LaxTV Forums | A Forum About The MCLA

I know this is a rookie question, but are graduate students allowed to participate?

Short answer... yes, if they got their undergraduate degree at that school as well. There's more to it, but that's the basics of it. If a WSU grad student got his undergrad degree at WSU, he could play there, but if he got his undergrad at UW, he couldn't play as a grad student at WSU.

More to it that that. He would have to enrolled for 12 units per semester/quarter and the provision is for only 1 year of additional play as a graduate student, conditional on him having the year of eligibility left.

See? I told you there was more to it.

I thought that a grad student only had to be enrolled in what his institution deemed "full-time" for grad students?

TheNino57 wrote:I thought that a grad student only had to be enrolled in what his institution deemed "full-time" for grad students?

Common misconception on both the undergraduate and graduate level. Full time, to the MDIA, is 12 credits, regardless of what the institution considers full time. Only exception is a graduating senior in his final semester.

Don't make the same mistake Simon Fraser made a couple of years ago. Full time at that institution is 10 credits a term, I believe. Its players were taking just that many and when it was discovered that they were playing players who were 2 credits short of full time status, they had to forfeit games, drop the end of their season and lose their playoff spot. It wasn't a good time for them or for the league.

timekeeper wrote:Don't make the same mistake Simon Fraser made a couple of years ago. Full time at that institution is 10 credits a term, I believe. Its players were taking just that many and when it was discovered that they were playing players who were 2 credits short of full time status, they had to forfeit games, drop the end of their season and lose their playoff spot. It wasn't a good time for them or for the league.

Amen.

timekeeper wrote:Don't make the same mistake Simon Fraser made a couple of years ago. Full time at that institution is 10 credits a term, I believe. Its players were taking just that many and when it was discovered that they were playing players who were 2 credits short of full time status, they had to forfeit games, drop the end of their season and lose their playoff spot. It wasn't a good time for them or for the league.

Wow that seems like a lot of nonsense for a rule that fails to take into account that a university makes its definition of "full time" for a reason.

Band wrote:

timekeeper wrote:Don't make the same mistake Simon Fraser made a couple of years ago. Full time at that institution is 10 credits a term, I believe. Its players were taking just that many and when it was discovered that they were playing players who were 2 credits short of full time status, they had to forfeit games, drop the end of their season and lose their playoff spot. It wasn't a good time for them or for the league.

Wow that seems like a lot of nonsense for a rule that fails to take into account that a university makes its definition of "full time" for a reason.

Actually it promotes a level playing field across the country for 200+ MDIA teams. At some schools, full time is 3 or 6 hours. Where do you draw the line?

It is crucial as a national lacrosse league that we have consistent standards nationwide that define "full-time" student. It was very unfortunate that SFU lost their season (and please remember they reported their own violation)-- but consistency is vital.

The problem with SFU is that they are in Canada, and a credit hour in Canada is not the same as a credit hour in the U.S. . .so full time up there is different than in the States - but they chose to compete in the USLIA - so they have adjusted to meet USLIA standards and the league can maintain it's NCAA-like academic standards.

12 units is the standard throughout the United States for full-time student status-- at the undergraduate level.

Not exactly true Jas, if I remember correctly there are also plenty of U.S. schools -- like BYU and Washington State, if I remember correctly-- that define full-time status as less than 12 credit hours.

In the US, full time as it relates to qualification for receipt of a full financial aid package is defined as 12 credits per term. However, institutions may be on quarter systems, semester systems or trimester systems. They may offer classes on the block system or by modules. However an institution of higher education cares to define "full time" status, the only constant is the Department of Education's determination that no student taking less than 12 hours or credits or units a term shall receive a full time financial aid package. That's what the NCAA goes by to determine full time status and that's what the PNCLL goes by. I assume that means that's what the USLIA goes by.

So each of you is correct, to a certain degree. Regardless, it's an arbitrary standard but one that all of us who play under USLIA rules are bound to honor.

Brian, I should have just asked you in the first place. . . I should have known you'd have the financial aid stuff wired.