Mission, Outcomes, Accreditation

Department Mission

The Department of Sport Management at Slippery Rock University strives to be a leader in providing practical and transformative undergraduate education, with a focus on student success in the field of sport business.  We encourage our students' intellectual, personal, and professional growth through a challenging academic program augmented by relevant experiential requirements.  As one of the oldest academic Sport Management programs in the country, we are committed to maintaining our reputation as one of the sport industry's premier partners in sport management education. In pursuit of our mission, we primarily focus our efforts on:

• Providing quality undergraduate instruction through engaging pedagogy
• Preparing students to critically analyze issues and problems related to sport business
• Ensuring students are proficient in the outcome areas of communication, critical thinking and problem solving, values and ethics, social awareness and civic responsibilities, global interdependence, personal development, aesthetic perception and ability and professional proficiency
• Requiring sufficient contact hours in practical settings to enhance student learning
• Connecting students to the university community, the profession and to the world

Student Outcomes

The Sport Management faculty has established five program outcomes for the undergraduate program that are implemented on a daily basis inside and outside the classroom.  These program outcomes are an extension of the mission statement and connect to the university's outcomes. In order to achieve our mission, these outcomes are assessed using a variety of direct and indirect performance indicators.  

1. Communication: Communicate effectively in speech and in writing, using appropriate information sources, presentation formats, and technologies.
2. Diversity and Ethical Practices: Integrate diversity and ethical principles to prepare culturally responsive and ethically responsible individuals to function effectively in diverse sports environments.
3. Legal and Financial Practices: Integrate legal and financial principles to evaluate their impact on decision-making in the sport industry.
4. Technological and Global Interdependence: Demonstrate proficiency in the use of current technologies and exhibit understanding of the global sport industry.
5. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Demonstrate ability to identify, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information and ideas through professional performance in simulated sport industry environments, such as an internship, practicum, or volunteer experience.
6. Professional Proficiency and Development: Apply knowledge and skills, including soft skills, to meet professional competencies within the sports industry.

ACCREDITATION

Slippery Rock University is accredited by the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA).

The sport management degree program(s) at Slippery Rock University has received specialized accreditation through the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) located in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. The sport management program in the following degree is accredited by COSMA: Bachelor of Science

Our students benefit from the external verification of quality provided by COSMA's rigorous accreditation process.  We were the first program in the United States to receive this accreditation in 2010.

Program Information Profile