The Division I Administration Cabinet and the NCAA research staff are working to develop a tool designed to assess the effectiveness of the reorganized Division I governance structure.

The assessment tool will use roster tracking, exit surveys, interviews with leadership and yearly reports from staff in addition to information gleaned from outside the structure.

“We need to assess the success, failure or need for improvement within the structure from those who are actually working in it,” said cabinet chair Rob Halvaks, senior associate commissioner at the Big West Conference. “At the same time, we need to have an assessment from the perspective of the broader membership to make sure they are comfortable with the process. It’s been a twofold approach: internal to the governance structure and external to those who are affected by it.”

The cabinet will review the assessment tool at its September meeting, including specific scripts for the leadership interviews, possible survey questions and an implementation timeline. The tool will be implemented based on the development of the governance structure over the next few months and the rotation of representatives within different bodies. The first terms will begin expiring in 2010.

Halvaks said it was part of the plan from the outset to keep tabs on the success of the reorganized structure. The reorganization eliminated the Championships/Competition and Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinets and replaced them with smaller, more nimble groups. The process also replaced the Management Council with a Legislative Council that reviews all legislation and a Leadership Council that advises the Board of Directors on strategic issues facing Division I.

“We knew (when the governance structure was reorganized in 2008) that we would not just sit idly by, but that we would investigate to see whether it was working,” he said. “We would be remiss if we said this new structure is the best way to go without getting feedback from those involved and those being served by the new structure.”