NIRSA is undertaking a major effort to synthesize what the current body of evidence allows professionals to say about the impact of campus recreation.
NIRSA’s 2014 Benefits of Campus Recreation report gave the profession a shared evidence base for demonstrating the value of campus recreation. That report was made possible by a national dataset that is no longer available. At the same time, the body of research examining campus recreation and student outcomes has expanded substantially over the past decade.
Rather than attempting to recreate a single national study, NIRSA is taking a new approach: bringing together researchers with expertise across seven areas of impact to synthesize what the collective body of evidence now tells us.
The end product will be a series of focused Impact of Campus Recreation research snapshots. Each snapshot will synthesize existing research within a specific area of impact. Together, under the guidance of an editor, these papers will form the foundation of a new comprehensive NIRSA report on the impact and value of campus recreation.
Project Overview
Project
Develop a research synthesis examining what the existing evidence tells us about one of seven areas of campus recreation’s impact.
Goal
Give campus recreation professionals current, credible, citable evidence they can use to demonstrate the value of their work to institutional leaders and other stakeholders.
Research areas
- Health & Wellbeing
- Leadership & Skill Development
- Student Employment & Career Preparation
- Belonging & Social Connection
- Campus Experience & Engagement
- Academic Success & Retention
- Institutional Value
Deliverables
One focused research snapshot synthesizing the existing literature within your selected impact area, including key findings, limitations, research gaps, and full citations.
Scope
Researchers will not be conducting a new multi-institutional data collection effort or original empirical research.
Stipend
$2,500 per research snapshot.
Timeline
Anticipated January 2027 through October 2027; subject to change.
Final Product
NIRSA will bring the seven research snapshots together into a comprehensive report on the impact of campus recreation and translate findings into practitioner-facing resources.
Project Details
In consultation with the project editor, selected researchers will develop a focused research synthesis examining what the existing evidence tells us about one of NIRSA’s seven areas of campus recreation impact.
The goal is not simply to summarize individual studies or demonstrate that campus recreation is valuable. Researchers should critically examine the body of available evidence and help answer:
A successful research snapshot will allow a campus recreation professional to confidently answer: “What does current research allow us to say about campus recreation’s contribution to this outcome, and what evidence can I point to when I say it?”
Each research snapshot should:
- Review relevant peer-reviewed research and other credible scholarship;
- Draw from research within collegiate recreation as well as relevant adjacent fields and disciplines where appropriate;
- Synthesize findings across studies to identify patterns and conclusions supported by the broader evidence base;
- Identify findings that are particularly well-supported as well as areas where evidence is emerging, mixed, or limited;
- Distinguish between evidence of association and evidence supporting stronger causal conclusions;
- Consider meaningful differences across populations, forms of recreation participation, programs, or institutional contexts when supported by the literature;
- Identify important limitations and gaps in the existing research and opportunities for future study;
- Translate the evidence into clear, responsible conclusions that campus recreation professionals can understand and use;
- Provide complete citations for the research included in the review; and
- Participate in collaborative review of the full collection to address connections and overlap across impact areas.
Eligibility
NIRSA welcomes applications from individual researchers or research teams with demonstrated expertise related to one or more impact areas and experience conducting literature reviews, evidence syntheses, or related scholarship.
Applicants should be able to critically assess research and translate findings for a practitioner audience. Familiarity with collegiate recreation is valuable but expertise from relevant adjacent disciplines is also welcomed.
Researchers need to be current NIRSA members to apply and maintain membership through the duration of the appointment.
Responsibilities
What’s in scope
This project is intended to synthesize and make sense of the existing evidence base. Researchers may draw from scholarship across higher education, student affairs, recreation and leisure studies, public health, psychology, education, workforce development, and other relevant disciplines when it contributes to understanding campus recreation’s impact.
The resulting snapshot should provide both scholarly rigor and practical utility: a campus recreation professional should be able to use the snapshot to understand what we know, how confidently we know it, and what evidence they can responsibly point to when communicating the value of their work.
What’s not in scope
Researchers will not be expected to:
- Collect new student or institutional data;
- Conduct a new national survey or other original empirical study;
- Complete a systematic review or meta-analysis; or
- Make claims about campus recreation’s impact that extend beyond what the available evidence supports.
Deliverables
In consultation with an editor, selected researcher(s) for each impact area will produce:
- A research snapshot manuscript of approximately 8-10 pages (not inclusive of references) synthesizing the current evidence within the assigned area.
- A complete reference list using APA 7th edition citation style.
- A concise summary of key findings, identifying evidence-supported conclusions that NIRSA can translate for practitioner and advocacy use.
- Research gaps and future directions, identifying important questions that remain unanswered or warrant additional study.
- Participation in the review process, including responding to feedback from NIRSA and designated research reviewers and completing reasonable revisions prior to publication.
- Participation in a webinar to showcase the final report.
Final parameters and a common template will be provided to selected researchers to create consistency across the seven papers.
Term Length
Anticipated to span from January 2027-October 2027; the project timeline and term length may change, based on project needs.
Benefits of Volunteering
A $2,500 stipend will be provided for each completed research snapshot.
For proposals submitted by research teams, the lead researcher must be a current NIRSA member; the $2,500 stipend will be provided to the team and may be distributed among team members at their discretion.