24/36 Hour Rule - NAIA

24/36 Hour Rule
L E G I S L A T I V E S E R V I C E S • R U L E S E D U C A T I O N
NAIA Basics of Eligibility: 24/36 Hour Rule
Welcome to a discussion of the NAIA’s 24/36 Hour Rule.
24/36 HOUR RULE
NAIA National Office • 1200 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64106 • 816.595.8000 • Resources at www.naia.org/member-services 1

If a student …
Competes in a contest
Is enrolled in 12 hours and attends one
class while being enrolled in 12 hours
Identification
Ways a student identifies with your institution.
24/36 HOUR RULE
Charged with season
Charged with term
Charged with term
This rule applies to students once they have been enrolled in your institution or any collegiate institution for two terms, whether it’s
two semesters, two quarters or two trimesters.
Before we go any further, we need to discuss which academic terms must be counted. In the NAIA, terms are countable when a
student “identifies” during a term. There are two ways for a student to identify. The first is by playing in a contest against another
team. Regardless of anything else, if the student plays in a contest representing an institution against another team, the student has
identified.
The second way a student can identify is by being enrolled in 12 hours and attending one class. Again, if the student enrolls in 12
hours and attends one class, the student has identified. No subsequent action by the student or the institution can change
identification. This is true even if the student withdraws from all courses the day after attending class and that institution’s transcript
does not show the student enrolled during that term. This makes it very important for you to interview the student carefully when the
student fills out the transfer form and the competitive experience form.
Once the student has identified during two terms, the student must have 24 hours to be eligible. If we are talking about quarter
institutions, once the student has been enrolled for three quarters, the student is going to be responsible for having earned 36 hours
going forward. The other important thing to remember, and this is true with all NAIA eligibility rules, is that we certify on aterm-by term basis, which means this is a rolling 24/36 hours.
The way this rule works is that you look at the student’s previous two terms or previous three quarters to determine whether the
student has earned the requisite hours. I am going to use semester hours as an example, but the same rules apply for a student in
the quarter system.
NAIA National Office • 1200 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64106 • 816.595.8000 • Resources at www.naia.org/member-services 2

4th
academic
year
3rd
academic
year
2nd
academic
year
1st
academic
year
Certify for Fall 2009
12
hours
earned
Continuing Eligibility
24/36 hour rule
28
hours
4 hours Summer 2009
24/36 HOUR RULE
NAIA National Office • 1200 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64106 • 816.595.8000 • Resources at www.naia.org/member-services 3
12
Fall 2008 Spring 2009
hours
earned
To compete, must have 24 hours during the student’s previous two terms or
36 hours during the student’s previous three quarters.
If you are certifying a student in the fall of 2009 and the student has been a continuous student, you would look
back at spring of 2009 and fall of 2008 and count the number of hours earned to determine whether the student
has met the 24 hour rule. You can include the immediate previous summer in this example. The student must
have earned 24 hours total during the previous fall and spring. As you can see in this example, the student
earned 28 hours.

4th
academic
year
3rd
academic
year
2nd
academic
year
1st
academic
year
8
hours
earned
12 hours enrolled
12
hours
earned
Fall 2009
Continuing Eligibility
24/36 hour rule
4 hours Summer 2009
24/36 HOUR RULE
Certify for Spring 2010 24
hours
NAIA National Office • 1200 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64106 • 816.595.8000 • Resources at www.naia.org/member-services 4
12
Fall 2008 Spring 2009
hours
earned
To compete, must have 24 hours during the student’s previous two terms or
36 hours during the student’s previous three quarters.
When you go to certify the student in the spring 2010, you would look at the fall just completed and the
previous spring. Look at any summer hours the student would have earned during that intervening time.
In this example, the student earned credit for eight of the 12 enrolled in Fall, 12 hours in previous spring, plus
the four summer hours for 24 total.

4th
academic
year
3rd
academic
year
2nd
academic
year
1st
academic
year
Certify for Fall 2010
8
hours
earned
12 hours enrolled
12
hours
earned
Fall 2009
Continuing Eligibility
24/36 hour rule
4 hours Summer 2009
24/36 HOUR RULE
NAIA National Office • 1200 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64106 • 816.595.8000 • Resources at www.naia.org/member-services 5
22
hours
2 hours Summer 2010
12
hours
earned
12
Spring 2010
Fall 2008 Spring 2009
hours
earned
To compete, must have 24 hours during the student’s previous two terms or
36 hours during the student’s previous three quarters.
Moving forward to Fall 2010, this example shows the student’s 12 hours in spring 2010 with the eight earned in
Fall 2009 plus the two summer hours. This does not add up to the 24 required.
In each of these examples, you’ll note that it possible for the student to earn hours during summer terms or inter
terms to meet the requirements of the 24-hour rule, but the student is limited to 12 hours during summer or other
non-terms. Other than summer, the only other non-terms you can have are when a student enrolls in less than
12 hours during a term or when a student earns hours during an inter-term and the student needs those hours
to be eligible. Again, the student is limited to 12 non-term hours.
Remember, the 24/36 hour rule is a snapshot of the previous two terms. You can’t bank hours two years ago to
get you through this now. This is why in these examples, hours outside of the two previous terms are grayed
out, they can’t be used. You have to have earned 24 hours during your previous two semesters.

Continuing Eligibility
24/36 Exceptions
• Student participation and withdrawal from institution prior to start of
academic term. (Note: Progress Rule still applies)
• Junior College transfer who needed less than 24 hours during last two
semesters to get associate’s degree:
– Identified in no more than five semesters
– Passed all hours during term in which degree was earned
• First term of collegiate competition:
– If in first four semesters - Must meet freshman eligibility rules
– If in semesters five and above – 2.0 GPA in all courses
attempted at all institutions.
24/36 HOUR RULE
There are three exceptions to the 24/36 hour rule. The first two are not used as often as the third exception, but let’s review all three.
The first exception occurs when a student participates prior to the start of a term, but then withdraws from the institution prior to the start of
the term. In this case, you do not have to use the term in determining whether the student meets the 24/36 hour rule. Please note that this
still counts as a season of competition for the student and this participation will affect the student’s requirements in regards to the progress
rule.
The second exception is for students transferring to your institution from a two-year college. If the student needed less than 24 hours during
the last two terms to get an associate’s degree, the student may be eligible for this exception. There are a few conditions. First, the student
must not have identified in more than five semesters prior to the term in which you wish to certify the student. Second, the student must have
passed all hours during the term in which the degree was awarded. If the student meets all of these requirements, the student does not have
to meet the 24/36 hour rule. In order for this student to use the exception after the first term at your institution, the student pass at least 12
hours in his/her first term at your institution.
Finally, the most common exception to this rule is available to students who have not competed previously in any sport at any collegiate
institution. The student is exempted from the 24/36 hour rule if she or he meets the following conditions. A student who is in his/her first four
semesters or six quarters can use the exception provided the student met NAIA freshman eligibility standards. If the student is in semester
five or quarter seven or above, the student must have a collegiate GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. The GPA must be calculated on the basis of all
transcripts from all institutions the student has attended.
Again, the 24-hour rule is a simple rule, but one that prevents many students from participating. If a student has a poor academic term, it is
important that you advise the student to make up any deficiency before the next certification period.
NAIA National Office • 1200 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64106 • 816.595.8000 • Resources at www.naia.org/member-services 6