Nevada Cooperative Extension has an area-based structure in which 16 county Extension offices are organized into four administrative areas. Each area is administered by an area director. State specialists are supervised by department chairs in their respective campus-based departments.
A total of 55 questionnaires and cover letters were mailed with a return envelope to all field staff (area and county) and state specialists in the Nevada Cooperative Extension system. The questionnaire contained a 24-item scale adapted from the Organizational Communication Audit (Goldhaber & Rogers, 1979) to assess the amount of information currently received, information needed to be received, and the sources of that information. Specific items on the questionnaire pertained to internal communication issues such as performance expectations, advancement opportunities, personnel changes, decision making, developments in Extension, impact of changes, and sources of information. The response rate was 75% (24) for field staff and 89% (16) for state specialists.