Staffing, Reporting Structures, and Credentials

Wellbeing responsibilities within collegiate recreation are often assigned to the domain of a fitness coordinator or assistant director of fitness & wellness (or similar) position.

Some departments have started incorporating a dedicated wellness coordinator (or similar) position. Additionally, reporting structure alterations have been made at a select number of institutions to align health and wellbeing related departments under one supervisor.

For effective delivery of health and wellbeing programs, it’s important for staff to hold the appropriate and current credentials or certifications.

To streamline reporting and increase communication and collaboration there are some institutions that have aligned health and wellbeing related teams under one Assistant or Associate Vice President/Chancellor.

• Within the Division of Academic and Student Affairs at North Carolina State University there is a Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Development, Health, and Wellness, and reporting to this position include the following health and wellbeing related units: Wellness and Recreation, Counseling Center Prevention Services, and Student Health Services

• The Virginia Tech Division of Student Affairs has an integrated reporting structure where all Student Affairs units related to student health and wellbeing report to the same Assistant Vice President; four of the five departments are housed in the same facilityLearn more about this integrated approach to wellness at NIRSA member Virginia Tech.

• Within the University of Florida Division of Student Affairs, Recreational Sports and Health Promotion Services report to the Senior Director for Recreation & Health Promotion Services

Collegiate recreation is becoming a more significant component of a university’s integrated approach to enhancing the health and wellbeing of its community members. With this increased role in an up-and-coming practice, collegiate recreation departments must be able to provide safe, quality experiences to its patrons who are more health conscious than ever before.

To effectively deliver this integrative approach, a department and its professionals need to be well-versed in the multiple components of health and wellbeing. One way to meet this need is to ensure that staff members are qualified to develop and implement health and wellbeing related services and programs.

One of today’s growing trends is for staff members to acquire a wellness-related certification and/or become a health coach. Although they are relatively new elements in collegiate recreation, these credentials are growing in popularity as professionals are taking on new and more expansive roles on their respective campuses. It’s important for collegiate recreation departments to identify their priorities and what credentials meet their demands as there are a multitude of concentrations related to these credentials.

The following list provides many of the industry’s current certifications.