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Back to School! A growing number of universities are developing personal-training curriculums
Need proof that the personal-training industry is quickly becoming part of the healthcare mainstream?
Well, just consider the fact that a number of major universities and other accredited learning institutions have recently begun to develop academically based programs for personal fitness professionals. Prominent on the lengthening list: Purdue University, Indiana University, and Hofstra University.
In many cases, these programs provide a business orientation often missing in the traditional exercise-physiology curriculum, and employ a pragmatic approach that deals, specifically, with the responsibilities of working as a personal trainer. In a field that's still struggling to balance the sometimes conflicting demands of explosive popularity and practitioner professionalism, such educational tracks offer an excellent opportunity for individuals to distinguish their resumes and complement their existing certifications.
Degree programs
At Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana, students can now pursue a bachelor of arts degree in personal fitness training. For the program's coordinator, Ken Baldwin, and his colleagues in the department of health and kinesiology, the decision to develop the groundbreaking degree was easy. 'When we surveyed the students working toward a health and fitness major', he explains, 'we found that 70% of them planned to pursue a career in personal training. Offering a specific program to prepare them for that eventuality just made sense.'
According to Baldwin, the university approached the program's development with three audacious goals in mind. It wanted: (1) to provide students with skills and competencies that would set the standard for the personal-training profession; (2) to create a model for other academic institutions; and (3) to provide a paradigm for best-practice standards, in turn influencing certification and credentialing nationwide.
The development process involved seven distinct phases, including a review of existing personal-training academic programs; a survey of the certification landscape; a needs analysis for both students and employers; and a study of ethical standards and regulations relating to health, medical, and fitness professionals.
Now fully formed, the program–which began admitting students in the fall of 2005–presents a daunting challenge for fitness-minded freshmen. To earn their degree, they must master eight full semesters of clinical-practice courses, clinical rotations, and regular courses. They also have to reach five designated levels of competency–those of fitness supervisor, personal trainer, fitness manager, public-health educator, and business owner. By graduation day, the students will have logged a minimum of 1,100 clinical hours at a wide variety of on- and off-site fitness-oriented locations.
Baldwin is clearly excited about the novel curriculum. 'Other universities offer a degree in exercise science, which, admittedly, is similar to personal training,' he explains, 'but this degree goes further. It concentrates, for instance, on perfecting exercise movements, and covers the business practices required for working in health clubs or other fitness facilities.'
Meanwhile, just 100 miles up the road, the department of kinesiology at Indiana University, in Bloomington, offers a 124-hour-credit bachelor of science degree as a fitness specialist. According to program coordinator Michelle Miller, the multifaceted option, replete with workshops and practical examinations, evolved from the exercise-physiology curriculum to make it more applicable to the real-life role of a personal trainer.
The program's popularity seems to confirm a prediction, by the U.S. Department of Labor, that personal-training job opportunities will grow 'much faster than the average' in the near future. More than 150 students have declared the major since its inception in 2002, and many courses have waiting lists. The training is also popular with employers. 'Our graduates are hired right out of the door,' Miller observes, with the pride of a parent.
Certificate programs
Other universities are testing the personal-training waters by offering academic certificate programs. The requirements for each certificate vary widely, reminding one of the fact that, within the fitness industry, 'certificate' and 'certified' are often nebulous terms. However, the involvement of an accredited school helps ensure that a given program provides a baseline degree of quality.
One such certificate is granted by the College for Continuing Education at Hofstra University, in Hempstead, New York. Since 1996, the school, working with the Academy of Applied Personal Training Education (AAPTE), has offered a personal-trainer/health-fitness-instructor certificate. Program prerequisites include a high school diploma and completion of a college-level course in human anatomy. The semester-long certificate course takes students through nine separate theoretical modules, including 17 hours of lab science.
According to Vincent Carvelli, the president of AAPTE, 'The goal was to establish a course of study that would exceed industry standards; encompass theoretical and practical learning; minimize liability for trainers, clients, and club owners; and maximize the outcome of the trainer-client relationship.
'We differentiate ourselves', he adds, 'by offering an educational experience that's comprehensive–both practically and theoretically–which prepares our graduates to enter the personal-training field with the critical-thinking and application skills required to become a driving force in the industry.'
At Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona, Olivia Templeton has directed a six-course personal-training certificate program since 1991. Her experience developing the program–back in the relative stone age of such things–would probably sound familiar to most fitness veterans. 'Initially, I didn't receive any support from the school's administration,' she recalls. 'Then, however, a few of the deans began working out in our aerobics program to lose some weight. They quickly recognized that there was an opportunity for our students to become better educated, to reduce the risk of injuries, and make them more credible fitness professionals.' Templeton's proteges–had more than 700 graduates thus far–can expect to spend over 200 hours in class, and at least double that amount of time working on assignments on their own.
Online options
Some schools have concluded that personal-training certificate programs can be offered effectively in a Web-based format. California University of Pennsylvania, in California, Pennsylvania, allows students to pursue an online bachelor's degree in wellness and fitness. A highlight of this eight-course program is a class titled 'Business Aspects of Fitness,' which provides 'a comprehensive discussion of the pragmatic approach to conducting business in the fitness industry.'
San Diego State University, in San Diego, California, offers an online professional certificate in personal training to any qualified student who's willing to work their way through five, six-week online courses, ranging from 'Exercise Science'to 'Business Administration and Management Aspects for Personal Trainers.'
Another online option is available from the U.S. Career Institute, which qualifies a candidate as a certified personal fitness trainer and nutrition specialist. Its program, designed for students seeking a vocational-based education, consists of 23 lessons that follow standards set by the National Board of Fitness Examiners (NBFE), and can be completed in as little as four months.
Certified sound
The university-based programs have caught the attention of a handful of personal-training certification groups accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), the accreditation body of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA).* The result is a nice dovetailing of academic institutions and accredited certification groups.
'Working with schools has become a major focus for the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)' explains Alan Russell, the director of education for NASM. The academy, he notes, has worked closely with the California University of Pennsylvania. It's collaborated with the university to create a bachelor's degree in wellness and fitness (which prepares students to take the NASM's CPT and PES examinations) and helped it develop master of science degrees for three innovative educational tracks: rehabilitation science, fitness and wellness, and performance enhancement and injury prevention. A number of other schools and universities, Russell notes, also provide instruction in preparation for the CPT and PES exams.
Similarly, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) figures prominently in the personal-training curriculum at Purdue. Each student must become an ACSM-certified personal trainer before working in a clinical setting to earn their bachelor's degree. And for students of San Diego State's certification program, the American Council of Exercise (ACE) offers a 20% discount on the study materials and testing fee for its personal-trainer certification.
Testing the Teachers
Providers of academic personal-training instruction may soon be able to pursue accreditation of their own programs by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), a leading accreditor in the health-sciences field. Walt Thompson, the chairman of the CAAHEP committee that's now developing standards and guidelines for such programs, says that final approval may be forthcoming by as early as January.
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