Evaluation of the NACWAA/HERS Institute for administrative advancement

The National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) and the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) organizations united 15 years ago to create a leadership development program for women in college athletics administration. The groups founded what is now known as the Institute for Administrative Advancement (IAA). Several studies of career paths of female athletics administrators have focused on successful leadership factors in college athletics and tactics for professional advancement. However, there is limited information about leadership development initiatives for female athletics administrators. This study's purpose was to determine the background characteristics of female athletics administrators who enrolled in the IAA program, and in addition, examine IAA graduates' perceptions of the IAA goals and curricular components. A survey including 24 demographic, two four-point Likert-scale and five open-ended questions was electronically transmitted to every IAA graduate since 1995 (N = 854). Two-hundred eighty-nine subjects responded yielding a 33.8% response rate. Results indicated that IAA attendees were typically between the ages of 29 and 43, 76.7% held Master's Degrees in Sport Administration, Education or Exercise and Sport Science, and 74.9% competed as varsity athletes in college. The typical respondent has worked at one or two colleges throughout her career, and her primary area of responsibility within a college athletics department is Compliance or Facility/Game Operations. The typical IAA graduate perceives that the IAA and its curricular components are effective at achieving the program's goals. This research supports that the IAA is a valuable professional development program for women