Mission Statement

Mission Statement

Engagement, Participation and Leadership

Vision and Values Statement

  • To engage students in learning through quality instruction and collaborative communication
  • To foster student success in academic and professional leadership
  • To provide opportunities for faculty to be industry leaders through scholarly activity and service
  • To advance a dynamic curriculum that meets the needs and trends of the profession
  • To be recognized as a program of study that is recognized for producing outstanding recreational professionals
  • To develop partnerships among faculty, alumni, and the community that provide the foundation for advancing the knowledge of the profession

Department Strategic Goals

To provide quality instruction that meets the demands of a dynamic changing profession

  • To provide courses that meet the needs of a diverse student population
  • To continue to deliver a cutting edge curriculum that leads to successful student outcomes
  • To foster growth and a sense of community in student leadership within the department, college and university and community
  • To develop teamwork, collaboration and a spirit of collegiality among faculty and students
  • To commit to excellence in serving the community through the development of partnerships with alums and other community based programs and services
  • To provide and support opportunities for faculty to engage in scholarly activity that will foster growth and development in academic leadership in the profession
 

Expected Learning Outcomes for the Degree Program
Student success and professional leadership

Completion of a professional portfolio which consists of a resume, cover letter, personal awards/honors and a culmination of all major assignments and academic work that is relevant to the recreation industry.  The portfolio is graded based on completeness as well as usefulness in obtaining a job based on the materials provided.

Written communication skills

ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ are required to write a capstone paper defining their personal philosophy of recreation, leisure and play. Faculty review and rank order the top papers for a departmental award. Faculty base their decisions on the student’s ability to write and effectively communicate their personal philosophy and future focus in the recreation industry.
Therapeutic Recreation (TR) students are required to complete and verbally present a project/paper that defines the profession of Therapeutic Recreation and practice perspectives based on a policy and procedure manual.
ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ are expected, during their internship, to provide feedback to a faculty supervisor in the form of bi-weekly reports, a mid-term and final evaluation and other special reports.

Eligibility for state/national professional certifications in Therapeutic Recreation.

All students who declare Therapeutic Recreation as a certificate, either in conjunction with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or a stand alone certificate, will be eligible to sit for both the state and/national certification exams at the completion of their academic programs. An annual review of all TR students (in REC 451 the capstone TR course) is conducted to determine who are eligible to graduate via the certificate program checklist and verification form. Industry standards and requirements are continually monitored to assure the curriculum is up to date and meets the standard qualifications for students to be eligible to sit for both exams.

Information competency

 At the end of their internships, all students are evaluated by their site supervisors assessing their competencies of knowledge based on the Recreation and Leisure Studies curriculum.  Site supervisors fill out an evaluation and send it in to the internship supervisor with the student’s final performance evaluation. Overall scores of competency are reviewed annually by the Department Chair and reported in the annual Accreditation report for the Department. Areas of concern are identified and faculty, at the annual fall retreat, discuss and determine changes and modifications to the curriculum to enhance student competencies.