Abstract
Recreation departments have progressed immensely over the last 20 years, and students are craving more fitness and recreation opportunities at their institutions. The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate how well a large, east coast Ivy League institution is supporting the well-being of its students through recreation services. Additionally, a review was conducted to compare the research site to other institutions nationwide that participated in the 2015-2016 NASPA Consortium Survey. The aim of this study is to provide evidence-based recommendations to improve indoor recreation for students that can be presented to the administration based on students’ needs and wants. The 2015-2016 NASPA Campus Recreation Consortium was used to survey 5,000 students chosen at random. Of the 5,000 students, 1,176 students completed the survey and the results showed that students are content with their current recreation facilities and programs, but they could be better. Furthermore, only 29% of students at the research institution strongly agree that their recreation needs are being met with the current facilities and programs. Additionally, only 19% of students at the research site are satisfied with the amount of indoor recreation space. The solution proposed is for more research to be conducted with non-users of recreation space and more in-depth research with current users. Because this is the first research related to recreation at the university, more research needs to be completed with a larger sample to better understand the needs and wants of students.|Keywords: recreation, well-being, fitness, community, institution, facility