[Vpaaetal] Bachelor of Science degree in Human Performance

[Academic Affairs]

We are pleased to announce the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has
approved our request for the Bachelor of Science degree in Human
Performance.  This degree program is approved to begin this fall.  We
thought the following description might be helpful to the university
community in recruiting students to this program.  

 

BACKGROUND AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

 

The Bachelor of Science in human performance is designed for undergraduate
students desiring to enter graduate programs, either in the filed of
exercise science or in a variety of professional post-baccalaureate programs
such as cardiac rehabilitation therapy, physical therapy or occupational
therapy. The program seeks to advance the exercise science disciplines
through discovery and dispersion of health and exercise-related knowledge.
This degree will serve as one of two options for students interested in the
non-teaching health major, which will be phased out because it does not
reflect the learning outcomes and rigor required in today's job market.  It
would be administered by the Department of Health and Human Performance in
the College of Education and Human Services. 

 

The degree will require 120 semester credit hours, including 43 hours of
core curriculum, 36 hours of required courses in the major, 8 to 19 hours of
prescribed electives and 22 to 33 hours of free electives. The two tracks --
exercise physiology and motor behavior/biomechanics - will be accommodated
by differences in the prescribed electives. The hours required for the
degree will be held to 120 because some of the prescribed electives will
also fulfill core curriculum requirements. 

 

The implementation date is Fall 2006.

 

NEED

 

Employment Opportunities                  

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (2006-07 edition) projects rapid growth in
positions focused on therapeutic services as the number of middle-aged and
elderly individuals increases. Many of these positions will require a
master's degree, which this bachelor's degree in human performance will
prepare students to pursue. Also, the North Central Texas Workforce
Development Area has projected that in its area 64,350 jobs in educational
services, accommodation and food services and health care and social
assistance will be added from 2002 to 2012.   

 

Existing State Programs                                  

As previously mentioned there are three similar bachelor's programs in Texas
at Midwestern State University, University of Houston and the University of
Texas. 

 

Accreditation                           

No professional accreditation currently exists for this field, although it
is likely that the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) may develop
one. It does have guidelines for programs and these were considered in the
development of the program.  

 

 

Mary W. Hendrix, Ph.D. 
Associate Vice-President for Academic & Student Affairs 
Texas A&M University-Commerce 
P.O. Box 3011 
Commerce, TX  75429 
903. 886.5021 (telephone) 
903.886.5019 (FAX) 
We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give others.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20060803/b1140a8c/attachment.htm