AMERICAN
SOCIETY
OF
EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGISTS
Founded,
1997
Student Representative
Committees
During the first
national meeting of ASEP on October 2-3, 1998, many members voiced
their opinion for having an organized approach towards increasing student
membership. Since then, several students have emailed me expressing their
willingness to volunteer as a student representative at their academic
institution. The following is a document that any student can use as a
guide to recommended functions as a student representative.
An ASEP student
representative,
1. is responsible
for developing programs within their local academic institution that increase
the exposure of ASEP to as many undergraduate and graduate students, and
also faculty, as possible. This exposure should hopefully result in applications
for membership, involvement through interaction with the ASEP forum, submissions
to the ASEPNewsletter,
and even submissions to the research journal, Journal
of Exercise Physiologyonline.
2. as for all members,
should be aware of the ASEP
Charter, and function in a professional manner that is consistent with
the ASEP Code
of Ethics.
3. should submit to
the President a letter of intent that details why they want to be a student
representative. This letter should include a brief (1-2 paragraph) description
of why they are volunteering for such a position, and reveal their professional
interest in ASEP. In addition, they should provide their full name, academic
institution and address, degree in progress, mailing address at their academic
institution, work phone number, and electronic (email) address. Most of
these items will be included within a student representative section linked
to the
ASEP Table
of Contents.
4. will work in close
association with other student representatives, and based on this interaction,
benefit from other strategies used to stimulate student interest in ASEP.
Contact with other student representatives will be facilitated through
the student representative section of the ASEP website.
5. should also interact
within their regional structure. Student representatives can do this by
first establishing their presence within their own institution, and then
instigating contacts at other institutions within their region.
Additional Student
Representative Functions
ASEP student representatives
should begin their efforts by adhering to the aforementioned responsibilities.
Possible strategies that can be followed to meet these duties could be;
1. organizing a meeting
for all undergraduate and graduate students at their academic institution.
During this meeting ASEP can be introduced, the missions identified and
discussed, and any questions answered. Questions that could be raised,
with recommended answers are as follows:
Q. Why should we
join ASEP?
A. To express your
support for the professionalization of exercise physiology. If you think
that you deserve to have improved employment opportunities once you graduate
with an undergraduate degree in exercise science, with an emphasis in exercise
physiology, then you need to join ASEP. ASEP has as it's main mission the
establishment of course accreditation, certification of exercise physiologists,
and based on these functions, the increased professional recognition of
undergraduate degree trained exercise physiologists.
Q. Our professors
say that the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is the organization
we should join. Why should we join ASEP instead?
A. ACSM is a great
organization, but it is not an organization solely comprised of exercise
physiologists, with the professional development of exercise physiology
as a mission. Sports medicine is a conglomerate of many disciplines and
professions. Sports medicine enables these disciplines and professions
to share their common interests in how exercise influences the body for
the benefit of this knowledge base. ACSM does not exist to serve exercise
physiologists, ASEP does.
Q. We are only
undergraduate students, how can our membership help anything?
A. You should not
think like you have been forced to think in the past. Prior to ASEP there
was no organized effort to make your undergraduate or graduate degree worth
anything in and of itself. ASEP exists for your interests and needs, and
you need to know that as a student of exercise physiology you should be
recognized for the quality of your training, and the suitability your knowledge
and skills have for advanced employment in the fitness, health, and clinical
workforce.
Q. Why should we
join if everything that we need is provided free on the ASEP website?
A. Everything you
need is not on the ASEP website. Certainly there is a lot of information
for you to use on the website, but your needs are far more diverse than
anything that a website can provide for you. For example, you need to know
that being a part of ASEP is an expression of your commitment to support
the hundreds of university professors who are working hard at making your
degree a more recognized and respected achievement. Similarly, for the
missions of ASEP to be more easily accomplished there needs to be an overwhelming
acceptance of ASEP and its missions by as many exercise physiologists as
possible. Unfortunately, in today's world, there is power in numbers. ASEP
has a huge job to do to correct many of the negative consequences of almost
zero post-graduate support for exercise physiologists prior to 1997 (when
ASEP was founded). You are currently competing for employment with students
who do not have a degree in exercise science, yet who can claim they are
trained simply by taking one or two classes in exercise science, or completing
one of several different certifications that are provided by other organizations.
These certifications only represent a sub-component of what you as an exercise
physiologist are trained to do. Although these certifications are better
than nothing, they have the inherent risk of adding to the demise of the
undergraduate and graduate degree in exercise science. For example, why
should a student devote their time in a major within exercise science if
they can get similar job recognition and status as an exercise physiologist
by taking a biology or psychology degree, electives in exercise science,
and get the same external certification?
These questions and
answers are only examples of what you might be required to explain. It
would be good to take note of the many questions that you might receive,
and develop a student questions and answers resource for the future student
representatives that follow you.
2. develop connections
with all other student representatives. You can do this via the directory
of representatives that will eventually be located on the website.
3. work on your own
website within your university/program structure that indicates what you
are doing, and link this to all other student representative organizations,
the national ASEP website, and other links of your interest.
4. become involved
in the research that is outlined in my 1998
President's Report, that is designed to acquire information of where
our students of exercise science (undergraduate and graduate) receive employment
after graduation. This data base of information is desperately needed to
better direct efforts at improving undergraduate and graduate programs
in exercise physiology, better understand what is needed to improve the
presence of females in exercise physiology, and produce statistics to further
reveal the importance and immediate need for the professionalization of
exercise physiology.
I hope these comments
and directions help you to function as a student representative for ASEP.
Feel free to respond to me with added questions, and to update me on your
progress.
ASEP
Table of Contents