DII Alaska-Fairbanks Self-Reports Eligibility Violation
Division II University of Alaska-Fairbanks joined the long list of schools with eligibility certification violations over the last few years:
According to UAF, the infractions occurred when the institution’s advising and sports eligibility systems failed to alert students who hadn’t earned enough credits or who had switched majors without doing the official paperwork. To compete in athletics, students must progress toward a declared degree and earn 12 or more credits per semester with a minimum 2.0 GPA.
This type of violation, which more often than not involves avoidable administrative mistakes, has continued to work its way through Division II and the bottom of Division I. Most major violations of this type involve many more than 17 athlete; calling this a major violation is on the harsh side.
The result is an increase in academics and compliance staffing. UAF is adding two academic advising positions and a dedicated athletics staffer in the registrar’s office. Those positions, especially the registrar official, are more common at the biggest DI schools than in Division II.