|
MC updates
physical
education program, adds new major in
Fitness and Sport
Management
Manchester College next fall will offer a new degree in response to
heightened interest in careers in sport management and fitness. And, the
1,100-student independent college is shelving its outdated health and
physical education label. Henceforth, it’s the Department of Exercise
and Sport Sciences.
The new major – Fitness and Sport Management – comes with three
concentrations that students will find interdisciplinary and
challenging, said Department Chair
Dr. Lana L. Groombridge. The major
replaces the Physical Education
degree, but does not increase credit-hour requirements. The
concentrations:
§
Fitness
§
Recreation and Youth Sport
§
Sport Management
Students who select Sport Management, for example,
will take
classes in advertising and accounting toward a bachelor of science
degree. Possible electives include organizational communication,
non-profit management and human resource management – courses offered in
other departments. Business faculty will include relevant assignments
for sport majors.
“Incoming students are looking for sport management,” Groombridge said.
“They need to know about marketing, management and operations ... so we
decided to provide a stronger major identity for those students.”
The college has begun marketing the new major to high school students
and anticipates an enrollment increase next fall because of the new
major. Currently, 114 students are seeking degrees within the
department.
Most area colleges do not offer business classes in their sport majors.
“Students need the business background, as
well as the ability to communicate,” Groombridge said.
The college will continue to offer a degree in athletic training, its
most popular Exercise and Sport Sciences discipline. Also popular is
physical education teacher training, along
with health education and adapted physical education,
all accredited through the Education Department.
Why the department name change to Exercise and Sport Sciences? “Students
don’t relate to physical education anymore,” said Groombridge. “They
think it is teaching. It has been an umbrella term that has outlived its
time. The
new title more accurately defines the breadth of our field.”
For more about the college, visit
www.manchester.edu or call toll-free 800-852-3648. |
