The NCAA national office is applying technology to benefit institutional personnel in how they access NCAA business applications online.

In an effort called “single-source sign-on,” a new system this spring will give institutions control of who can access various NCAA applications online and in turn give those users easier and appropriate access for the job functions they perform.

Currently, all institutional personnel can access just about any business application on the NCAA Web site as long as they have the institutional log-in information (user name and password). While that approach was sufficient when there were only a few simple applications online, the growth in the number and complexity of the applications and the information they contain has made it desirable for institutions to better control who accesses what.

The new system will require institutions to designate the kind of access (no, full or partial) for each application and each individual. For example, an institution may decide to afford its compliance director with full access to every application but limit access to certain applications for coaches.

The Legislative Services Database (LSDBi) is a good example, said the NCAA’s Kevin Lennon, vice president for academic and membership affairs. When that application was begun years ago, it contained only the information that allowed people to track legislative proposals, the most up to date legislation and interpretations. Now, as wavier and student-athlete reinstatement cases and case precedent information are included on LSDBi, that information might not be appropriate for everyone to access.

“The goal is to provide institutions more control over who has access without compromising people’s ability to do their jobs,” Lennon said. “We believe the single-source sign-on approach provides a tremendous boost in efficiency and adds a layer of protection for various levels of information.”

While Lennon’s academic and membership affairs group at the national office is the first to pilot the single-source sign-on approach, the effort is expected to eventually become an office-wide initiative.

Later this month, institutions will be asked to designate at least two people who then would have the authority to create user accounts. Those designees will allocate full or partial access to their athletics department personnel and others on campus who need to work with these applications.

Under the new system, individuals will log on with an institution name and password, then enter an individual name and password. Once in the system, users will see a list of applications that they have been approved to access. Previously, users would have to log in to each application individually and have the appropriate user name and password for each application.

The rollout this spring will include primarily applications in the academic and membership affairs area (LSDBi, Compliance Assistant, the Eligibility Center, etc.). Other applications will be added later, such as championships host reporting, revenue-distribution information, the Division II Academic Tracking System and others. The effort is intended as an office-wide approach.

The system is expected to be fully operational in April or May.