December 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 31

the baccalaureate program at a distance.
Nine respondents offered full master's degree programs via distance learning.
■■ Degree Emphasis: The most popular
emphases offered in undergraduate degrees
were Therapeutic Recreation (44 percent),
Outdoor Recreation (42 percent), General
(35 percent), and Tourism Management (31
percent). Among the emphases or options
within graduate degrees, Therapeutic Recreation was most frequently identified (16
percent), followed by Management/Administration (14 percent). Table 1 depicts the approximate average enrollment by program
among those respondents who reported a
specific emphasis at the undergraduate or
the graduate level.
■■ Faculty: The smallest reporting unit
showed one faculty member, while the largest unit reported 26 faculty members. An
average department is composed of three
male and two female tenure-track faculty
members, with the rest as non-tenure-track
employees (two male and two female respectively). Fourteen unit leaders (18 percent) responded the number of full-time
faculty had declined in the past five years,
whereas another 20 unit leaders (25 percent)
said this number increased. The majority (57
percent) responded that the number of fulltime faculty members had remained relatively constant, indicating that, as a field, we
have been stable in permanent faculty appointments during this period.
■■ Budget: Respondents were also asked
whether the financial support from the central university/college budgets for their academic programs had declined, increased, or
remained relatively constant over the past five
years. Twenty-nine (36 percent) said their budget support had declined, whereas another
23 percent responded that it had increased.
The largest percentage of unit leaders (41 percent) reported having maintained a relatively
constant budget during the past five years.
In the last part of the survey, unit leaders were asked to identify patterns of
enrollment in their programs within the
following emphases over the past five
years (Figure 1).

Conclusion
The past five years have encompassed a
period of economic stress in many colleges and universities-and certainly for the

country in general. That economic stress
has adversely affected the discipline, and
several programs have been closed during this time period. However, two-thirds

Add PROFITS to your BOTTOM LINE

And offer a healthy alternative
with a SUBWAY® franchise in your location
You can become
a SUBWAY ® franchisee
or lease space to one
of our experienced
franchisees. Find out what
parks & recreation locations
across the country already
know.
Contact Liz Smethurst
Call 800.888.4848 x 1398
E-mail:

Smethurst_L@subway.com
www.subway.com
*SUBWAY® FRESH FIT Menu is available in the US only.
SUBWAY® is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc. ©2011 Doctor's Associates Inc.

w w w . N R P A . O R G D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 Parks

& Recreation 25

December 2011 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2011 - Parks & Recreation