Home - University Rules - Procedures for Athletic Scholarships
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13.03.01.C3.01 |
Procedures for Establishing and Awarding Athletic Scholarships |
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Approved November 21, 2001 |
| 1. | GENERAL | ||
| 1.1 | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi offers athletic scholarships that recognize athletic ability. As stated in University Rule 13.03.01.C3, athletic awards are competitive and selection is based upon athletic ability and compliance with academic standards set by the University and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Oversight responsibility for all athletic scholarships awarded by the institution rests with the Athletic Scholarship Committee. For more information on the committee, please see the rule. | ||
| 1.2 | Below is an explanation of the procedure for establishing an athletic scholarship, the process for awarding scholarships, the criteria used in awarding scholarships, the conditions governing the renewal of scholarships, the process for appealing a decision to withdraw a scholarship, and related topics. | ||
| 2. | ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOLARSHIPS | ||
| 2.1 | Monies to support scholarships are received in the Office of Institutional Advancement. Questions about setting up a scholarship should be directed to the Athletic Director; inquiries about the administration of scholarships should be directed to the Office of Student Financial Assistance. | ||
| 2.2 | The responsibility for formally acknowledging all athletic scholarship contributions and for identifying scholarship recipients to the donors resides with the Athletic Director. The Office of Student Financial Assistance will provide assistance in the identification process. In addition, the Athletic Director and Compliance Coordinator are responsible for the creation and maintenance of a master file on all scholarships. The file is to contain all details associated with the specific scholarship, its monetary amount, provisions, and awarding history. | ||
| 2.3 | Gifts from donors can be used to fund both athletic scholarship endowments and annual athletic scholarships. | ||
| 2.3.1 | Scholarship Endowment – An endowment preserves the principal of a gift to the University or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Foundation. In the case of scholarship endowments, the gift is invested and a portion of the earnings is used to fund the scholarship. The remaining earnings, if any, are reinvested each year to retain purchasing power. This method allows the endowment to continue to grow and thereby increases the scholarship award. Endowments offer a stable source of scholarship funds each year to the University. Currently a gift of $75,000 is considered to fully endow a scholarship in perpetuity. A partial endowment can be initiated for $37,500, or a smaller gift may be contributed and added to later. | ||
| 2.3.2 | Annual Scholarships - A donor may decide to give the Athletic
Department an amount to be used outright for scholarships, instead of creating
an endowment. Annual scholarships are generally awarded with a donor amount
of $10,000. These scholarships are essential to increasing the number of
students receiving scholarships each year. |
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| 2.3.3 | All gifts/donations must be coordinated through the Office of Institutional Advancement. | ||
| 3. | AWARD PROCEDURE | ||
| 3.1 | To apply for an athletic scholarship, students must complete a scholarship application and submit it along with required supporting documentation to the head coach of the sport they are pursuing. The head coach is responsible for forwarding the application and supporting documentation to members of the Athletic Scholarship Committee. (The committee membership consists of the faculty representatives of the Intercollegiate Athletic Council, and the committee is chaired by the Faculty Athletics Representative. For additional information, see University Rule 13.03.01.C3, Oversight of Athletic Scholarships, and the "University Committees and University Administrative Councils" document, which is accessible through the campus home page.) | ||
| 3.2 | The selection of athletic scholarship recipients and the awarding of scholarships shall be recommended by the coaches and confirmed by the Athletic Scholarship Committee. | ||
| 3.3 | Faculty members and any employees involved in scholarship administration will be required to sign a disclosure form on relationship to applicants. Members of the Scholarship Committee who are related to a scholarship applicant are required to disclose this information to the Chairman of the Scholarship Committee and should excuse themselves from the evaluation process for such an applicant. | ||
| 3.4 | In awarding athletic scholarships, priority will be given based on the head coach’s recommendation, athletic ability, potential for development, academic record, and past accomplishments. These applicants will receive scholarships provided that they meet all requirements and sufficient funds are available regardless of the academic year of the student-athlete (i.e. freshman, transfer, or graduate). The Office of Student Financial Assistance provides administrative support to the committee. The committee membership identifies the scholarship recipients. Students who are awarded scholarships must have been admitted to the University. Notification of scholarship awards is made by the Office of Student Financial Assistance. | ||
| 3.5 | The Athletic Director, head coach, and Financial Aid Coordinator are responsible for executing a scholarship agreement between the University and the student-athlete. A copy of this agreement will be forwarded to the student-athlete, Office of Student Financial Assistance, and the Compliance Coordinator. The Compliance Coordinator assigns an account number and advises the Office of Student Financial Assistance. | ||
| 3.6 | The date on which the Office of Student Financial Assistance is informed of the funds available for scholarship awards is March 30. Prior to the awarding process, the athletic department provides the Office of Student Financial Assistance with the projected funds available for the awarding of both endowed and non-endowed scholarships. (See 2.3 above.) | ||
| 4. | CRITERIA FOR AWARDING AND RENEWING SCHOLARSHIPS Decisions to award scholarships are based on factors such as the scholastic eligibility requirements, athletic ability, coach’s recommendation, potential for success at the Division I level, and the amount of funding available. The Office of Student Financial Assistance and the Compliance Coordinator monitor the progress of students who have been awarded scholarships and determine whether they are eligible for continuation of their scholarships. Decisions on the renewal of scholarships are based on a variety of factors (i.e., team status, maximum time frame for awarding scholarships, satisfactory academic progress, and the continued availability of funding). |
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| 5. | ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS | ||
| 5.1 | Freshman Scholarships Minimum qualifications to be considered for a freshman athletic scholarship are defined as being a qualifier or partial qualifier by the NCAA Division I Financial Aid Requirements of the NCAA Manual (see p. 140-146). |
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| 5.2 | Transfer Students | ||
| 5.2.1 | Transfer students may be eligible for athletic scholarships provided they meet the requirements set for by the NCAA Division I Manual (Section 14.5). | ||
| 5.3 | Graduate Students | ||
| 5.3.1 | New or entering graduate students must have athletic
eligibility remaining and be accepted into graduate school based on Texas
A&M University–Corpus Christi graduate school requirements. |
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| 5.3.2 | Existing graduate students must maintain good academic standing as defined by Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi and be enrolled full-time unless in their final semester of graduation. | ||
| 6. | ENROLLMENT STATUS AND TIME FRAME CONSIDERATIONS | ||
| 6.1 | Normally, only full-time students are awarded athletic scholarships. To be enrolled full-time, undergraduates must carry at least twelve (12) semester hours. Graduate students must carry at least nine (9) semester hours. | ||
| 6.2 | Scholarships for all types of students are generally awarded on a yearly basis unless a student-athlete enrolls mid-year. | ||
| 6.3 | Normally, athletic scholarships are renewed provided that the recipient continues to meet the athletic and academic requirements. | ||
| 6.4 | For the purpose of awarding and maintaining scholarships, the academic year consists of the fall and spring semesters. The first and second summer sessions are awarded at the discretion of the head coach, athletic director, and scholarship committee. | ||
| 7. | SATISFACTORY PROGRESS CRITERIA To qualify for renewal of their scholarships, students must make satisfactory academic progress as explained below. |
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| 7.1 | Conditions for Freshman, Transfer, and Graduate
Students During the year of enrollment, an athletic scholarship may only be altered in any way as set forth by Bylaw 15.3 of the NCAA Manual. Satisfactory progress to maintain an athletic scholarship during the year or to be eligible for an athletic scholarship the following year as defined in Bylaw 14 of the NCAA Division I Operation Manual and the “Financial Assistance” section of the Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi Catalog. |
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| 8. | APPEAL PROCESS | ||
| 8.1 | An applicant may appeal the denial of an athletic scholarship by submitting a letter and any supporting documentation to the Compliance Coordinator in the Department of Athletics. | ||
| 8.2 | Whenever a scholarship is withdrawn for failure to comply with the satisfactory progress criteria, the student may appeal the decision to withdraw the scholarship if mitigating circumstances prevented satisfactory progress. To appeal the withdrawal of a scholarship, the student should submit a letter describing the mitigating circumstances, with any supporting documentation, to the Compliance Coordinator in the Department of Athletics. | ||
| 8.3 | A decision on the appeal will be made by the Athletic Scholarship Committee, and the student will be informed of the decision as soon as possible. | ||
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Contact for Interpretation: Faculty Athletics Representative |
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