By Kristal Fehring

This past year, with support from NIRSA Diamond Partner Precor, NIRSA selected employee wellness as the inaugural trend to be researched for the NIRSA Collegiate Recreation Trends Research Project.

This project seeks to inform and further the field of collegiate recreation by annually examining a relevant and critical topic through research and analysis, which is then complied in a white paper for NIRSA members to review and utilize as a resource.

The inaugural white paper, focusing on university employee wellness programs, looks specifically at the literature related to these programs within the higher education setting, and it also takes a close look at seven employee wellness programs at NIRSA-member institutions.

Powered by Precor, NIRSA offers a closer look at employee wellness programs in higher education.

This resource allows collegiate recreation professionals to learn more about employee wellness program establishment, objectives, components, implementation, participation, and outcomes from campus recreation departments that have successfully offered employee wellness programs for several years. Also included in the paper are recommendations and areas of guidance for institutions considering establishing employee wellness programs.

Discussion at NIRSA 2014

The results of this analysis will also be presented at the 2014 NIRSA Annual Conference in Nashville. The session, “A Closer Look at Employee Wellness: The Collegiate Trends Research Topic, Powered by Precor,” will be held Friday, April 25 at 2:30pm. During this session, participants will review the data-backed results from multiple institutions and discuss different ways to set up wellness programs.

While the white paper, available for review and consideration before conference, serves as a guide and permanent reference of current literature and case-studies, supplying data on the seven institution’s experiences and hindsight-rich suggestions, it is in Nashville that session participants will be able to talk these findings through, ask questions, and make connections for how to enact these ideas on their own campuses.

Be a part of the next trend!

Submissions are now being accepted for the next Trend in Collegiate Recreation white paper topic. Have you been wondering if a specific activity occurring in your collegiate recreation program is happening at other universities? Would you like to see further investigation on a topic that has the potential to make an instrumental impact on collegiate recreation?
The deadline to submit potential trends is May 31, so submit your ideas now!