Thread: Oral Roberts University to Track Students' Fitness Through Fitbits

I can't believe this made the news.. Valiant Woman, Wheeze, and I are alumni--and although I wouldn't have liked spending the $150.00 on this, it would have made life a lot easier for me

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/colle...itbits-n507661

An Oklahoma university is taking a novel approach to fighting the "Freshman 15": Require all incoming students to wear fitness trackers.

Oral Roberts University, a Christian university in Tulsa, announced earlier this month that all first-years must wear Fitbits — watches that track how much activity a person does. Their fitness data will be tracked by the school and will affect students' grades.

While mandatory for all incoming freshman this year, Oral Roberts said it "has opened the program up to all students," and said the campus bookstores have already sold more than 550 of the popular gadgets.

The university has always included a fitness component in its curriculum, requiring students to "manually log aerobics points in a fitness journal" in past years. The students get graded on their level of aerobic activity.

Now, instead of tediously entering the data by hand, it will be automatically tracked and submitted by the Fitbits, which retail for about $150.

"ORU offers one of the most unique educational approaches in the world by focusing on the Whole Person — mind, body and spirit," ORU President William M. Wilson said in a statement. "The marriage of new technology with our physical fitness requirements is something that sets ORU apart."

Say whuuuuuuuuuuuuuut?

for some reason its receiving some negative feedback n the press....

"The Fitbits will track students' activity wherever they are — on campus or anywhere else in the world — and send the data, which includes details on exercise, food, sleep, and body weight, into Oral Roberts' learning management system.

It's unclear how much physical activity the university requires of students. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News..."


So how did this work for you guys who went there...were you judged on daily or weekly activities? Can you give examples of what was expected of you?

Seems a little Big Brotherish to me!

I just don't think they have any business requiring students to do that. That would annoy me greatly, so much that I might not go there if I was thinking about it.

What happened to good old fashioned obligatory phys ed classes ?

Originally Posted by Colonel

What happened to good old fashioned obligatory phys ed classes ?

They still have those at ORU, I think. To answer Krys's question, students have to take a phys ed class each semester, and keep track of their "aerobic points".. It's been almost twenty years since I graduated, so I don't remember exact details, but you do have to be able to pass the field test before you graduate..usually running so many miles in x amount of time. I walked my test (some students were allowed to do that).