The opening of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center is ushering in a new era at Abilene Christian University, in more ways than one: For the first time, ACU will offer dance classes for academic credit.
“We’re bringing that wall down,” said Dr. Joe Bell, chair of the Department of Exercise Science and Health.
The two new classes — ballet and modern dance — are among the first of what will likely be several years of transition as the department adapts its curriculum for the new facility.
Another significant change will be the introduction of a fitness class as one of the two activity courses included part of each student’s core requirements.
In years past, students were required to take ESXC 100 — Lifetime Wellness, a freshman-level, primarily lecture class — followed by three activities, such as bowling, pickleball or racquetball. With the introduction last year of ACU’s new Core, those were reduced to two required activities. One of those now will be EXSC 101, a fitness-related followup to Lifetime Wellness, Bell said.
Students will use the rec center to develop a fitness plan in 100 and will be tasked with carrying it out in 101, he said. The new curriculum will apply to entering freshmen this fall.
With the Wellness Key providing opportunities for tracking how a student uses the wellness center through all four years on campus, the new curriculum allows Exercise Science faculty to engage in research about the usage patterns and health habits of ACU students, Bell said.
“We feel that’s a cutting-edge way to go,” he said. “Not a lot of people do that.”
The three new classes are just the start, Bell said, of how the new facility will change the offerings and emphases of the department in the coming years.
“I’m sure we’ll develop some curriculum-type things,” Bell said. “There’s so much we can do. It’ll be really great. We’re trying to keep our curriculum open enough where we can make changes on the fly.”