Community Recreation Management Option | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

For those interested in community-based public or non-profit recreation and parks, the Community Recreation Management option prepares students for positions within municipal and state government recreation and park agencies; park conservancies and foundations, youth sport organizations, recreation divisions of the armed services; university-affiliated recreation units; and other non-profit organizations (e.g., YMCA, United Way agencies, Boys & Girls Club).

Community Recreation Management details

Community Recreation at University Park
Community Recreation at Commonwealth Campuses
Community Recreation Supporting Courses

Community Recreation Core Course Descriptions

RPTM 201: Introduction to Community Recreation

This course introduces students to the role of community and non-profit recreation agencies in generating benefits for individuals and communities. Using experience industry design/management and social justice perspectives, this course focuses on designing meaningful experiences that serve people from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances.

Topics covered in this course include:

The history of community and non-profit recreation
Environmental, economic, health, social and human development benefits of recreation
Access and equity issues in recreation and community sport
Engaging communities in decision making
The experience industry
Designing community recreation programs and spaces for meaningful experiences

Students will develop their ability to:

describe the benefits of community and non-profit recreation to individuals and society
Identify disparities in access to recreation and the role of community and non-profit recreation in addressing these
Describe methods and techniques for engaging community members in decision making
Explain how theory informs the design of meaningful experiences
Describe ways in which programs and places can be designed to facilitate meaningful experiences
Explain how individual and group characteristics should influence design to result in greater benefits.

RPTM 334: Non-Profit Recreation Agency Operations

Recreation agencies in voluntary and semiprivate sectors will be investigated through membership strategies, fundraising, volunteer management, case studies, etc. The primary objective of this course is to expose students to the operational practices and missions of nonprofit recreation and tourism organizations. In particular, this course will allow students to investigate voluntary and semi-private sectors through membership strategies, fundraising and development roles, and volunteer management.

Primary topics taught in this course will typically include the following:

The role of non-profit organizations in providing park, recreation and tourism opportunities
Missions, governance procedures, and societal roles associated with non-profit organizations
Program support functions and non-profit fundraising strategies
Skills and roles of professional staff in non-profit organizations

This is also a supporting course (i.e., department list) for RPTM majors in the Community Recreation Management option.