*******
RPTA 378 / 490G CONSORTIUM IN OUTDOOR RECREATION
IN GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
(2 credit hours)
RPTA 378 / 490G - Consortium in Outdoor Recreation (STAR # 67228 ) is a field studies course involving students
and faculty from a consortium of universities (Western Illinois University, East Carolina University, University of
Missouri-Columbia, North Carolina State University, Texas A & M University, and Penn State University). The purpose
of the course is to provide students with a hands-on exposure to a well-known outdoor recreation resource in a
challenging atmosphere which encourages high interaction with faculty, outdoor educators, resource managers and
their staffs, other outdoor and tourism related professionals, and decision-makers and business people in both the
public and commercial sectors. An objective of the course is to increase students' understanding, knowledge, and
appreciation of outdoor recreation resources, public agencies that manage those resources, and the non-profit and
commercial operations using those resources. The week-long field experience includes opportunities for students to
focus on in-depth studies in one of five different tracks: 1) wildlife, 2) backcountry user management, 3) fisheries,
4) historical/ cultural preservation & sustainable tourism, and 5) ecological restoration or all-taxa biodiversity
inventory (ATBI). Through the use of these focused studies, students will become involved in case study problemsolving using actual materials and resource persons available in the national park and adjacent gateway communities.
Graduate students may enroll for this course as RPTA 490G for 2 to 3 cr. hrs.
During Spring Semester 2012, the RPTA 378 / 490G field experience will take place at Great Smoky Mountains
National Park. This course will be a valuable educational experience for students with a variety of interests, such as
outdoor recreation, interpretation, outdoor education, historical and cultural preservation, ecological restoration, wildlife
management, natural resource conservation and management, conservation law enforcement, science education,
commercial recreation and tourism, hospitality services, therapeutic recreation, community economic development,
and public policy administration.
During Spring Semester 2012, class meetings are scheduled for Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. in Currens
Rm.#415. The actual field experience, on-site at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, takes place Sunday, March
18 through Saturday, March 24, 2012.
A course fee of $425 covers room and board for the week at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (GSMIT)
and the Outdoor Recreation Consortium fee. An additional fee of approximately $100+ is required for round-trip and
onsite transportation in university vans, Consortium t-shirts, and costs for certain incidentals associated with the
course. The Frank D. Lupton Outdoor Recreation Consortium Scholarship is available for one student and applications
are available in the department and must be submitted by February 1. The amount of this scholarship is $250 and is
applied to the direct expenses (i.e., the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (GSMIT) course fee) associated
with attendance at the 2012 Consortium in Outdoor Recreation.
Course Pre-requisite: Upper division status or consent of instructor; prior consent of instructor is suggested for
enrollment in this course. Twenty student enrollments are available. An application form for enrollment is available on
the back of this info sheet from the course instructor or from the RPTA office in 400 Currens Hall. Applications should
be received as soon as possible and be approved by the course instructor in order to finalize enrollment. The first
class meeting will be on Thursday, January 19, 2012. A non-refundable deposit of $150 submitted during the second
class ensures a spot in the course. Please make this deposit check payable to the “Outdoor Recreation Consortium.”
For further information contact: Dr. Katharine A. Pawelko, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Admin., 400
Currens Hall, RPTA Dept. Phone#: 298-1967; Office Voicemail#: 298-1720; E-mail: KA-Pawelko@wiu.edu