The NCAA News - News and Features

September 22, 1997

New structure created for membership services staff

Several changes have been made aimed at putting the "membership service" back in the NCAA membership services staff.

The previous distinction between the compliance services and legislative services staffs has been eliminated, and in its place, five teams have been established to provide service in critical areas.

"We are bringing more resources to key areas during periods of peak demand," said John H. Leavens, group executive director for membership services. "There are more people to provide interpretations, to address academic waivers and to answer questions about the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse than ever before.

"The primary aim is to improve the quality of service."

The improvements are being made more through a change of approach than through the addition of personnel, although staff members are being added to aid with timely legislative interpretations. The new approach seeks to even out the work flow for staff by placing more responsibility in the hands of more people. The theory is that the bottlenecks previously produced by spikes in activity, such as the initial-eligibility waiver process every summer, will be reduced through more efficient personnel management.

As an example of how the change in approach will affect service, Leavens noted that up to 15 administrators now are trained in various segments of the NCAA's initial-eligibility waiver process. In the new membership governance structure, seven subcommittees play a role in initial-eligibility waivers, and each is now independently staffed.

The changes have permitted the staff to provide the membership with guidelines about what service can be expected.

"We have established a standard that within 72 hours of receiving an initial-eligibility waiver request, we will confirm receipt of the request and provide the institution with the name of its NCAA staff contact," Leavens said. "And, we intend to place all completed waiver requests before a committee for action within two weeks."

The change became effective August 1, and Leavens said that since then, those targets have been met without exception.

Leavens said that service also should improve in the handling of interpretations.

According to Leavens, the NCAA receives about 2,000 calls per week during peak periods. He said that a survey taken before the changes were made indicated that only 30 percent of those calling received a membership services assistant at the time of their call; the other 70 percent were handled through return messages that frequently resulted in "phone tag."

"It was not only inefficient," Leavens said, "but it promoted an image of the Association as unprofessional and unresponsive."

Since the changes have been made, the percentage of live responses to calls has climbed to 55 percent, which Leavens acknowledges "is not where we want it to be." However, the NCAA Executive Committee has approved additional staff in this area, with the expectation that the rate will improve to 80 percent during peak periods. Even without new staff members, however, Leavens noted that the reorganized group has achieved a 25 percent increase in the number of hours each week that the staff is available to take calls.

The five teams, and their leaders, are: