The mission of the HPX Department is to link education and research with service learning, student teaching, and internship experiences in Health Promotion and Health Education. In addition, the department educates about and provides opportunities for making healthy lifestyle choices on campus and in the greater community.

The strategies used to fulfill the mission include an experiential learning approach that incorporates team building, knowledge enhancement, skill building, volunteerism, and continuous quality improvement. Public Health degree students create health promotion programs for the university and surrounding community organizations, and the program culminates with a full semester professional internship. Fieldwork experience is intertwined throughout the curriculum for the Health Education PreK-12 candidates. Health and Wellness Management students complete a field-based experience as part of the capstone course for the major. This experiential approach provides WCSU students with an opportunity to gain “real‐life experience” and help the community at the same time. Mentoring, advising, and leading by example are key components of our student‐centered approach.

Program Objectives
The curriculum is driven by competency-based objectives derived from ongoing internal and external program evaluations. Our graduates’ performances in pre-professional activities and placements with schools, public and private health agencies, clinical sites, and fitness centers and corporations assist in the realization of the department’s mission. We strive to meet the educational needs of a diversified student body so that our degree candidates will be prepared to address health education and promotion in a global society.

Learning Outcomes – B.S. Health Education (PK-12)

Graduates of the B.S. Health Education (PK-12) Certification Program will be prepared to demonstrate the following outcomes:

• Apply health content knowledge as competent health educators.
• Assess individual and community needs for health education.
• Plan effective health education programs.
• Implement health education programs.
• Evaluate effectiveness of health education programs.
• Coordinate provisions of health education services.
• Act as a resource person in health education.

Communicate health and health education needs, concerns, and resources (#2-8 responsibilities and competencies for school health educators have been established, as seen in The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.

Learning Outcomes – B.S. Health and Wellness Management program

Graduates of the B.S. Health and Wellness Management program will be prepared to demonstrate the following outcomes:

• Articulate an understanding of the multidimensional nature of health and wellness, including contemporary topics within each dimension.
• Demonstrate the ability to design and implement wellness programs in community and industry settings.
• Possess a knowledge of the fundamental concepts of management as an organizational process.
• Display the communication skills, both written and oral, used in wellness, business, and organizational settings.
• Demonstrate cultural competence when working with diverse populations.
• Articulate a plan for achieving a career of their choice in the health and wellness industry.

Learning Outcomes – B.S. Public Health program

Graduates of the B.S. Public Health program will be prepared to demonstrate the following outcomes:

1. Use leadership, management, and collaborative skills as a member of a team to apply the health promotion program planning process to design, implement, and evaluate health promotion interventions. Specifically, students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Identify and assess health needs, resources and capacity for a health promotion intervention.
• Examine the relationship between behaviors and health issues using primary and secondary data.
• Plan a health promotion intervention incorporating health behavior theories and models.
• Design an evidence-based health promotion intervention including marketing and instructional materials.
• Integrate content knowledge into health promotion intervention program materials and lesson plans.
• Apply ethical principles and scientific inquiry processes to create an Institutional Review Board Protocol and conduct a pre-post assessment of a health promotion intervention.
• Market, implement, administer and manage a health promotion intervention.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation plan using sound research principles.
• Summarize the process and outcome evaluation results in a final report including all materials developed in health promotion program planning and evaluation process.

2. Serve as a health promotion professional in diverse communities and organizations using appropriate communication, promotion, and advocacy skills.

Regional
Abilities Beyond Disabilities, Brookfield
AIDS Project, New Haven
Alternative Incarceration Center, Danbury
American Cancer Society, Wilton
American Red Cross, Danbury
American Red Cross, Waterbury
Avery Heights, Hartford
BAYADA Home Health Care, Norwalk
Benchmark Assisted Living – Ridgefield Crossings’
Bethel Health Care, Bethel
Bethel Health Dept., Bethel
Bluestreak Sports Training, Stamford
Boehringer Ingelheim, Fairfield
Boys and Girls Club of Ridgefield
Brewster Athletic Club, Brewster, NY
Birth Partners Labor Assistants, Naugatuck
Cardinal Hayes Home for Children, Millbrook, NY
Chapter 126, Bristol
Chelsea Piers, Stamford
Cheshire High School, Cheshire
Connecticut Institute for Communities, Danbury
Connecticut State Dept. of Health
Covenant Village of Cromwell, Cromwell
Danbury Children First Initiative, Danbury
Danbury Health Care Affiliates, DHCA, Danbury
Danbury Hospital, Danbury
Danbury Dept. of Health and Housing, Danbury
Danbury Orthopedics, Danbury
Danbury PAL, Danbury
Danbury School System, Danbury
Danbury High School, Roberts Avenue School, Hayestown Avenue School, Danbury
Danbury Senior Center, Danbury
Danbury Youth Services, Danbury
Danbury Visiting Nurses Assoc., Danbury
Diageo, Norwalk
Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen, Danbury
Duracell Fitness Center, Bethel
Dow Chemical Corporation, Fitness Center
Devereux Glenhome School, Washington
Earth Fit, New Fairfield
Elim Park Health Care and Rehab Center, Cheshire
Even Start, Danbury
Filosa Nursing Home, Danbury
Gartner, Stamford
Girl Scouts of Southwest Connecticut
Green Chimneys School, Brewster, NY
Good Friends, Danbury
Habitat for Humanity
Hancock Hall, Danbury
Harambee Center, Danbury
Heal the Children, New Milford
Healing Hearts (Danbury Hospice)
HealthQuest, Danbury
Health South, Danbury
Hispanos Unidos Contra El Sida, New Haven
Human Resource Development Agency, Naugatuck
ICES, Waterbury
Interfaith AIDS Ministry of Danbury, Danbury
Just for Women, Waterbury
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Norwalk
Laurel Ridge Nursing Home, Ridgefield
Main Street Rehab – Danbury Hospital
Maplewood, Bethel, Danbury and Newtown
Masonicare of Newtown
MasterCard Pro-Fit Center, Purchase, NY
MCCA, Ridgefield
Meadow Ridge, Redding
National Organization of Rare Disorders (NORD), New Fairfield
Nestle Waters. Stamford
New Fairfield High School, New Fairfield
New Milford High School, New Milford
New Milford Senior Center, New Milford
Newtown Youth Academy Sports and Fitness Center, Newtown
Norwalk Department of Health, Norwalk
Northeast Natural Medicine, Newtown
Northwest CT AIDS Project, Torrington
Pepsico Bottling Group, Somers/Purchase, N.Y.
Planned Parenthood, Danbury, New Haven and Waterbury
Pitney Bowes Corporate Fitness Center, Danbury
Rebound Medical, Danbury
Region #15, Pomperaug High School, Southbury
Ridgefield Boys and Girls Club, Ridgefield
Ridgefield High School, Ridgefield
Ridgefield Physical Therapy
Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association
Rockland County Dept. of Health, New City, NY
Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut, Danbury
Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut
St. Mary’s Hospital, Waterbury
Salvation Army, Danbury
StayWell Health Care, Inc., Waterbury
Stratford Recreation Department
Sterling House Community Center, Stratford
Summit Rehab
Sun Family Outreach Program, Meriden
Tauck, Norwalk
The Hills Physical Therapy, Litchfield Hills
The Nat’l Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine, Brewster, NY
The Village at Brookfield Common, Brookfield
The Village at Mariner’s Point, East Haven
Town of Kent, Environmental Protection, Kent
Turning Point Healing Arts, Ridgefield
United Way of Western Connecticut, Danbury
Until Violence Stops, Danbury
Visiting Nurses of Oxford
War Memorial, Danbury
Waterbury Health Dept., Waterbury
Western CT Medical Group, New Milford
Western Connecticut Senior Exercise Program, Danbury
Western Connecticut State University, ChildCare Center, Danbury
Western Connecticut State University, CHOICES, Danbury
Western Connecticut State University, Housing & Residence Life, Danbury
Western Connecticut State University, V-DAY Project, Danbury
Wilton Meadows Rehabilitation and Health Care, Wilton
Women’s Center of Greater Danbury, Danbury
Women, Infant and Children (WIC), Danbury
Youth Action Programs & Homes, Inc., NY
YMCA, Waterbury

National
Health Fitness Corporation, Minneapolis, MN
MediFit, Florsham Park, NJ
ProFitness Health Solutions, Shelton

To learn more about the Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences degree, please follow the links below

• Catalog entry
• Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences department website
• School of Professional Studies