When walking into the College of William and Mary’s Student Recreation Center, one might notice some changes. The swipe-in machines no longer accept key codes or finger prints. The Rec staff is stopping some students before they enter, and a few of the swipe-in machines have pink “out-of-order” signs.
Currently, the Rec is undergoing a system update as well as a policy change that Director of Campus Recreation Linda Knight believes will benefit the facility as a whole.
“We have a new software system that will allow us to do a much better job of controlling who comes into the facility and who doesn’t,” Knight said. “It also allows us to do a much better job of assessments, so we know that we are meeting the needs of our students, faculty and staff.”
Within the new system, the Rec will be able to distinguish between full-time students, part-time students and faculty members. The Rec now charges part-time students the same recreation fee previously charged only to full-time students.
“As a full-time student you have to pay a recreational fee, but as a part-time student you did not, and we felt that was unfair. So part-time students are being charged the recreation fee, just like a full-time student is being charged,” Knight said. “Part-time students do not have to pay the fee if they do not want to enter in and use the facility, but full-time students don’t have that option.”
Improvements that Knight predicts the Rec Center will make include an online sign-up system for fitness classes and intramural sports. Also, with increased funds, the Rec is looking to purchase new fitness machines.
“Any money that we get in from this [the new fees] will go back into the facility to benefit the students,” Knight said.
The new software capabilities also include tracking who uses the facility and the times, so the Rec can offer more fitness classes during hours that cater to the needs of the individuals using the facility.
With the new software, Rec Center workers have to take training courses on how to use the new system. Sutton MacQueen ’16 has yet to take a training course.
“I am just learning on the fly, but I can tell that it is streamlining the process a lot more; all we have to do is figure out the kinks,” MacQueen said.
With the new system, some students have had difficulty with their IDs.
“Alumni that just graduated have started to realize that they can no longer use the facility under their old ID. Also, we have had some issues with VIMS students and some international students studying abroad,” Rec Center employee Mary Covington ’14 said.
Through all the initial kinks, the Rec Center is looking to benefit all those who enter the facility.
“We really want to meet the needs of our students, and we can really do that with this new system,” Knight said.
