The wellness objective became more relevant with the construction of the Fitness Center in 1997, which made possible a larger number of courses and more coherent offerings. Prior to this time courses were scattered throughout the community. The first full-time faculty for RPED/Fitness Center was hired in 2001.

The College offers a wide selection of about 50 elective physical education and recreational courses from aerobics to yoga to rock climbing. Students enrolled in three or more credits are eligible to obtain a membership at the Fitness Center at a reasonable fee. The Fitness Center Manager is currently developing intramural sports events for the College community. The RPED Department currently does not offer any certificate or degree programs.

Faculty. Dan Jones, the Fitness Center manager and RPED Chair, came to GBC in 2002. He has two bachelor’s degrees, one in psychology from Western Oregon State College and one in kinesiology from Lewis Clark State College. He holds a master’s degree from Western Washington University in human performance.

Nineteen adjunct faculty make up the RPED Department. About half of the adjunct faculty have bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The remaining faculty have various certifications and experience that qualify them for their teaching assignment.

Students. Enrollment in RPED courses has increased steadily if not dramatically since 1995. Annualized student FTE has increased since 1995/96 as shown below:

RPED serves the community and GBC students. To illustrate, for Fall Semester 2002 in Elko, approximately 150 individuals took only RPED courses, one or more courses. Another 150 students completed an RPED course (usually just one) as well as regular college certificate and degree courses. Approximately 90 percent of the second group of students were enrolled for 9+ semester credits. The mission, then, of RPED includes a strong component of recreation and physical education for GBC students and a substantial component of the community participants. In recent years, there have been significant increases in enrollment for Yoga, Tai-Chi, Cardio Kick-Boxing, and Body Contouring and Conditioning courses.

Resources. The RPED is supported by four student fitness center assistants and one student administrative assistant. The majority of RPED courses are conducted in the GBC Fitness Center, which has one full size basketball court, a fitness room, a rock climbing wall, an office, two locker rooms, and one utility room. (The basketball court can be converted into two small volleyball courts or three badminton courts.) Just outside the Center are horseshoe pits and an outdoor volleyball court. Other courses are conducted at both public and private off-site facilities within the community. The RPED receives approximately $3,300 in lab fees each semester. The Center is well-equipped.

Significant Changes
• In 1996, the GBC Fitness Center was built.
• In 2001 the first full-time RPED position was created, the Fitness Center Manager/RPED Chair position.
• An indoor rock climbing wall was added to the Fitness Center in January of 2002.

Analysis
Plans have been submitted to the administration for a much needed addition to the gym. This consists of an addition going to the north about 100 feet in length and 75 feet in width. Included in the plans are a larger weight room, two areas for karate, judo, aerobics and dance, a racquetball court, a small classroom area that could be converted for other uses as well, and more efficient office space. This would free up the current gym and allow much needed storage in the current office and weight
room.

Marketing of the Fitness Center and RPED classes over the short term has shown some immediate improvement in class size and program activity. One longer term goal is to develop a marketing strategy to increase our enrollment and facility usage.

Waiting lists for rock climbing classes the past semesters suggest that an expansion of the rock climbing wall would be a logical step to ensure the continued success for this class.

The largest challenge the Fitness Center faces is with part-time help. The Fitness Center needs to be staffed at all open hours—some 80+ hours/week. Student workers have not always proven to be reliable, and have left voids in staffing at various times during the semester.

Currently, there is no space for equipment storage. Consequently, equipment is stored inside the gym, which takes up valuable space and poses a safety issue for those playing active sports within the gym. In the near future, the College will be setting up a small storage building outside the Fitness Center, which will provide some relief. However, since this will be a separate building, it will only address equipment and supplies that are used infrequently, or are spare items. Much of the equipment that is frequently used must be left out where it can be accessed. A potential short term solution to this problem would be to build a narrow storage area on the east side of the gym that could be accessed with double doors from the east side wall.

The current design of the gym does not take into account any spectator possibilities. There is a small bleacher, and while this serves our current demand, it does not offer any possible expansion. The weight room is quite small as weight rooms go, and does not lend itself well to exercise equipment such as free weights. This issue has been addressed in the gym expansion plans, but there is no short term solution. There is currently no room for expansion in the present building, and that may be a factor in the very near future as usage is very high at certain times. There are inevitable conflicts when instructors or others want to use specific facilities at the sametime; the space simply isn’t available.

STRENGTHS
• Excellent facility, though small, a clear improvement over no facility at all.
• Well-equipped for the facility size.
• Well-qualified full-time and part-time faculty.
• Growing student and community interest in personal wellness issues.

WEAKNESSES
• Small facility.
• Inadequate staffing for growth in participation.
• Inadequate storage areas.

RECOMMENDATIONS/ACTION ITEMS
• Hire another full-time staff or faculty member to help with the duties of the Fitness Center and RPED program.
• Employ staff or faculty, not student workers, to assist in the supervision of the facility.
• Develop marketing plan.
• Expand rock climbing wall.
• Expand facility per submitted plan.
• Expand RPED program to include advanced courses involving theoretical learning, possibly in conjunction with the education program to offer a K-12 minor or degree in PE.