Accreditation is a critical process in maintaining standards of consistency and excellence in the academic preparation of students for their chosen profession. While academic programs, professional associations, and credentialing organizations all recognize the importance of programmatic accreditation in recreational therapy professional…

Institutions of higher education are increasingly being held more accountable for assessing student learning both in and out of their classrooms along with reporting results to their stakeholders. The purpose of this study, which examined assessment of student learning outcomes in undergraduate park and recreation academic programs, was two-fold:…

This paper is a case study. It tells the story of the process that the Council on Accreditation for Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions beta test site created its learning outcomes assessment program. A planning process was used that has evolved from quality management philosophy and practice: DMADV. Use of DMADV required precise…

There has been a great deal of debate regarding the value of program accreditation. Two research questions guided this study: 1) are students enrolled in accredited parks, recreation, and leisure programs more academically engaged than students enrolled in non-accredited programs, and 2) do students enrolled in accredited parks, recreation, and…

This report identifies the different settings in which summer programs for disadvantaged youth most commonly take place--schools, parks and recreation departments, community--and faith-based organizations, and child-care programs-- and examines the limitations and opportunities presented by each in building better programming. It reviews broadly…

This article considers the concept of accreditation as a proper method of evaluating public park and recreation systems. Arguments for accreditation are presented, and the system used to evaluate college park and recreation curricula and administration is described. (MT)

This is the report of a 1990 review of Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies programs at the University of Florida (UF), Florida State University (FSU), and Florida International University (FIU). Among the conclusions are that these programs are essential to the lifestyle of Florida residents and the continued economic growth of the state.…

This review of parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs within the State University System (SUS) of Florida examined the quality of curricula, characteristics of students and faculty, nature and adequacy of facilities and resources, responses to previous program review recommendations, and program progress. Six programs at four…