RAC Renovations

Stress is a leading concern among college students. One way to manage this stress is through physical activity, not only does it reduce stress, but it improves overall health as well (P.H Fentem, 1994). Many people fall short of the recommended 30 minutes of exercise per day, especially college students. To combat this statistic UMBC should rebuild and expand the RAC as a way to incentivize students to exercise more or to start exercising regularly.  They should take into account what the student body is asking for in the new building like more cardio equipment, an expanded weight room, and extended hours. Improving these factors as well as having a new clean building will allow students to achieve their recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise and a decrease in stress levels.

 The wants of the student body can be measured through a random sampling survey of students on campus at different locations at random times. There would need to be different questions asked for the two different student populations, the ones who exercise regularly and those who do not. Asking different questions towards these two groups allows UMBC to make sure each group’s needs are met. To measure if student activity in the RAC has increased we can scan the UMBC ID cards like normal to enter the RAC but we should also have students “sign out” when they leave. This will allow UMBC to track the time each student spends in the gym to see if they are meeting the recommended daily amount. Students should also have to swipe their ID’s to partake in a class or to enter the weight room so those statistics can be tracked also, and services can be adjusted as needed. Another survey should be given to students as they exit the RAC that asks them about how stressed they felt before exercising and how stressed they felt after exercising. 

Recording this data for a full semester (16 Weeks) will give UMBC a good idea of how stress levels change throughout a semester and how that effects exercise levels. Stress levels fluctuate throughout the semester especially during midterms and finals week. Knowing how much students exercise during these very stressful times can allow UMBC to increase the availability of de-stressing mechanisms like exercising. It will also allow for the tracking of overall health changes in the student population.