CoSIDA Members:
Thanks to the many members who took time to participate in the 2019 CoSIDA membership survey. We sincerely appreciate the information and comments you shared.
Below you will find the membership survey executive summary and a PDF of the survey results. The PDF contains hard data, graphs/charts and summaries. The CoSIDA Board of Directors and CoSIDA staff will continue to analyze and review all the comments provided in the survey.
Convention Survey: Executive Summary and Survey Link
Link to the 2019 Membership Survey
The 2019 CoSIDA membership survey was available for one month (January-February 2019) and 412 members participated in the survey, or roughly 14% of our current members. Keeping in mind the percentage of members who responded, this gives us a snapshot of our membership.
Survey Participants
- 412 participants (81% male, 332; 19% female, 80)
- Majority of respondents – 59% - fell between the ages of 26-45
- In terms of full-time athletic communications work, 22% of the respondents have served 1-5 years; 18% served 6-10 years; 17% have 11-15 years of service
- Divisional levels of respondents: 143 from D1 (35%); 114 from D3 (28%); 90 from D2 (22%); 33 from NAIA (8%); 9 from two-year (2%); 9 from affiliated or others (2.1%); 6 multi-divisional (1.5%); 4 from U Sports/Canadian schools (1%)
Key Takeaways
• Responses to this survey closely mirror the comments and suggestions found in our annual Convention survey as people offer suggestions for professional development and how CoSIDA can "advocate" for the athletic communications professional. There is no lack of knowledge about the numerous CoSIDA member services/benefits we offer, although how people valued them differed.
• When asked "Do you believe CoSIDA is responsive to serving your divisional level?" the responses were overwhelmingly positive: 90% said YES (365 participants) and 10%, or 43 participants, said NO.
• 88% of the respondents said that the cost for CoSIDA membership/services is more than fair or fair.
• A total of only two respondents said they would NOT renew membership in 2020-21 – one was retiring and one is leaving the profession. Thus, 99.9% plan to renew.
Top Challenges Facing Our Members
• Time management and productivity challenges; getting administrators to trust them and/or gaining a trusted and a leadership position in higher athletic administration; keeping up with technology and trends in communications, particularly in social media and digital; adequate staffing and staff budgets; lower salaries than colleagues.
Value In Member Services Offered
The survey responses show that all our services/benefits offered are recognizable and that the ones marked "most valuable" and "highly valuable" are the annual convention, Special Awards, grant programs, CoSIDA Recognition Week, After Hours events.
There was no call for new or different member services. The CoSIDA staff will continue to enhance membership services/benefits and work to make improvements. Moving forward, the emphasis will be on doing better in what we as an association offer and exploring ways to be more effective with our membership benefits/offerings.
Advocacy Issues
Although CoSIDA needs to be realistic about what our influence and abilities can be in the advocacy area, the survey comments show our members would like the CoSIDA leadership to continue advocacy on behalf of the profession and on behalf of the individuals in our profession. CoSIDA's volunteer leaders and staff were praised for building the outreach and building relationships with external stakeholders who support CoSIDA and its members. There was a call for more work in the advocacy area. Please refer back to the "top challenges identified by our respondents" for the areas in which we can continue to advocate.
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