Department Information

The Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies enrolled 129 undergraduates and twenty-seven graduate majors during the 1998 spring semester. Undergraduate concentrations include both community and therapeutic recreation. Course enrollments for undergraduate courses averaged twenty-four students. During the semester, students from eighteen different academic departments were enrolled in recreation courses. There are currently twenty-six elementary education students taking Recreation and Leisure Studies as their second major course of study. The Department is staffed only by four full-time faculty members, five adjuncts, and a full-time secretary. The Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies is one of six departments within the School of Health and Human Resources.

Credentialing and National Standards

There are two national organizations charged with program recognition and curricula standardization within this discipline. The National Recreation and Park Association has established competency based criteria for accreditation in community recreation and certain specialization's, including therapeutic recreation. The National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification criteria includes therapeutic recreation courses, related course work in other related disciplines, and a 360 hour internship under a nationally certified professional in a pre-approved agency.

The Department is not accredited by the National Recreation and Park Association. Further, the Department is the only Recreation and Leisure Studies curricula offered, both bachelors and masters, within the Connecticut State University System. Our high ratio of students to faculty will seriously mitigate against our obtaining national accreditation.