Day 8 CIC Database research in West Region 1-3

Today was the first day to start a new research project about the CIC database. The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) has five categories of membership: Institutional, International, Associate, Affiliate, and State Council. CIC’s total membership includes more than 700 colleges, universities, and organizations. Member institutions enjoy a range of benefits such as discounts on registration fees and access to member-only events and services, as well as connection with a network of college leaders. As assigned, my portion in this research was the West Region, including CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, UT, AZ, and NV. The database required some contact information of the Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), the Director of Athletics (AD), and the Career Director. Before my research, I needed to figure out the actual conception of SWA. It was an absolutely new notion for me because there was never a similar position in China. SWA’s position description and duties were a little difficult to understand at once. At first, I thought the SWA should be the female in some executive positions. However, this thinking deviated from the right direction and it was hard to find out SWA on the athletics webpages. According to the explanation of NCAA, the senior woman administrator (SWA) is the highest-ranking female involved in the management of an institution’s intercollegiate athletics program. The intent of the SWA designation is to promote a meaningful representation of women in the leadership and management of college sports. In other words, SWA could be both in charge of men’s and women’s sports business.