Come next fall, the Department of Exercise Science and Athletic Training will be renamed simply the Department of Exercise Science, due to the decision that will effectively phase out the Athletic Training major that Creighton currently offers.
Starting this May, courses to achieve an Athletic Training major will no longer be offered. Classes will be offered for the remaining students in the program up through 2009.
This year, there were a total of eight students attempting to earn a major in Athletic Training, five of them seniors. That leaves only three students who will be taking classes necessary for this major.
Dr. Thomas Baechle, professor and chair of the Exercise Science and Athletic Training Department, is among those who made the decision to phase out the program.
“There is just too small of number of students to keep the program going, and we face high competition across the United States with over 300 schools offering the major as well,” Baechle said.
Competition is also seen locally, with schools such as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Kearney offering the program, all with larger numbers of students attempting to earn the degree.
“There will be no faculty losses,” Baechle said. “Instead, it will allow us to reallocate resources and expand the Exercise Science major program, which currently has 110 students enrolled in it. We also hope to offer new specialization courses, however, these are still being decided upon.”
“Based on changes in requirements for Athletic Training Education on a national level, it was becoming increasingly demanding for the clinical athletic trainers to aid the AT students, as well as provide the medical coverage for their sport teams, which was their primary duty,” said Kevin Deremer, interim irector of the Athletic Training Education Program.
Deremer also said that the departure of the head of the Athletic Training Education Program was a major factor in the decision to phase out the program.