Page 254 - 2019-20 NJCAA Handbook - May, 2020

Student-Athlete R becomes immediately ineligible for competition at the time of the drop. There is a 48-hour window of
protection for the college. However, if Student-Athlete R enrolls in enough credits to regain full-time status during the fall term,
he/she may reinstate his/her eligibility and be eligible to participate as long as nine (9) of those hours start before the end of the
season; in this case because the sport is basketball all 12 hours of class must start before the end of the fall term. Student-
Athlete R must satisfy academic progress requirements to be eligible for the subsequent spring term.

Case 9
Withdrawing from Late Start Classes
SITUATION:
Student-Athlete R is a baseball player at Community College A and enrolls in 14 hours within the first 18 calendar days of
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the spring term. 11 hours of class start with the first day of the term and a three (3) credit hour class starts on March 1 .
Student-Athlete R is thinking about withdrawing from the late start class on March 4 . Assuming he does not add another class
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during the spring term to maintain full-time status. Does Student-Athlete R have 18 calendar days from March 1 (the first day
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of the late start class) to withdraw from that class and NOT have that term count as a full-time term?
ANSWER:
The 18 calendar days to withdraw from class starts with the first day of the term. Therefore, in this case the spring term will
count as full-time for Student-Athlete R since he did not withdraw to part-time status within the first 18 calendar days of the
spring term. Eighteen calendar days from the start dates for each individual class cannot be used in this rule. Because
Student-Athlete R withdrew to part-time on March 4 that term will count as a full-time term due to his withdrawal after the 18
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calendar day of the spring term. If he does not add enough hours to maintain full-time status, he will remain ineligible for the
remainder of the spring term.

Case 10
Withdrawing from the Summer Session
SITUATION:
Student-Athlete R has enrolled as a full-time student at Community College A for the summer term that is made up of two,
eight (8) week sessions. The student is taking three (3) hours during summer session I and nine (9) hours in summer session
II. If Student-Athlete R wishes to withdraw from one of his/her classes in summer session II does the 18-calendar day from the
beginning of the summer apply in this case to not have that term count as a full-time term?
ANSWER:
Student-Athlete R has 18 calendar days from the start of the summer session I to withdraw from those classes and 18
calendar days to withdraw from the start of the summer session II to withdraw from those classes to part-time status and not
have that term count as a full-time term towards eligibility. Although the student-athlete has taken and completed the summer
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session I class, he/she still has by the 18 calendar day of summer session II to withdraw from the one class and not have that
term count as a full-time term. In this case, the summer term is treated differently than a 16-week fall or spring semester.
However, if the college offers only one session during the summer and the student enrolls full-time by the 18 calendar day
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of the summer term that term counts as a full-time term. Likewise, the student would have until the 18 calendar day of the
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summer term to withdraw down to part-time status and not have that term count as a full-time term.

Break of Enrollment & Delay of Enrollment (Section 2.D.5)

Case 1
Break of Enrollment and Delay of Enrollment Statement Definitions

Break of Enrollment – A break of enrollment is when a student-athlete attends college full-time for at least one term and after
the end of that term he/she takes a “break” of not attending full-time for at least a period of one term, then enrolls again as a
full-time student. A statement must be provided in the eligibility for this student-athlete explaining what he/she was doing during
this break of enrollment. Was he/she attending part-time or none at all, was he/she working or not working, was he/she living at
home, etc?

Delay of Enrollment – A delay of enrollment is when a student-athlete does not enroll full-time in the term immediately
following high school graduation. (This term is not considered as the summer term for a May/June/July high school graduate.)
Like the break of enrollment, a statement as to why this student-athlete was not enrolled immediately after high school
graduation must be provided in the eligibility. The statement also needs to include what the student was doing during this time.

Enrollment Verification Prior to NJCAA National Championship (Section 2.D.6)

Case 1
Enrollment Verification Prior to NJCAA National Championship

SITUATION:
The basketball team at Community College A leaves campus on Monday afternoon for the National Championship. Prior to
departing, the Athletic Director checks that each basketball athlete is enrolled in full-time status and meets all NJCAA
requirements for participation. Monday evening, one of the student-athletes is administratively withdrawn by one of his teachers
from their class which drops the student below full-time status. Is the student-athlete eligible to participate in the National
Championship Tournament that begins on Sunday afternoon?
ANSWER: