These and similar questions have become common place for educators in leisure services. To many, it appears the number and quality of new graduates or field experience students in recreation has declined. Why? What are the reasons?

There are fewer students

Enrollment studies conducted by NRPA's Society of Park and Recreation Educators (SPRE) during the 1970's and 1980's document well the drop in numbers. The 1982 study found a significant decrease in the number enrolled in park and recreation programs at the A.A., B.S., and M.S. level. The 1984 study also found enrollments declining, but at a less accelerated pace. However, the number of students who graduated with a B.S. in recreation and parks between 1982-1984 dropped 40%. In the 1986 study, the number of graduates increased only 18% .

Gone are the days of departments, having 300 + undergraduates in recreation. All the major programs in Illinois today have smaller enrollments than 15 years ago. Two programs are no longer in operation: Parkland Community College and George Williams College.

Greater number of interest areas exist

Today's students in leisure studies will tell you their interest is in anything from employee recreation to military recreation. It is true that community recreation and therapeutic recreation are still the most popular options nationwide. Commercial recreation is rapidly catching up in third place. Students today are able to select any number of possible avenues with their degrees. It is most likely a sign of the times that public recreation has lost in popularity. Most of us realize that business is the #1 major on many college campuses today.

More agencies competing for students

As leisure services grows in popularity, so too does the demand for students. In fact, many agencies have become quite sophisticated in the development of promotional material to attract interns to their facilities. Software packages now exist for academic departments to buy identifying internships in outdoor, commercial, etc. The Resort and Commercial Recreation Association sells an internship directory of over 150 sites to many academic departments. The explosion in the clinical setting for therapeutic recreation also increases the number of agencies utilizing interns and hiring graduates today.

So, if you take fewer students, more interest areas and greater numbers of agency sites it is easy to see why there are fewer students. But, those may not be the only reasons students are down in number in applying for internship or employment with your agency.

Many students interested in recreation reconsider after reviewing salary listings for various positions. Practitioners are not only concerned about decreased numbers of students, but, more importantly, the quality of students today.

Another reason may be FINANCIAL Recent changes at the federal level regarding financial aid have impacted heavily many undergraduates. Nationwide 46% of all undergraduates receive some form of financial aid. Here at SIU, 78% of all undergraduates receive some form of aid. The recent changes have forced many students to (1) reconsider "where" they wish to go to school and (2) turn to higher cost loans and supplemental programs. Little relief is available in and at the state level where allocations for grants and scholarships are going up 6.2% on the average while costs are to increase 10.1 %. Many students today are not able to pursue field experiences that provide no stipend or assistance. Often resorts, outdoor programs and clinical settings are the only ones able to assist with room and board packages. In addition, many students interested in recreation reconsider after reviewing salary listings for various positions. A first year nine-month teaching appointment often pays more than many entry level recreation positions. Student demographics Student demographics may make adifference in students considering your agency. No longer are all undergraduates between the ages of 18-21. Today, 45% of all undergraduates and graduate students are over the age of 25. In leisure studies, 17% of the students in 2 year programs and 12% of the students in 4 year programs are over 25. Sometimes these students find difficulty in finding internships adapted to meet their needs and abilities. Their outside commitments may prohibit them completing a traditional full-time 40 hour week internship.

Professional restrictions

While it is easy to understand why professional restrictions may be adopted by agencies, this does not stop them from influencing some students. Many agencies today require students come from NRPA accredited programs. Doing this, of course, limits your pool. Remember, accreditation verifies the courses in the program, NOT the student's performance in those courses. Students in small liberal arts colleges, many with excellent academic skills, are prohibited from applying because their school cannot afford accreditation.

Another reason some students reconsider possible sites involves contractual arrangements. Sometimes the contracts are so involved university lawyers prohibit departmental signing without full review. This process at some schools may take up to 3 months. Besides contract requirements, students may also become frustrated if additional and costly liability insurance is required.

Practitioners are concerned not only about the number of students but also, and probably more importantly, about the quality of students today. Again, there are many possible reasons.

The first is the decline in basic math and languages scores nationwide. Recent evidence does seem to suggest that the decline in admission test scores has plateaued. However, students today do lack basic communication and computational skills. Couple this fact with the high demand for recruitment facing many institutions. Many would agree with the Carnegie Policy Series that this has led to colleges and universities letting their programs deteriorate to maintain enrollment numbers.

A second reason students today may be less prepared than their predecessors is the decline in work required within their college career. It is estimated that course assignments and the amount of time students spend on course work has declined by 20 to 30 percent since 1974. Why? As other demands (research, writing, and grant-seeking) increase for faculty, the time allocated for teaching has decreased. As the student workload decreases, so too does the instructor's. Recruitment and retention demands have also probably influenced faculty to reduce student loads.

Grade inflation is probably another contributor to the problem of weaker students. Grade inflation during the last decade has increased the average grade from C to B. Too often educators and practitioners are affected in determining the grade by how nice a person is or by how hard they try. Students thus believe they know more than they do and future employers may be misled regarding their abilities.

It is not my purpose to make excuses for either students, faculty, or agencies. My purpose instead is simply to identify some of the contributing factors. Also, it must be recognized for any one situation different variables exist. It is of the utmost importance that both educators and practitioners address the issue of, "Where have all the students gone?" To continue to ignore the problem, or accept the status quo will only hurt the future of the field of leisure services.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Regina Glover is a faculty member in the Department of Recreation at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.