Denison Algebra + NCAA Curriculum Approval

An Overview 

           Student-Athletes who wish to continue their sport in college may need to have high school courses approved through the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).  Note that this only applies to sports governed by the NCAA.  However, if it is an NCAA sport, your student’s high school courses should be carefully planned according to NCAA regulations.  Unfortunately, this can be especially challenging for home school students (no shocker).  But have no fear, this overview will provide some clarification for Student-Athletes who are taking (or interested in taking) Denison Algebra courses.  

           Denison Algebra is considered a “Home School Curriculum” (as opposed to a “Non-Traditional Program”) because it meets the following criteria from the NCAA:  The parent or guardian determines the student’s comprehension of the material by grading and evaluating student performance, determines the overall grade the student achieved in the course, and either places the grade on a transcript/graduation report or reports the grade to a transcription agency or entity.  Unfortunately, the NCAA does not preapprove home school curriculum, so any Denison Algebra course must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by submitting a “Core-Course Worksheet” to them in your student’s name.   

           To be eligible for D1 schools, a student needs three math core-courses.  For D2 schools, a student only needs two math core-courses.  Templates of the core-course worksheets for our Standard Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 are provided below.  Note that you should put your name as “Teacher of Record”, not Mr. Denison (if you put his name, it will not be considered a home school curriculum).  More information can be found on NCAA’s website or in their free (and quite helpful) Home School Toolkit. 

           The magic question is whether Denison Algebra courses would be approved by the NCAA.  Although we cannot guarantee anything (again, there is no preapproved curriculum), we strongly believe that it would be approved.  Our courses are taught with the same rigor, length, and material as almost all other math curriculum, whether home school or not.  Denison Algebra is also traditional and secular, and therefore unlikely to raise any problems in the vetting process.  Parents have attested that other common home school math curriculum such as Shormann Math, DIVE Math (a Shormann program which uses Saxon curriculum), Mr. D Math (when taught by a certified, live instructor), Math-U-See, and Teaching Textbooks have been approved for their students in the past.  These courses are certainly on the same level as Denison Algebra, so their success indicates that ours would be approved as well. 

        As a young company, we have not yet had a Student-Athlete go through the NCAA process using our courses (to our knowledge).  So unfortunately, we cannot guarantee anything.  However, we believe that our courses would be competitive for the NCAA should you choose to use Denison Algebra.  

NOTE: Maintaining thorough and clear documentation of your student’s work throughout all high school courses will be extremely helpful during this process.  Be sure to save all assignments, tests, and final grades for your student in case the NCAA requires additional documentation from you.