NCAA Core Course Requirements – Is the NCAA out of touch?
Starting August 2016 a high school student athlete must achieve a 2.3 core course GPA to be fully eligible for a Div I athletic scholarship. In addition, the student athlete must complete a total of 16 core courses before high school graduation, seven of those 10 core courses must be from a combination of English, math and natural/physical science; and 10 of those 16 core courses must be completed before starting the senior year of high school.
Core courses include the following: English; math; natural/physical science; social science; foreign language, comparative religion; and philosophy.
Sounds reasonable enough, I guess. However, the following classes are NOT considered core courses and therefore not factored into the required GPA for athletic scholarship eligibility: Art; Music; Personal Finance; Video Editing, Welding; Software Application; Website Construction; and Computer Repair.
Is the NCAA out of touch? Does this approach make sense in our increasingly service-industry, freelance economy? And how is “social science” more of an indicator of academic acumen than website construction? What occupation is in demand and gets more google hits between “local social scientist’ compared to “local website designer”?
Music is the first cousin of mathematics, Art teaches creative thinking, and Personal Finance is probably one of the most important classes a high school kid can take. But none of these classes is stressed as a “core course.” So where do expect a high school kid’s focus will be based on these standards?
A kid can BS his or her way through a philosophy exam but not so much when expected to play “Three Blind Mice” on the clarinet for a passing grade. Could the NCAA play Three Blind Mice?
Should the NCAA review its core course requirements?
