NCAA weighs allowing online credits

The NCAA may pass a new rule allowing Division-I athletes to take more online courses, ending a policy that only allows online elective courses taken as a supplement to the 13 credits of classroom-based courses it requires per semester.
Boston University Senior Assistant Director of Athletics Nancy Lyons said the proposal will expand the definition of accepted distance learning to include correspondence and online courses if the proposal is passed.
‘I think [colleges] are trying to keep up with technology,’ she said. ‘The availability of online courses has exploded, so they should count toward a degree.’
University of Massachusetts-Amherst athletic director and National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics executive board member Joan Hopkins said people in college athletic administrations are still divided on the issue of online courses for student athletes. The N4A also submitted comments to the NCAA counsel on the proposal, according to Hopkins.
‘People think that it is someone trying to get away with something and get others to do their classes for them,’ he said. ‘However, I am hoping it will pass.’
The option of taking online courses will help student-athletes that already have a packed schedule, Hopkins said.
‘Student athletes’ schedules are so tight with required practice, conditioning, training and lifting weights,’ she said. ‘Sometimes they don’t have enough time in the day to fit classes in.’
Hopkins said she does not recommend students take online classes over traditional, in-class courses.
‘Most counselors believe faculty, in-room classes is the best way to learn,’ she said. ‘I would choose a person over online, but some students might need online classes in order to graduate in four years.’
College of General Studies sophomore Arthur Emma, a member of BU’s Division-I crew team, said online courses would help make room in his full schedule.
‘With the excessive amounts of athletic requirements, it would only make sense to give us more options,’ he said.
BU junior Farrell McClernon, a Division-I soccer player, said she has never considered taking an online course, but would consider it if the proposal passed.
‘Online classes are helpful, so we don’t miss lectures,’ she said.
McClernon said online summer courses would be especially beneficial because athletes would not have to be in Boston.
BU Office of Distance Education Assistant Director Eric Friedman said that while the NCAA proposal may provide a new choice for athletes, it will be hard for BU students to take advantage of the changes within the university.
The Office of Distance Education provides online programs strictly for online students, Friedman said. There is an undergraduate completion program, but it is not a program that on-campus students can take courses in, Friedman said.
‘Students must apply to be admitted into the program, just like an on-the-ground program,’ he said. ‘Right now we don’t have any students who are also BU athletes.’
However, the changes present new ideas, Friedman said.
‘If they are opening the door to internet courses it would be interesting to see if someday student athletes could take a complete degree online,’ Friedman said.
The NCAA legislative council will vote next month, and the proposal will go into effect Aug. 1, 2009, if adopted.