top of page
nc s1.JPG

NC State Course Objectives
August 2020 - May 2022

PRT 500: Conceptual Foundations in Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Sport

Exploration of the conceptual foundations of leisure, recreation, sport, play, and work, the history of ideas in the field, and the relationships of these ideas to contemporary professional and social problems.

 

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Explain the implications of the profession’s historical foundation on contemporary professional and social problems

  • Describe the conceptual frameworks associated with leisure, recreation, tourism, and sport

  • Describe the theoretical foundations associated with leisure, recreation, tourism, and sport

  • Discuss the various contemporary trends and issues in leisure, recreation, tourism, and sport

  • Appreciate the importance of leisure and recreation in our lives

  • Exhibit good communication and writing skills, and sound methods of thinking and analysis

PRT 503: Advanced Fiscal management for Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport

This course is intended to provide students with advanced concepts of financial management as applied to the unique industries of parks, recreation, tourism, and sport management. Emphasis will be placed on understanding how the receipt, disbursement, and utilization of funds can foster sustainability within these types of organizations. Additionally, this course will focus on developing the skills necessary to apply ethical financial analysis principles through financial risk management.

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Learn advanced financial theories as related to parks, recreation, tourism, and sport management organizations

  • Apply analytical techniques and principles of budgeting to enable sustainability

  • Discuss and apply current financial practices as they relate to the generation, consumption, and disbursement of funds

  • Discuss and apply ethical financial analysis to the current economic situations within parks, recreation, tourism, and sport management organizations

PRT 504: Data Management and Evaluation in Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport

This course is intended to provide students with advanced concepts of financial management as applied to the unique industries of parks, recreation, tourism, and sport management. Emphasis will be placed on understanding how the receipt, disbursement, and utilization of funds can foster sustainability within these types of organizations. Additionally, this course will focus on developing the skills necessary to apply ethical financial analysis principles through financial risk management.

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Describe the logic behind and steps involved in program evaluation

  • Describe the importance of data in evaluation and explain how data can be used in evaluation

  • Formulate meaningful evaluation objectives to guide data collection and analysis

  • Conduct basic descriptive and inferential statistical procedures as a part of program evaluation

  • Choose appropriate methods of displaying data analysis results

  • Use appropriate terminology to interpret and communicate results from data analysis

PRT 505: GIS and Spatial Analysis in Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport

Spatial reasoning and GIS are increasingly important tools for evaluation and research in many fields of study, including parks, recreation, tourism and sport (PRTS). This course is intended to provide masters-level students with the opportunity to increase their ability of spatial reasoning and develop basic skills of handling, evaluating and analyzing spatial data in common geographic information systems (GIS) platforms. Through this experience students would be able to enhance understanding of conceptual foundations of PRTS fields from the spatial perspective, to make more informed spatial decisions in planning and management of PRTS resources and services, and to be intelligent users of spatial data and GIS tools for research and evaluation.

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Define geographic information science, GIS and GPS and articulate their relevance to the PRTS fields

  • Describe and explain the basic concepts and typology of spatial reasoning and spatial analysis

  • Identify spatial data sources and acquire data relevant to the field of PRTS

  • Collect and integrate spatial data from various data sources (field collection, Internet, etc.)

  • Perform basic operations in GIS (ArcGIS), digital earth software (Google Earth) and widely accessible GPS units (Garmin)

  • Formulate meaningful spatial questions and implement a conceptual model to solve the questions in the GIS environment

  • Communicate spatial analysis results effectively with peers via different media

PRT 506: Organizational Behavior and Leadership in Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport

This course will focus on the organization and administration of public, private and not-for-profit sport, park, tourism and recreation (SPTR) agencies. The primary unit of analysis in this class is the SPTR organiation and the environment in which it operates. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the structural, human, political, and cultural factors that impact organizational efficiency and effectiveness – specifically focusing on these environments.

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Exhibit an understanding of the environment in which sport, park, tourism and recreation (SPTR) organizations operate

  • Identify and describe key principles related to effective administrative practice, such as planning, resource acquisition, positioning, and personnel & volunteer leadership

  • Demonstrate knowledge and application of relevant theory, research, and practice related to key aspects of organizational behavior in SPTR organizations

  • Recognize organizational behavior challenges and demonstrate intervention techniques used for recruiting and managing staff and employees

  • Demonstrate the ability to evaluate critical factors contributing to organizational leadership in SPTR organizations

PRT 507: Strategic Marketing Management in Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport

This course examines the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of marketing and promotion strategies for recreation, participant sport, and spectator sport. Covers key marketing concepts and strategies using case studies. There is significant discussion on marketing activation and leveraging strategies and developing a marketing plan.

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Define and apply key sport/rec. marketing concepts

  • Understand the theories that underline a sport/rec. marketing plan

  • Understand how to create and apply a sport/rec. marketing plan

  • Evaluate sport/rec. marketing strategies and tactics

  • Identify future trends and challenges in marketing and how they can associate with current sport/rec. marketing practices

PRT 508: Risk Management for Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport

Risk Management for parks, recreation, tourism, and sport organizations with an emphasis on ethical managerial strategies. Students will learn how legal concepts relate to specific managerial functions and how a knowledge of law and its impact on functions of recreation environments can help build a more efficient and successful operation that better serves the needs of its constituents and protects its ability to provide products and services. Students will also learn how effective strategies for risk management in parks, recreation, tourism and sport organizations can facilitate active-healthy lifestyles and sustainable communities.

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Summarize principles of risk management within the context of basic management functions such as governance, human resource management, and organizational operations

  • Identify and describe policies and practices for managing program and service risks. Emphasis on employee selection & qualifications, supervision issues, training considerations, safety and security issues, appropriate documentation

  • Advanced analysis of policies and practices for managing recreation facility, built environments, trails & open space risks such as maintenance/inspection issues, OSHA guidelines and compliance, and contract negotiation and management

  • Identify and describe policies for managing human resource risks (e.g., constitutional law issues, EEO, OSHA, discrimination, fair labor standards, working conditions)

  • Discussion how effective strategies for risk management in parks, recreation, tourism and sport organizations can facilitate active-healthy lifestyles and sustainable communities

  • Critically evaluate the risks inherent in a selected parks, recreation, sport or tourism operations and discuss strategies for managing risks

EAC 559: The Adult Learner

An inquiry into the characteristics and background, learning processes, motivation and participation of adult learners in a variety of educational contexts. Emphasis on adult learning theories, models, principles and their application to educational design and delivery.

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Develop a personal philosophy statement (or an equivalent) relative to working with adult learners

  • Develop a personal resource file of readings, learnings, ideas, etc. This actually can be the initiation of a personal portfolio that becomes a permanent record of your professional accomplishments

  • Develop an appreciation for the field in terms of such questions as "Why Adult Education?" "What is its importance?" "What is its history?" and "What is its breadth?"

  • Develop a professional sense of self and the initiating of an ability to be an advocate for the field

Sport and Entertainment Venue Management Certificate

PRT 511: Sport and Entertainment Venue Management - Facilities

In this course, students will examine the management of sport facilities, paying particular attention to environmental concerns and the sustainability of the event venue. Specifically, we will first focus on the 3 E’s of sustainability (Environment, Equity, Economics) and learn about sustainable systems. From this underpinning, the class will be divided into six critical topic areas of sport facility management: 1. Sustainable Facility Management, 2. Facility Construction and Design, 3. Risk Management, 4. Food and Beverage Operations, 5. Roles of the General Manager, 6. Venue Policy and Procedures

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Define the 3 E’s of sustainability

  • Demonstrate appropriate knowledge for sustainable design and construction

  • Create sustainability plans, policies, and procedures

  • Identify and process the necessary components of mitigating risks

  • Determine food and beverage best practices

  • Articulate the role of the facility general manager

  • Create venue policies and governing procedures

PRT 512: Sport and Entertainment Venue Management - Operations and Services

A thorough background on operations and services is essential for sport and entertainment venue managers. This course examines venue management by covering essential managerial functions. These include booking and scheduling venues, recruiting and training staff, managing volunteers, box office operations, crowd and crisis management, facility operations and repair, and enhancing the fan experience.

​

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Comprehend the sport event venue industry

  • Describe the duties associated with bidding, budgeting, and event conceptualization

  • Describe the processes for affective crowd, emergency, and crisis management

  • Articulate importance of planning, sponsorships, and event day management

  • Manage volunteers and establish staffing needs and responsibilities for an event

bottom of page