February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and
Mansfield Universities are now
collectively known as Commonwealth
University.
California,
Clarion
and Edinboro Universities
of Pennsylvania are now Pennsylvania
Western University, or PennWest
for short.
While sport management, criminal
justice and conservation law
enforcement are included in the
program for the new universities,
they do not provide adequate
coursework on tourism and event
management, outdoor recreation
and natural resource management,
youth and community
development, and other specific
studies required for the basic competencies
of our industry's working
professionals.
As they painfully adapt to
changing fiscal, social and
academic expectations and
restrictions, colleges and
universities can't afford to
offer what students aren't
demanding.
Trends Across Universities
In other colleges, the Recreation
and Park major has lost both enrollments
and visibility as it becomes
absorbed into less-obvious
departments. Cheyney University's
Recreation and Leisure major is
housed in the Department of Business,
Education and Professional
Studies. East Stroudsburg University
has lost its accreditation from
the Council on Accreditation for
Parks, Recreation, Tourism and
Related Professions (COPART),
and its enrollment in its Recreation
Services Management program has
44 Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 3
been declining steadily throughout
the past decade.
These trends also carry across
other states. The University of Minnesota
dropped its Recreation Administration
program in 2020, citing
declining enrollment. Ithaca College's
Recreation and Leisure Studies
program is fighting a recommendation
to discontinue the entire department.
At the University of Utah, the
Department of Parks, Recreation
and Tourism is found in the College
of Health. At Kent State, the program
is offered among many others
in its School of Foundations, Leadership
and Administration.
From the view of park and recreation
providers, such tactics not
only undercut our future profession,
but also our communities'
livability and the healthful enrichment
of their residents.
But should we really expect our
higher education system to embrace
a poor return on their educational
investments?
As they
painfully adapt to changing fiscal,
social and academic expectations
and restrictions, colleges and universities
can't afford to offer what
students aren't demanding.
That's the reality. To its credit,
the new Commonwealth University's
website states it is " committed
to working with regional and
statewide employers to build shortcourse
and credentialing programs
for working professionals, as well
as traditional
students who are
looking to pick up specific certifications
and credentials as they progress
through their education. "
And that's the opportunity. Higher
education's role as a preparatory
network to the production of new
and emerging park and recreation
professionals is changing nationwide,
and with it comes an emerging
array of new possibilities.
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Issues and Trends
Overall enrollment in Pennsylvania's
state-run colleges peaked in
2010 and has since plummeted
about 25 percent, suffering from
the same trends troubling higher
education at large: historically feeble
state investment, a shrinking
pool of high school graduates, and
a saturated college marketplace.
And after a bruising year of
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemicrelated
enrollment
the
declines,
according
to an October 2022
report by Inside Higher Ed (tinyurl.
com/ms9bpysy),
current
evidence reveals a mixed bag: while
some colleges are reporting record
first-year classes and enrollment
increases, others are facing further
declines
- especially Black,
first-generation and low-income
students.
Among that shrinking pool of
high school graduates is a widespread
lack of awareness among
youth, parents and guidance counselors
of parks and recreation as a viable
career choice. The open secret
among faculty at many universities
is that parks and recreation is often
a " discovered " major, as upperclass
students seek a change in their
original majors.
A nationwide State of Education
Research brief
prepared
by GP RED (tinyurl.com/
2cwv5bwa) notes that related degree
programs are spread across
more than 20 names, which may
contribute to confusion of a professional
identity.
Exasperating the national trend
is the recruiting practices among
universities to market themselves
as a whole, rather than their specific
programs or departments.
Perceptions of the Field
Of course, readiness of the park
http://www.tinyurl.com/2cwv5bwa http://www.tinyurl.com/2cwv5bwa

February 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2023 - Parks & Recreation

February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 1
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 2
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 3
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 4
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 5
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 6
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 7
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 8
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 9
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 10
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 11
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 12
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 13
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 14
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 15
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 16
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 17
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 19
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 21
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 22
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 23
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 24
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 25
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 28
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 29
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 30
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 31
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 32
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 33
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 34
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 35
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 36
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 37
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 38
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 39
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 40
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 41
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 42
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 43
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 45
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 46
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 47
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 48
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 49
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 51
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 52
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 53
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 54
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 55
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 56
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com