Student-Athlete Athletic Hold:

 
All current student-athletes have an "Athletic Advisement" hold (below) placed on their student account. This hold is to ensure that all student-athletes communicate with the Athletic Academic Coordinator for their designated sport prior to making any changes to their class schedules and degree program (changes to major, minors, concentrations, etc.).


 

When a student-athlete needs to make any of the above listed changes, they must contact their Athletic Academic Coordinator to further discuss the requested changes and how those changes may or may not impact their NCAA athletic eligibility. When approved to make the requested changes, the Athletic Academic Coordinator will remove the "Athletic Advisement" hold to allow for the necessary changes to be made and will re-apply the hold once the changes are completed. The hold is also removed to allow for student-athletes to register during the student-athlete priority registration process.
Please Note: This hold does not impact or interfere with any other university processes.

NCAA Academic Eligibility Requirements:
 

There are many NCAA Rules/Regulations which Division I student-athletes must meet in order to maintain their athletic eligibility. The below benchmarks/rules are referred to as “Satisfactory Progress”. Some of the standards progress on a year-to-year basis (# of hours toward degree and GPA), while others are constant and remain the same for every semester (6 hour and 18 - hour rule). All student-athletes must meet or exceed the following academic standards to maintain athletic eligibility.

** Football ONLY: All football student-athletes must pass a MINIMUM of 9 Hours during each fall semester and earn the APR eligibility point entering the spring semester.  If a student-athlete passes less than 9 hours, he puts himself at risk of missing up to 4 games during the next season. **

• Link to NCAA DI PTD/ Academic Requirements
• You must be enrolled full time each semester to be eligible for practice and competition.  You will be declared ineligible for competition if you drop below full time (12 hours at NSU). *NOTE: If you fall below 12 hours and continue to participate in athletics you are also putting your team at jeopardy with the possibility of forfeiting wins.
• Repeated courses are counted for eligibility only once and only when you achieve a satisfactory grade for your declared major.  A grade of ‘F’ is not counted for eligibility and may be repeated.
• No more than 6 hours of remedial credit may be counted for satisfactory progress.  These hours can be counted only during your first academic year of collegiate enrollment.
•  A student-athlete must be in good academic standing according to the policies of the institution to be eligible for participation.

Academic Monitoring and Progress Reports:

Athletic Academic Coordinators conduct various forms of academic monitoring throughout the semester including:

• Communicating with professors/instructors via email/phone
• Reviewing and discussing 5-Week and Midterm grades with student-athletes and coaches
• Regular meetings with student-athletes to discuss academic progress, set goals, and develop strategies for academic success
• Progress report requests sent 2 times a semester to collect feedback from professors/instructors on how each student is doing in their course(s)
• Class checking for student-athletes in the Enhanced Academic Program (EAP)

Priority Registration:
 
NSU student-athletes are included among a select group of students on-campus who have the opportunity for priority class registration each semester. This procedure is designed to prevent, as much as possible, scenarios in which a student-athlete will have a class scheduled at the same time as a team practice. Student-Athletes are required to complete an Athletic Registration Advising Sheet in collaboration with their designated department academic advisor and return the sheet to their Athletic Academic Coordinator in order to utilize priority registration.

Study Hall:

• Required for all incoming student-athletes
• Required hours for returning/continuing student-athletes are based on GPA, semester performance, and team/coach requirements
• Objective based for student-athletes in the Enhanced Academic Program (EAP)
• Use of computer lab, with free printing
• ALL student-athletes must check-in at the front desk with their student ID regardless of having required study hall hours or not

Student-athletes can use GradesFirst to track their study hall hours.
 




Grades First Log In: http://nsudemons.gradesfirst.com
 
How to Update Your Password

1. Sign onto Grades First with the provided username and password
2. In the lower right-hand corner, click on the "Update my Password" link
3. Type in new password
4. Retype new password
5. Click "Save new Password"

Tutoring:

Individual and group tutoring is available in the student-athlete academic center for various subject areas. Please contact your assigned Athletic Academic Coordinator for details and to request a tutoring appointment.

Exam Proctoring:

Many courses require exams to be proctored either through the NSU Testing Center or online through ProctorU or LockDown Respondus Browser. There is NO charge for NSU students to have an exam proctored at the NSU Testing Center or through LockDown Respondus Browser. However, students needing to take a proctored exam via ProctorU, etc. will need to cover the fee to do so.
To schedule a proctored exam at the NSU Testing Center, please click on the link below. Please plan your schedule accordingly and note that the Testing Center is only available
Monday - Thursday: 8:00AM - 1:00PM and Friday: 8:00AM - 12:00PM.
NSU Testing Center Proctor Request Form

Travel Letters:

Each team receives printed travel letters by their Athletic Academic Coordinator for each of the student-athletes on the travel roster at the beginning of the semester in which they are anticipated to travel for competition. Student-athletes are responsible for providing their travel letters to each of their professors at the beginning of the semester and before the first date of travel. Travel letters are intended to assist student-athletes in communicating with their professors regarding anticipated class absences due to athletic related team travel that may conflict with exams, assignments, or other course requirements. Athletic Academic Coordinators also help communicate official team travel with professors via an email confirming dates and times of travel prior to departure.  It is the responsibility of the student to meet and/or contact their professor(s) regarding any missed class work and assignments.

NSU Student-Athlete Academic Integrity:
Student-athletes are expected to maintain the academic integrity of the university.  Northwestern State University or the Athletic Department will NOT tolerate academic Dishonesty (or Infractions). Please refer to the NSU Student Handbook for a list of Academic Infractions and Consequences/Sanctions for Academic Misconduct.

Online Course Policy: Student-Athlete Expectations and Requirements for Taking an Online Course
 

Academic Honors and Recognition:
Demon student-athletes are eligible to earn and be recognized for a variety of academic awards, including but not limited to: