University of Northern Iowa
School of Health, Physical Education & Leisure Services
Leisure, Youth and Human Services Division
Undergraduate Student Outcome Assessment Plan (SOA)
Program Overview
The Leisure, Youth and Human Services Division prepares students to deliver programs
and manage facilities designed to meet human, community, and social needs in public,
governmental, and nonprofit community agencies. Graduates may find employment in agencies
that serve people of all ages from diverse backgrounds in areas such as municipal parks and
recreation, commercial recreation, tourism, outdoor education and recreation, therapeutic
recreation (clinical and community-based settings), the nonprofit and youth serving agencies,
armed forces recreation, campus recreation, and other leisure service delivery sectors. The
program focuses on direct service programming with an emphasis on supervisory and
management skills. The Leisure, Youth and Human Services program is accredited by Council on
Accreditation of Recreation, Park Resources and Leisure Services and is recognized by the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Assessment Philosophy and Program Goals
The LYHS student learning outcomes reflect the Council on Accreditation of Recreation,
Park Resources and Leisure Services accreditation series that are designed to elicit evidence of
student learning as part of the foundational components of the Division’s curriculum.
Foundational curriculum in the Leisure, Youth and Human Services Division include study in
three areas:
 Foundations
 Provision of services and experiences for guests, visitors, clients, and/or the public
 Management/Administration
The foundation component identifies the background, nature, and scope of the
profession including its history, philosophy, and social and behavioral science underpinnings.
The provision of service and experience offerings includes, but not limited to, programming and
leadership, interpretation, site design and management, experience staging, and related
processes. Management and administration includes planning, organizing, staffing, directing,
controlling, reporting, finance, resource acquisition, marketing, and critical thinking. The goals
of this SOA plan are two-fold:
 Students are provided with sufficient opportunities to achieve the outcomes stated
below.
 Evidence is provided to demonstrate the existence of measures used to assess the
outcomes listed.
Student Outcomes and Competencies
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) administratively sponsors the
Council on Accreditation (COA). These NRPA standards describe the goals of student learning
for foundational professional preparation in recreation, park resources, leisure services, and
other elements of the human service and experience industries.
Foundations
 NRPA 7.03: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate knowledge of
the scope of the profession, professional practice, and the historical, scientific, and
philosophical foundations of the relevant recreation, park, leisure experiences or human
service industries:
o 7.03.01: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate entrylevel knowledge of the scope of the profession, along with professional practices
of that profession.
o 7.03.02: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate entrylevel knowledge of the historical, scientific, and philosophical foundations of the
profession for which the LYHS Division prepares students.
o 7.03.03: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate the
ability to apply relevant knowledge of professional practice, and the historical,
scientific, and philosophical foundations to develop valid and sound arguments
on which to base decisions about professional policies, procedures, practices,
techniques, and related ethical and professional issues.
Provision of services and experiences for guests, visitors, clients, and/or the public
 NRPA 7.04: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate the ability to
design, implement, and evaluate recreation, park resources, leisure, and human service
offerings facilitating targeted human experiences and that embrace personal and
culture dimensions of diversity.
o 7.04.01: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate the
ability to design experiences clearly reflecting application of knowledge from
relevant facets of contemporary professional practice, science, and philosophy.
o 7.04.02: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate the
ability to facilitate recreation and leisure experiences for diverse clientele,
settings, cultures, and contexts.
o 7.04.03: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate the
ability to evaluate service and experience offerings and to use evaluation data to
improve the quality of offerings.
Management/Administration
 NRPA 7.05: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate entry-level
knowledge about management/administration of recreation, park resources, and leisure
services.
o 7.05.01: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall be able to recognize
basic facts, concepts, principles, and procedures of management/administration,
infrastructure management, financial and human resource management, and
marketing/public relations.
o 7.05.02: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall be able to apply entrylevel concepts, principles, and procedures of management/administration,
infrastructure management, financial and human resource management, and
marketing/public relations to a specific setting.
Internship
 NRPA 7.06: Students graduating from the LYHS Division shall demonstrate, through a
comprehensive internship of not less the 560 clock hours, the ability to use diverse,
structural ways of thinking to solve programs related to different facets of professional
practice, engage in advocacy, and stimulate innovation.
Assessment methods/methods of evaluation and interpreting results
The following assessment procedures are imbedded in the teaching responsibilities of
LYHS faculty and are assessed each semester:
1. Course evaluations
2. Course specific grades
3. Quantitative student self-assessments
4. Qualitative student self-assessment
5. Intern supervisor quantitative assessment
6. Internship supervisor qualitative assessment
Informal and qualitative summary of findings is part of normal faculty governance and
reflected in ongoing curricular changes. Quantitative SOA data analysis is scheduled, pending
support resources for 2010-2011 academic year.