Many other FRC Robotics teams also have these letters.
According to the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the following are the requirements for a scholar athlete award. This is a term that is occasionally used to refer to AVL, but it also can designate a high achieving athlete who is also high achieving in academics.
Enrollment - Student must be enrolled and participating in interscholastic athletics at an MHSAA member school.
2. Senior Status - Student must be a senior graduating during the 2016-17 school year.
3. Varsity Letter - Student must have prior to senior year won a varsity letter in a sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a post-season tournament. The list of sponsored sports include: baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls bowling, girls competitive cheer, boys and girls cross country, football, boys and girls golf, girls gymnastics, ice hockey, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, softball, boys and girls skiing, boys and girls swimming and diving, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, girls volleyball, and wrestling.
4. 3.50 GPA - Student must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. You may not round up a 3.4x grade point average for the purposes of qualifying.
Most schools list the requirements on their websites, though it may require a little bit of searching.
The majority of the requirements for AVL's include a GPA, usually around a 3 or 3.5 if the school uses a 4.0 scale. Some require that the students be involved in a scholastic sport, but not all. The schools also at times mandate that the students in consideration be a graduating senor, or a junior.
The following forum is a dedicated forum for robotics students across the world. One of the threads showcases the various requirements that must be met in order to obtain a letter. A good example of this is:
Pioneer High School / FRC 1076 Pi Hi Samurai gives out varsity letters. They are relatively rigorous to attain though (only about 10 of the 48 students on the team will qualify), involving excellent attendance in build sessions, competitions, and volunteering.
FIRST Robotics encourages community outreach and service, in addition to the standard robot build and fundraising activities that are the norm.
The process can be somewhat time consuming, as it will require multiple appeals, unless the board of education is very favorable toward the letters.
Being awarded a varsity letter can be different. I was not awarded my letter in the standard way. As robotics was at the time the only activity that awarded letters for academics, the advisers and mentors were free to dispense the letters in the format they see fit. I was awarded mine just recently, over the homecoming weekend, even though my graduation was 4 months prior.
I agree with the idea of implementing academic varsity letters. I feel it is a great way to encourage more students to join more academic clubs. I also think that the requirements to obtain an AVL are a good measure to have. These requirements push a student to not only work harder but apply themselves more. If they want it bad enough, it can be achieved through dedication. I also think it is really great that your robotics team requested that your school implement a program for AVLs. Congrats on your AVL!
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