Wellness Education
Wellness Education
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Wellness Education at RIT takes learning beyond the classroom with hands-on learning opportunities that span across all areas of health and well-being.
Wellness Education and Outdoor Education, combined, offer over 200 wellness-related classes each year. The comprehensive wellness curriculum is an integral part of the total educational experience at RIT, as it is designed to help students make healthy choices to support academics and social interactions in college, and beyond.
Faculty and Staff
Did you know faculty and staff members can also participate in student wellness classes offered each semester? Registration for faculty/staff occurs after all students have registered.
How to register:
- If you have taken classes at RIT previously, register at Student Information System.
- If you have never taken a course at RIT, please complete a registration form.
Courses
Wellness Education Courses are offered in multiple disciplines, with over 100 classes offered each semester.
Fun Fact: One student took 38 wellness courses during their 5 years at RIT!
Graduation Requirements
At RIT, your health and well-being are a top priority, which is why students are required to complete a wellness course requirement to graduate. Although there is a wellness course requirement, there is no limit to the number of classes you can take!
Bachelor’s Degree Requirements
Students must complete two different wellness courses
Note: Two different courses would include different levels of and/or forms of a course that may have the same course number (e.g. Karate/Beginners and Karate/Advanced would count as 2 different courses).
Associate’s Degree Requirements
Students must complete one wellness course
Transfer Student Requirements
Transfer students who have completed courses at another university can submit a syllabus for evaluation to obtain a wellness waiver. Your Academic Advisor will assist in this process and determine whether or not the transfer credit is approved.
Because health and wellness are a priority at RIT, the university provides funding for 2 undergraduate student classes at the base course fee. Additional courses and courses with a fee over $105 will be the responsibility of the student. Information about course fees can be found in the notes section in SIS.
Off-campus courses classes are likely to carry a higher fee than others. If you have billing questions, please contact Student Financial Services
Exemption Scenarios
There are some instances when a student may be exempt from the wellness education requirement.
Students who are 25 or older at the date of matriculation are exempt from the wellness education requirement but may enroll in any course if interested.
No wellness credit is granted for any Club Sports participation.
Students participating in the Institute's Intercollegiate Athletic programs will be granted wellness course credit for the season(s) of participation. Wellness Education encourages student athletes to enroll in wellness courses that are different from their intercollegiate experience to ensure full engagement in a variety of leisure time pursuits and cross training.
No credit is granted for intramural sports participation.
A medical excuse may exempt a student from the graduation requirement. The exemption will be granted only by a college Dean, Academic Advisor or the Director, Wellness Education. One copy of the medical excuse (signed physician's memo) should be filed with the Wellness Education Program (Student Life Center Main Office) and the other copy taken to the student’s academic department.
Students who have completed six months or more of active military duty are not required to complete the wellness education program, but are encouraged to enroll in any wellness course that may interest them.
Non-matriculated students are exempt from the wellness education requirement.
NTID Pre-Baccalaureate, AAS or AOS are required to complete one wellness activity course to satisfy their graduation requirement.
Students who have acquired a prior Bachelor’s degree are exempt from the wellness education requirement.
Students enrolled in Online only degree programs are exempt from the wellness graduation requirement.
Policies and Procedures
Wellness courses follow the same add/drop schedule as academic courses. If you have an unusual circumstance that requires you to add/drop a course after the determined deadline, please complete the Add/Drop Audit Form and submit to wellnesseducation@rit.edu
If a student registers for a wellness course as an AUDIT, it will not count towards the university graduation requirement because attendance is not tracked by the instructor for any audit registrations. Courses that are audited carry the course fee and are not reimbursed by the university because they are not being taken towards the graduation requirement.
Registration for an audit must be completed on SIS during the first 7 days of each quarter. No audits can be processed after the add/drop period. Classes that are audited carry the same course fee as courses taken for credit. Please note, courses that are audited are not paid for by the university.
All injuries that occur in wellness courses must be reported to the instructor at the time of injury so they can complete an Incident Report. If emergency medical treatment is required, the instructor will contact RIT Public Safety.
Medical expenses resulting from class injuries must be covered by RIT's student health insurance or the student’s private health insurance plan. No expenses are covered by Wellness Education.
Retroactive wellness credit may be granted if the student is in their final semester and special consideration needs to be granted for them to be certified to graduate. One option is the American Red Cross Adult First Aid/CPR/AED Certification.
- Log into American Red Cross and search for In-Person CPR Registration
- Click on Class: Adult First Aid/CPR/AED
- Choose a convenient location, day, and time. The course is $77 and takes 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete. The course must be completed in person.
- Send your completed certificate to your Academic Advisor
- Your Academic Advisor will then complete the Wellness Waiver and send it electronically to the Director, Wellness Education.
- The form will be signed and returned to your Academic Advisor who will send the form to the Office of the Registrar.
- The waiver will appear on your transcript.
The Department of Access Services (DAS) provides interpreting, notetaking, and real-time captioning services to the RIT community. Learn more about interpreting support
Contact Us
Wellness Education
wellnesseducation@rit.edu
585-475-6995