financial aid reporting process supports the Division III Strategic Plan.  The committee noted that the concept of no athletically related financial aid to student-athletes is a pillar of the Division III philosophy and that the reporting process, in conjunction with the educational initiatives, directly supports the strategic plan.

 

 

 

Committee Chair:  Dan Preston, Linfield College

Staff Liaisons:    Matthew Banker, Membership Service

                           Eric Hartung, Research

                           Ann Kearns, Research

                           Charnele Kennedy, Membership Services