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FEATURES
This program is offered in partnership with Gatlin Education Services in conjunction with IDEA Health & Fitness Association, Health Club Managers, Inc., and Personal Fitness Professional (PFP). IDEA has provided content/curriculum in the program; in addition, students receive a complimentary six-month membership to the digital edition of IDEA Fitness Journal. Health Club Managers, a Health Club Staff/Management Training company, is providing graduating certificate students a preferred discount on their services. PFP is providing students with a three year free subscription, which includes eight print issues per year, a bi-monthly e-newsletter, access to their digital magazine and an interactive web site with blogs, polls, articles, and much more.
This certificate program includes:
Examination of the planning process for starting a new venture
Review common approaches to develop a strategic business plan for specific types of health and fitness-related facilities
An introduction to financial and managerial accounting concepts
Exploration of how successful marketing and branding guides a company’s business strategy
Examination of the organization and administration of for profit and not-for-profit health/fitness facilities
Optional Field Internship Course: Students that enter the program may complete an optional internship course that is six weeks/60 hours in length
On-going guidance, instruction, and interaction from instructors that hold either a master’s degree, MBA, or PhD in business administration, finance, exercise physiology, kinesiology, or an exercise science-related degree.
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TOPIC HIGHLIGHTS
- Business Development and Entrepreneurship in Fitness
- Understand Business Fundamentals
- Learn about Being a Fitness Manager
- Understand Key Manager Skill Sets
- Understand Sales and Marketing
- Financial Principles and Business Concepts
- Learn about the Major Types of Financial Statements
- Understand Budgetary and Forecast Spreadsheets
- Learn How to Apply Financial and Accounting Principles to Start a Fitness Business
- Learn the Basics of the Federal Tax System
- Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service Management (CSM)
- Understand Consumer Buying Behaviors in the Fitness Industry
- Understand Customer Centric Focus
- Learn how to Transform Customer Satisfaction to Customer Loyalty
- Learn Why Customers Buy and Don’t Buy a Particular Club Service
- Fitness Management and Business Administration
- Understand the Role of the Human Resources Department
- Understand the Job Description of a Fitness Professional
- Understand Staff Development
- Learn How Staff Development, Business Development, and Customer Service Management Work Together
- Elective Course: Optional Field Internship in Fitness Business Management
- Intern for a total of six weeks/60 hours with professionals in the fitness and health industry for a practical experience working with members at fitness facilities and health centers
- Network and interact with professionals in the health and fitness industry
- Develop a professional goal statement and review career opportunities
- Improve your ability to obtain employment and/or operate your own health and fitness facility
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CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS
A 70% or better must be achieved in order to receive a Certificate of Completion.
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
By completing Fitness Business Management, students will:
Identify the skill-sets and competencies that the fitness manager needs in order to be a successful entrepreneur, owner, or department head
Understand the financial status necessary to be a successful business entity in the fitness industry
Learn business concepts including purchasing, contractual agreements, risk management and negligence, technology issues, and other fiscal concerns
Identify how branding influences, discovers, and creates a demand for fitness services and products
Understand customer relationship management methods
Understand sales techniques in fitness
Explore the profession as a potential career choice with the optional field internship experience.
Prepare to work as a fitness manager or business owner in the health and fitness industry
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PDF BROCHURE
Please click here to download the PDF brochure for the Gatlin online courses offered by OCPE.
This brochure and the registration form for this course require Adobe Reader. Click
here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader.
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WHO SHOULD ATTEND
There are no specific prerequisites to enter this program other than an Internet connection, an e-mail address, and basic computer knowledge. Students are required to have CPR certification and approval by the Program Coordinator prior to beginning the Optional Field Internship Elective Course.
The Fitness Business Management program is designed to supply essential educational pathways and career opportunities for:
- Current managers that wish to implement successful fitness management systems
- Current allied health and fitness professionals and personal trainers interested in establishing a fitness business or a becoming fitness manager
- Education directors of multi-site facilities or chains developing fitness professionals and fitness managers
- Companies that require the certificate program as a professional development program for employees to achieve key business goals, career objectives, and skills to advance beyond entry-level positions.
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Ken Baldwin, MED, ACSM-H/FI
Ken Baldwin, MED, is the Program Coordinator and instructor for this professional certificate in Fitness Business Management. He is the former Chair of IDEA’s National Personal Trainer Committee and Chair of the Senior Fitness Subcommittee for the Massachusetts’s Governor’s Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports. Ken is the Senior Editor, content expert, and lead author for the American College of Sports Medicine - ACSM’s Resources for the Personal Trainer Textbook (2nd Ed.). He continues to serve on national committees for ACSM, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD), the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR), and the Medical Fitness Association (MFA). He has been honored with numerous awards including IDEA’s Personal Trainer of the Year Award, presented at the IDEA International Personal Training Summit.
Ken has been involved in the fitness, wellness, and education profession for over ten years. Ken’s extensive background in the fitness industry includes operating and managing a personal training company, training many types of populations from children to seniors and beginning exercisers to athletes, to lecturing and consulting at corporations, public events, national conventions (ACSM Health and Fitness Summit, Club Industry, IDEA World Conference, International Council of Active Aging, and the Medical Fitness Association, to name a few) and international conferences. In addition to his industry experience, he is actively involved in working with national organizations and colleges/universities in developing educational standards for those wishing to enter the Personal Fitness Training Profession.
Dan Ritchie, MS, CSCS
Dan Ritchie, MS, CSCS has a broad background in the fitness industry including training and management in commercial and university/hospital-based fitness, for-profit, non-profit and educational facilities. His primary areas of expertise are in personal training for special populations: athletes, pregnancy, blind and stroke recovery, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s, etc. He has worked with Division I athletes and on a state funded research about exercise for severe dementia Alzheimer’s type. He regularly presents at national and regional conferences and has been active on committees for the American College of Sports Medicine. In 2007 he completed his PhD in Health and Kinesiology at Purdue University.
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This course can be taken from either a Mac or a PC. Technical requirements include but are not limited to having internet access with a 56K modem, but it is highly recommended that you have DSL or High Speed Cable Internet Access; 64 MB system RAM; 200 MB free hard disk space memory or sufficient storage; reliable e-mail account access, CD-ROM/DVD capabilities, and a reliable Internet provider. Some individual courses may have additional software and/or hardware requirements.
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1. How do I register for a Gatlin online course?
Please contact our office on the Fairfax campus in Northern Virginia (NOVA) or call 703-993-2113. Click here for more information or to download a copy of the registration form.
2. How much do Gatlin online courses cost?
To view the prices for all Gatlin courses that are offered by George Mason
University, please click here.
3. Why do I have to take Gatlin courses through a participating school?
Gatlin does not offer courses directly to the public. They partner with major colleges and universities to offer their programs.
4. Do I have to travel to register for or to attend a Gatlin online course?
All Gatlin courses are delivered entirely online, you do not have to go to a class or travel to a school. If you are unable to visit our office on the Fairfax campus in Northern Virginia (NOVA), please contact us at 703-993-2113 or click here for more information or to register for a course.
5. How long does it take to complete a Gatlin course?
All of our Gatlin courses are asynchronous. You can start and finish the course at
your own pace. Most courses are designed to be completed within 180 days. You may request an extension if you think
you will need more time to complete a course (fees may apply). Please contact us at 703-993-2113 or
click here if you have any
questions or if you would like to register for a course.
6. Do I have to buy additional materials?
Please refer to the green Included Materials box located on the upper right hand side of this page. If materials are included in this course, they will be shipped by Gatlin to you via UPS ground service after you have registered for a course.
7. Can I get financial aid for Gatlin courses?
Gatlin courses are non-credit and therefore are not eligible for Federal Student Aid. However there are a number of loan programs that can be used to fund your course. Click here to view a list of these options or call 703-993-2113 for more information. Gatlin also provides a loan opportunity
for students (www.collegeloanapplication.com).
8. What happens when I complete the course?
If you obtain a final passing grade of 70% or greater in a course, we will award you
a George Mason University certificate of completion.
9. Who will be my instructor?
Each student is paired up with a facilitator for one-on-one interaction. The facilitator will be available (by e-mail) to answer any questions you may have and to provide feedback on your performance. Facilitators are all successful working professionals in the fields in which they teach.
10. What are the system requirements in order to take an online course?
Please see the "PC requirements" section listed for individual courses.
11. When can I start the course?
Registrations are rolling. Please send us your registration form at the time you wish to start your course. Registrations take five to seven business days to process.
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