By Sierra Smith

The NIRSA School of Collegiate Recreation, known widely as simply “The School,” holds its Level II curriculum only every three years.

It designs its program specifically for experienced mid- and upper-level administrators; attendees must have either four years of experience and completion of The School Level I or over five years of experience.

Another unique aspect of this professional development event is its small cap size. Limiting the registration allows for everyone in attendance to participate, engage with faculty, and individuate the take-aways for both their own personal development and that of their campus.

“An intellectual bootcamp” is how 2014 attendee, Anna Roskowinski, of the University of Maryland, describes the event. It “energizes and strengthens your critical thinking and view on higher education. It’s exhausting and brilliant all at the same time,” she explains.

Attendees presenting at the 2014 NIRSA School of Collegiate Recreation.

This year The School, held in Baltimore from June 1-5, brought together 47 attendees form colleges and universities across North America. Attendees were able to enjoy sessions led by the accomplished, engaging, and dedicated faculty members on topics ranging from social sustainability to remaining relevant. For attendee Rusty Vineyard, of Seattle University, a faculty-led session resulted in his most memorable moment of insight during the event. Chris Morris’ presentation on happiness really hit home because “his presentation reinforced the importance of balance and positivity both professionally and personally,” Rusty says.

Case Studies

In addition, attendees were challenged to engage in active learning—devoting much of their time to dissecting, investing in, and proposing solutions to one current, pressing issue in collegiate recreation. To do this, the attendees were divided into six groups, each with a different case study to work through. Unlike Level I of The School, attendees at Level II were each allowed to select their own topic. The case study format was “definitely an intense challenge,” Anna notes. Though, she continues, coming up with an topic wasn’t too hard considering the range of issues professionals face daily on their campuses,  “finding creative solutions was much more challenging.”

The case studies, presented to their peers on the final day of The School, covered a range of impactful issues on today’s campuses. Here’s a brief overview of the topics and ideas discusses:

Proposed increase to minimum wage

Rather than increasing fees or cutting programs rec centers could consider smaller, alternative actions that could add up to significant savings, such as unofficiated “free play” events, reducing the frequency of certain janitorial services, and extending the years between equipment replacement.

2014 graduate Earl Cabellon with faculty member and chair Mila Padgett.

Transgender inclusivity in rec centers and programming

Options such as gender neutral bathrooms, locker rooms with additional stalls for more privacy, and specialized time slots for activities like weight lifting or swimming were discussed, as were potential barriers to these actions, including costs for retrofits and conflicts with religious beliefs. Another potential barrier could be misuse of statistics—such as those that show that only 3-10% identify as LGBTQI. However, this makes rec centers’ missions and values of inclusivity all the more key in asserting that being a minority does not make one less valuable than the majority. As an example, at a Wisconsin University only 1000 of 43,000 students identity as ADA, yet all buildings are done to ADA code.

First-time supervision of professional staff

Supervising is always challenging, but can be especially overwhelming when you first step into the role of overseeing and advising other professionals—often bringing no experience with you and receiving little official training. Ideas to help ease this matter included seeking out and utilizing managers as resources, familiarizing oneself with the culture of the organization, identifying the individual strengths and struggles for each staff member, and constructing a growth plan to include communication, conflict resolution, and professional development.

Long-term benefits to undergrad student employment

This is the current burning question in campus recreation! Solutions put forth consisted of surveying alumni who worked in campus recreation during their undergraduate years and to find out what they are doing now, their skill sets, and their work experiences. Key stakeholders in such an initiative would include the campus recreation department, alumni relations, career service professionals on campus, and the university foundation.

Veterans and campus recreation

Many campuses are seeing an increase in veterans; many are also noting they are less likely to engage in campus life. Several challenges this population faces were identified and include adjusting to college life (as opposed to military life), feelings of alienation, carrying experiences few Americans share, PTSD, and the frequent age gap between vets and the campus majority. Solutions discussed focused on ways to ease the transition—such as pairing an incoming student vet with a vet already on campus, limiting exposure to potentially triggering current events (ie: not having news channels streaming prominently in the rec center), and hiring a veteran to work in the rec center.

2014 Attendees of The NIRSA School of Collegiate Recreation pose at the graduation banquet.

Though The School packed a lot of learning into each day—and groups often used free time to continue their work on their case studies—there was still time for fun and networking! The case study experience, in and of itself, provided a close-knit team of peers. “The connection you make with your team is unlike other connections you make at events—it’s better! It’s a bond that challenges you to become a better professional,” Anna confirms.

There was time to network with other attendees and faculty as well—lunch was provided each day, there was an awesome social at Luckie’s in Power Plant Live, and the final evening’s graduation reception and banquet left participants with a truly memorable experience.

And, despite packed schedules, many attendees still found time to explore this year’s Baltimore location. Whether, like Rusty, they simply enjoyed some local foods, or, like Anna, they “took the free circulator bus to Fort McHenry for the afternoon [and enjoyed] a great retreat from all the heavy thinking” there was no shortage of things to do and bonds to build!