NCAA Approves Measure To Deplete Diploma Mills

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The NCAA approved a rule that limits recruits from adding only one core course toward their college eligibility after they have graduated from high school. <br/><br/>Current rules require

Tuesday, May 1st 2007, 5:23 pm

By: News On 6

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The NCAA approved a rule that limits recruits from adding only one core course toward their college eligibility after they have graduated from high school.

Current rules require incoming freshman to complete 14 core courses in high school. That number will increase to 16 next year.

It was the latest move by the NCAA to weed out the ``diploma mills,'' nontraditional schools that sometimes do not meet accreditation standards. The NCAA has placed those schools under greater scrutiny since learning about University High School in Miami, a correspondence school that offered diplomas to students despite having no classes or instructors and operating almost without supervision. That case was first reported by The New York Times.

But the new rule could dramatically affect prep schools, which have become a more common avenue to athletes who have struggled in the classroom. Some recruits choose to attend prep schools to improve their academic standing, as well as play against stronger competition, before enrolling in college.

The NCAA believes there is a difference between attaining eligibility requirements at those schools and preparing to improve test scores or become a stronger student in college.

There will also be a waiver process in place that would allow the NCAA to consider each case individually.