Incentive Programs at Campus Recreation Centers

Abstract

Many colleges and universities today offer students, faculty, alumni, and community members access to on-campus recreation centers. These centers offer cardiovascular and weight-training equipment, swimming pools, snack areas and juice bars, multipurpose gymnasiums, racquetball courts, locker rooms, saunas, steam rooms, and a variety of other amenities. These services are often included in a student's semester activity fee, while many institutions make the facilities available at a nominal charge for faculty and staff. In order to entice faculty and staff utilize these facilities, some institutions have begun creating and offering incentive packages for users. This research is focused on reasons why employee participation is beneficial to both the individual and the institution, how employees can be motivated through the use of incentives, the various types of participation incentives offered, examples of successful incentives, and recommendations for future incentive plans.