UNE's online-first Exercise and Sports Science: flexible study, strong industry links

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As a pioneer of distance education in the 1950s, UNE have proudly carried this tradition by delivering online learning since the late 1990s, offering world-class education to students from wherever they are in Australia -and without having to uproot their lives.

This is perhaps most evident in UNE's 'Online First' Exercise and Sports Science program, two majority-online courses - a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science and a Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology - that equip students with access to interactive course content from the comfort of their home.

"A lot of institutions offer online learning as an option, but I say that in quotation marks, as it may mean a recorded lecture is uploaded online," said Dr Stephen Goodman, UNE's Senior Lecturer of Exercise and Sports Science.

"Our content is designed for online learning from the outset and we don't subscribe to lectures anymore. Instead, we offer interactive learning modules called 'RAPIDS' that students really enjoy. The design is such that it's there to improve student learning."

While the online modules are designed to be a 'one-stop-shop' to fully equip students with tools to succeed in their course, lecturers at UNE also provide one-on-one student support to clarify concepts, discuss assessments and map out steps to succeeding in the course.

"We find that a lot of students do well with the interactive and online content modules, but some students just want to have that extra bit of conversation, or to check their knowledge with one of our lecturers. One-on-one support helps them to experience that," said Dr Goodman.

While the course is held online, an exciting partnership with NSW Rugby League and the establishment of a $35 million NSW Rugby League Centre of Excellence at Sydney Olympic Park has meant that UNE now experiences rare access to elite sports facilities.

This has become a huge asset for emerging UNE Exercise and Sports Science students, as they are able to travel to Sydney to complete their second-year Intensives and meet their peers in person.

"Previously all Intensives were held in Armidale. Now, at the Centre of Excellence in Sydney Olympic Park, it's not unusual for students to see professional rugby union teams, NRL teams and soccer teams training around them", said Dr Brad Morris, an academic and lecturer at UNE based at the NSW Rugby League Centre of Excellence in Sydney.

"There's also a field outside, a large gym and recovery section downstairs and the students get access to all of that as part of their Intensives."

"I'll be taking 10 students out to New South Wales Rugby League's Blues camp and they'll get to go to a game. It's a nice little add-on that no other universities can offer. We're heavily linked into industry and our relationship with New South Wales Rugby League is a really good example of that."

"The students also do a couple of intensive schools in Armidale in first and second year. They're very serviceable and representative of the kinds of equipment that they would expect to see out in placements at the Centre of Excellence as well," Dr Goodman said.

Roughly every month, Exercise and Sports Science students at UNE can benefit from a program called Industry Insights, where successful sports professionals, such as an accredited exercise physiologist, an influential gym owner or elite sportsperson give a presentation to students.

These Industry Insights sessions also provide students with the opportunity to ask questions about what these individuals have achieved and how they've achieved it, as well as mistakes they have learned from, so that students may take these learnings into their own professional journey.

"It can be really nice from a student's perspective to be able to see how these individuals have gone from their undergraduate degree to working full-time in their field. It's a great way for students to connect to where they may want to go post-university - and, importantly, to see the roadmap to getting there," said Dr Morris.

Graduates of the Exercise and Sports Science program at UNE can pursue traditional roles in elite professional sports, semi-professional sports, data analytics and even as accredited professionals at schools, where there is an increasing focus on high-level strength, conditioning, and injury prevention.

"We've noticed that support of semi-professional sport is a booming market. The industry wants people with qualifications to be able to service them and improve players' wellbeing and reduce injury risk," Dr Goodman said.

"There's also been a huge uptake in areas of women's sport around Australia. The Olympics is another drawcard for opportunities.

Similarly, it seems that schools have evolved from the days of run-amok PE classes that many of us may remember.

"Schools now want accredited strength and conditioning coaches and they want exercise and sports scientists to run classes. They truly look at performance enhancement and reducing injury risk in players and athletes," said Dr Goodman.

Dr Goodman has also seen a rise in data analytics roles in the sporting industry, with many UNE graduates exploring opportunities in this area.

"I would say that sport's becoming a bit more 'Moneyball', as the industry continues to show more of an interest in statistics. Not just what it means for exercise prescription, but also player rotations, monitoring, training load, all that type of stuff.

"It's going to be a huge space moving, so we're in the process of tweaking some course material to hone in on that area and help prepare students for that market", said Dr Goodman.

In terms of exposing students to industry connections, 140-360 hours of placement opportunities help students get a taste for the kind of work they'd like to pursue.

"If someone is interested in elite level sport, we do our utmost to secure a placement in that space. Because of our partnership with New South Wales Rugby League, we've obviously had a lot of students complete placements through there," Dr Goodman said.

"We've done a couple of small conferences out of New South Wales Rugby League as well. It gives students to exposure to and opportunities to lean into industry. There's a high success rate of students that go from placements to jobs."

UNE is no stranger to online learning. Having embraced distance learning since 1955, they currently teach over 200 courses online and have built strong industry credibility from this style of learning delivery.

"Students do come to us as an option based on how the content is designed and the expertise that we have. The discipline that we have in our program is one of the best performing in our school, and a lot of it comes down to the pastoral care that we provide," said Dr Goodman.

"We have a very people-centred and acccommodating approach. At the end of the day, we want to see students reach their goals."

If you're considering an Exercise and Sports Science degree at UNE, Dr Goodman's advice is this:

"While it can be hard for any student to think about where they're going to be in five years, 10 years, 15 years, I would recommend taking the dive. Sometimes you do just have to give things a go and see if you like it."