The NCAA and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators announced that tuition for the NCAA/NACWAA Institutes will be drastically reduced starting with the summer 2010 programs.

Tuition to The NCAA/NACWAA Institute, formerly known as NACWAA/HERS, will decrease from $2,250 to $250. The NCAA/NACWAA Leadership Enhancement Institute and the NCAA/NACWAA Institute for Athletics Executives are held in alternating years, and tuition will decrease from $1,100 to $500. Registration will be online in the spring.

“The joint NCAA/NACWAA professional-development programs have played a key role in the advancement and retention of women in intercollegiate athletics management,” said Joni Comstock, NCAA senior vice president for championships. “This is a collaborative effort between the NCAA and NACWAA to retain the access for women to these programs.”

The Association provides grants for all three programs that are open to women from the three NCAA divisions.

“We know these are trying times for our schools,” said Karen Morrison, NCAA director of gender initiatives. “Many have had to reduce or eliminate professional-development dollars. We hope that the tuition drop means we can open this opportunity to more women and help our schools retain and develop staff.”

The NCAA/NACWAA Institute is a management-training program designed for coaches and administrators in intercollegiate athletics administration. This Level I program is offered twice annually. The programming mission is to retain women and provide tools to enhance graduates’ marketability and professional skills.

The NCAA/NACWAA Leadership Enhancement Institute provides advanced educational opportunities and professional development for NCAA/NACWAA Institute graduates who are looking for more in-depth training in designated areas of athletics administration. Topics include management/leadership styles, budget/finance/fund-raising strategies, career enhancement skills for the future and other contemporary issues. The format includes practical applications, case studies and interactive activities.

The NCAA/NACWAA Institute for Athletics Executives is by invitation only and offers a concentrated four-day program designed to enhance the careers of senior-ranking women in athletics administration. The curriculum focuses on leadership and communication strategies, contract negotiations, legal issues, fund-raising, searches and hiring processes and other critical issues surrounding athletics administration.

Through the years these programs have produced more than 1,000 graduates.

Jennifer Alley, who will retire on December 31 after 13 years of being the executive director of NACWAA, said conducting the institutes ranks high on the list of accomplishments in her career.

“It’s one of the proudest things I’ve been a part of,” Alley said. “Attendees have come up to me and said the programs have been life-changing or life-altering. It’s so wonderful to be a part of it and direct it. We get feedback and know that it has the impact that we hoped it would.”