We recognize that professional development is an ongoing journey and that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for modern workers in a dynamic job market. The Outdoor Recreation Economy program is designed with these factors in mind.
You may take individual credit courses within the Outdoor Recreation Economy Program as a nondegree student, which means you need not be enrolled in a master’s or certificate program.
This option may be a great fit for you if you:
- want to gain knowledge in a specific topic;
- wish to customize your education to fit your particular interests and needs;
- want to sample the program before committing to the degree or a certificate; or
- missed the application deadline for the master’s program, but want to start classes as soon as possible.
You may take any asynchronous subject course offered in the program as a nondegree student. The synchronous project courses are only available to degree or certificate students. Each course is 7 weeks long.
You have the option to apply your coursework towards completing a full certificate or the Master of Science in Outdoor Recreation Economy. You may apply up to 20 credit hours from your coursework taken as a nondegree or certificate student toward the Master’s program. You must be admitted into the degree program before completing further coursework if you wish your 20 credits to count toward the degree, so please plan accordingly. Email us at oreinfo@colorado.edu to discuss your plans and timelines.
Career-relevant coursework for professional advancement
Flexible courses to fit your schedule
Complete your course in 7 weeks
Courses
Program courses explore four central areas of the outdoor recreation economy and how they intersect.
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Understand the concept and makeup of the Outdoor Recreation Economy and recognize important issues and opportunities in public lands policy, community economic development, and outdoor industry and leadership;
- Critically evaluate different definitions of the Outdoor Recreation Economy and discuss how this affects Outdoor Recreation Economy policy development;
- Identify the different activities, organizations, and stakeholders that make up the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Compare and contrast Outdoor Recreation Economy consumers and develop strategies to attract different markets;
- Analyze current and emerging trends within the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Critically examine future challenges and opportunities facing the Outdoor Recreation Economy; and
- Examine the different career opportunities within the Outdoor Recreation Economy.
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Apply the concepts of sustainability, sustainable development, and resilience to the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Compare and contrast different frameworks and models related to sustainability and how they are implemented across the outdoor recreation industry;
- Critically examine the economic rationale for adopting sustainability as a core business or community development philosophy;
- Discuss the importance of sustainability communication for the outdoor recreation industry and apply best practices;
- Critically evaluate various environmental management systems, certification programs, and processes adopted by the outdoor recreation industry;
- Analyze the effects of broader social, environmental, and economic movements and events on the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Evaluate different strategies undertaken at the business, community, and industry level to respond to the broader macroenvironment; and
- Implement and measure sustainability practices relevant to building business, community, and industry resilience for the Outdoor Recreation Economy.
At the end of the course, you should have:
- An enhanced understanding of the role of personal values in business decision-making and the relationship between leadership and values;
- Greater self-awareness of your strengths and opportunities as a leader;
- Familiarity with theory-based skills and proficiency in the use of these skills;
- Enhanced understanding of individual work styles and leadership approaches;
- A greater understanding of the essentials of team-building; and
- Awareness of interpersonal engagement tools and resources.
At the end of this course, you should have:
- The ability to recognize key elements of the public policy process;
- An introduction to the laws and policies that impact the outdoor recreation economy; and
- An understanding of the interplay between culture, law, and policy.
At the end of this course, you should:
- Be familiar with the history of public lands in the United States;
- Understand the legal and policy frameworks surrounding public lands; and
- Be able to critically examine how laws and policies address public lands challenges.
At the end of this course, you should:
- Be familiar with environmental justice concepts;
- Understand the interplay between environmental justice and environmental and natural resources stewardship; and
- Be able to turn a critical lens to the effectiveness of legal and policy frameworks for advancing equity in the environmental and natural resources arenas.
At the end of this course, you should:
- Recognize environmental movements that have shaped natural resources and public lands management today;
- Be familiar with the alliances and coalitions that developed for natural resources and public lands uses and protections; and
- Understand how legal changes, over time, have resulted in differential protections and management approaches.
At the end of this course, you should:
- Be familiar with the history of natural resources management in the United States;
- Understand the legal and policy frameworks involved in natural resources management; and
- Develop tools for critically examining natural resources management decision-making.
At the heart of the outdoor recreation economy exist the towns and communities that nurture and develop outdoor recreation businesses and amenities. These communities not only provide a place for people to live, but also much of the necessary infrastructure, resources and supporting facilities and services that make communities great places to live, work, visit and recreate. This course explores what it means to be a community and the significance of place, as well as the structure and organization of communities, the role of government and governance, alongside the engagement and participation of community members in decision-making through democratic processes, and how these can influence the development of the outdoor recreation economy and community economic development outcomes.
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Describe what it means to be a community and the importance of place;
- Discuss the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in the framing and understanding of community and the implications for the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Define community economic development and identify the various steps involved in the process;
- Critically assess different frameworks and theories relating to community economic development and destination development;
- Examine the various ways in which communities are organized and structured, and the role that key public, private, and third sector organizations play in community governance and policy-making;
- Critically evaluate how democratic processes are carried out within communities and the role that community members play in the adoption and development of the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Assess the various ways in which the Outdoor Recreation Economy can contribute to community economic development in different contexts; and
- Examine how communities become destinations over time and why communities turn to tourism and outdoor recreation as key economic drivers.
This course focuses on the various community economic development strategies that can be adopted to develop and grow the Outdoor Recreation Economy within a given place. Recognition is given to the many and varied economic, socio-cultural, and environmental benefits the Outdoor Recreation Economy can provide. Consideration is also given to the role that the Outdoor Recreation Economy plays in improving equity, inclusion, and justice within communities.
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Critically assess the benefits and challenges associated with utilizing outdoor recreation for community economic development;
- Discuss how the Outdoor Recreation Economy can help improve equity, inclusion, and justice within communities;
- Compare and contrast different economic development and community economic development strategies and apply them to the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Describe and apply asset-based management as a strategy for community economic development to an outdoor recreation context;
- Describe and apply cluster-based community economic development to an outdoor recreation context;
- Examine how economic gardening and the support of local entrepreneurs can help build the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Examine transformative place-making and how it applies to the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Define the creative class and critically assess its relevance to tourism and recreation-based communities;
- Evaluate the challenges and opportunities associated with various community economic development strategies within an Outdoor Recreation Economy context; and
- Integrate community economic development strategies that utilize the Outdoor Recreation Economy with broader community planning and development efforts.
In this course, you examine the tools available to assist community development efforts through the Outdoor Recreation Economy. This includes various financial incentives and assistance programs that communities can offer, as well as infrastructure development, the development of outdoor recreation amenities and services, the conservation of public and private lands, various land management and planning tools, in addition to destination promotion and branding. You also explore the various public policies and acts at the state and federal levels that may affect the funding of outdoor recreation-based community economic development and/or the manner in which policies are implemented within different communities. Additionally, you explore innovative funding mechanisms for outdoor recreation development. Best practices related to funding and in particular, grant writing, are examined.
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Compare and contrast various financial assistance programs and incentives
- Assess the role and importance of infrastructure development and how it can support community economic development through the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Evaluate different land-use planning and development options for community economic development through the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Identify and compare various community options to conserve and protect public and private land for outdoor recreation use and the development of the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Critically examine different options for developing outdoor recreation amenities and services;
- Examine various state and federal policies and acts that contribute funding to outdoor recreation development at the local level;
- Identify and evaluate the various sources of funding for outdoor recreation-based community economic development; and
- Examine best practices for obtaining funding for outdoor recreation development.
This course focuses on how to build community capacity and readiness for the successful development of the Outdoor Recreation Economy. Emphasis is given to the different methods of building community capacity to ensure communities are in the best position to address challenges.
This course explores:
- Building community capital and trust;
- The importance of community visioning and leadership development;
- How to plan and implement meaningful and inclusive stakeholder engagement processes;
- How to build successful partnerships and collaborations; and
- How to harness research and data to improve community economic development outcomes and garner widespread support for the outdoor recreation economy.
Although every community is unique and the process of community economic development through the Outdoor Recreation Economy will look different from place to place, commonly identified best practices and case studies are examined so you have working examples of how the Outdoor Recreation Economy can be developed to bring about significant economic, socio-cultural, and environmental benefits to communities across the world.
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Critically assess what makes resilient and sustainable communities as well as the role that the Outdoor Recreation Economy can play;
- Identify the key components necessary to help build community capacity, readiness, and empowerment to assist in the development of the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Identify and discuss challenges associated with community economic development and the Outdoor Recreation Economy;
- Examine different methods of building community capital and trust;
- Apply stakeholder engagement best practices to ensure representative, inclusive, and meaningful participation in community economic development planning and visioning for the future;
- Discuss the role and importance of community visioning and leadership development;
- Examine strategic partnerships and collaborations among businesses, government, and the third sector for the development of the Outdoor Recreation Economy and identify best practices;
- Critically assess what data is relevant for understanding and communicating the potential of the Outdoor Recreation Economy for community economic development;
- Communicate to different stakeholder groups in a variety of mediums (written and oral) utilizing research and data to create a narrative on the Outdoor Recreation Economy; and
- Identify overall best practices for community economic development through the Outdoor Recreation Economy.
The overarching goal of this course is to prepare you to confront the unique opportunities and complex situations Outdoor Recreation Economy leaders inevitably face when making decisions that can affect the lives of investors, employees, community members, and other stakeholders. You analyze business decisions in a broad range of contexts—utilizing considerations of financial performance, their own values, and the values of key stakeholders—to develop individual decision-making frameworks for use in your career as you earn increasing responsibility and decision-making authority. This course aims to help develop purpose-driven leaders who go out into the world and build lives and organizations that do both well and good.
At the end of this course, you should have:
- An understanding of the importance and power of organizational alignment and how to achieve it;
- An awareness around the need for a clear and comprehensive strategy and how to develop and implement it;
- An understanding about the significance of workforce development in order to achieve organizational goals;
- The ability to take a systems approach to stakeholder management and identify win-win solutions that result in businesses that do both well and good;
- Enriched critical thinking and analytic skills, creativity, and problem-solving approaches in a variety of business contexts;
- Knowledge of how to develop and implement strategies to take advantage of opportunities while mitigating the negative impacts of the Outdoor Recreation Economy; and
- The ability to identify and administer a balanced scorecard to monitor progress and create accountability.
This course is designed for those who will set, implement, track, and communicate progress towards sustainability goals. This course teaches you the fundamentals of a circular economy, the business value in a circular economy, how business models are presently shifting, and most importantly, why businesses should become part of this transformational shift. This course also covers sustainability measurement and the skills needed to critique and improve sustainability outcomes for businesses and their stakeholders. Knowledge and skills from this course can be used to build sustainability strategies with clear and measurable outcomes, develop sustainability plans, and support existing sustainability agendas with effective measurements to monitor their progress.
At the end of this course, you should have:
- An understanding of the principles and ideas behind a circular economy;
- Capability to identify opportunities for circular economy improvements and how to circularize a linear business model;
- Foundational and conversant knowledge in three dimensions of sustainability: society, environment, and economy;
- Familiarity with some of the most commonly used reporting frameworks and sustainability indicators including the GRI standards and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and
- An understanding of how indicators are developed and how they can be used to identify and assess sustainability issues and measure progress towards sustainability outcomes.
This course provides you with the entrepreneurial skills and know-how to successfully build an outdoor recreation enterprise. As most outdoor recreation businesses are small-to-medium in size, there is a need for you to understand the fundamentals of how to develop outdoor recreation business concepts in order to turn them into a successful enterprise.
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Apply entrepreneurial best practices to building an outdoor recreation enterprise;
- Compare and contrast potential sources of investment and different start-up investment strategies for building an outdoor recreation enterprise;
- Critically assess the potential for an outdoor recreation concept;
- Develop a strategic business plan for an outdoor recreation enterprise;
- Discuss the importance of strategic business and community partnerships;
- Manage employees in a way that leads to a motivated and satisfied workforce;
- Maximize resources to ensure the capital and material needs of an outdoor recreation enterprise are met; and
- Monitor and evaluate the financial, environmental, and social success of an outdoor recreation enterprise.
This course examines the outdoor recreation industry and the operational life-cycle of outdoor recreation businesses. Focus is placed on identifying and understanding industry-critical functions and interdependencies such as manufacturing, product development, branding, selling and distributing outdoor recreation products, and current and future trends.
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Critically examine the significance of the outdoor recreation industry;
- Analyze the different types of outdoor recreation consumers and identify their needs and wants;
- Understand the operational life-cycles of a variety of outdoor recreation businesses; and
- Analyze current and future consumer trends within the outdoor recreation industry.
We start by creating a safe space for deep learning, honest exploration and open dialogue. This course will expand your knowledge and understanding around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Everyone has the right to be treated fairly with dignity and respect. These are our human rights. Building a community, work environment and society that is diverse, inclusive, equitable and just requires a foundation from which to develop. DEI is an ongoing learning process and requires commitment, personal leadership and accountability. This course will enable students to be a part of developing an inclusive foundation for their respective organizations and communities with knowledge, tools and best practices from global leaders within the outdoor recreation economy and beyond. The course sets the intention to be a stepping stone to help break down the barriers to entry and participation, while creating a more inclusive natural environment where all people can not only feel welcome but encouraged to become active participants as outdoor enthusiasts, industry professionals/leaders and stewards dedicated to the protection of the land.
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- describe what Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is and explain why it matters in organizations, communities and society at large,
- be familiar with DEI concepts and language,
- evaluate the business benefits which arise from maintaining a diverse workforce and ORE industry,
- examine the key challenges for DEI within the ORE and understand possible solutions (inclusive of barriers to entry and participation),
- understand legal frameworks that can help strengthen an inclusive foundation in the workplace,
- conduct an inquiry-based process to advance DEI-forward policies and operations in the workplace and
- have awareness of their own implicit biases and learn ways to consciously build more inclusive environments.
Research shows that promoting diversity alone does not ensure a culture of inclusion and belonging. In this course, we work to create a secure and supportive environment for deep learning, honest exploration, and open dialogue. Belonging is a fundamental aspect of human existence and plays a crucial role in creating inclusive environments. This course aims to enhance your understanding and knowledge of how to center belonging as a part of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts in organizations (the workplace), communities, and within. Finally, this course explores the importance of accountability by focusing on 3 of the 5 success factors for DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) integrated work: Having a meaningful definition of success, accountable and invested business leaders, and rigorous tracking and course correction.
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- define and explain the importance of what it means to Belong in organizations, communities, and society;
- demonstrate familiarity with DEI concepts and terminology (summarized from Foundations of Inclusivity Course);
- recognize the limitations of promoting diversity alone in establishing a culture of inclusion and belonging;
- analyze the primary challenges associated with creating environments where people feel they belong and explore potential solutions;
- develop personal awareness of their own identity, sense of belonging, and ability to foster inclusivity within their respective communities and environments;
- comprehend the five critical tenants and pillars for cultivating belonging in organizations and be able to apply strategies to foster a sense of belonging within those organizations.
- Five Tenants: Psychological Safety, Empathy, Acceptance, Connection, Embraced
- Five Pillars: Welcomed, Known, Included, Supported, Connected
- understand how accountability contributes to the success of establishing inclusive environments where no one feels their inclusion is questioned and all are welcomed; and
- learn methods for measuring accountability through trackable and measurable metrics.
In this course, we strive to create a secure and nurturing environment that fosters deep learning, honest exploration, and open dialogue. Through the practice of inclusive and conscious leadership, we shift our focus from "I" to "We," igniting interconnectedness across all aspects of life and work. The journey begins with the self-awareness to drive meaningful change. The course specifically concentrates on vital areas that inclusive leaders must cultivate to drive conscious change within their domains effectively. It provides a framework for transitioning from inclusive leadership to intentional and transformative change within organizations, communities, and personal growth journeys. This course offers ample opportunities for personal growth and introspection, equipping students with the necessary skills to spearhead impactful change initiatives. Additionally, it examines how leadership contributes to the five fundamental success factors of DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) integration: Nuanced understanding of root causes, meaningful definition of success, accountable and invested business leaders, solutions designed for context, rigorous tracking, and course correction.
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- acquire a comprehensive understanding of conscious and inclusive leadership principles;
- develop the essential skills and behaviors to lead impactful change initiatives and identify personal growth opportunities;
- understand how self-management/leadership precedes effective leadership externally;
- recognize the influence of leadership on the fundamental success factors of DEIB integration;
- engage in critical reflection of traditional leadership approaches, embracing inclusive methods to address barriers and challenge assumptions that sustain exclusivity;
- foster an inclusive and positive working environment;
- understand the impact of personal leadership and communication styles on productivity and the cultivation of positive working relationships; and
- be equipped to effectively lead the change leadership process and communicate the benefits of inclusive leadership.
Designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted forces that have shaped diverse communities, both historically and in the contemporary context. By the end of this course, students will possess the knowledge and analytical skills necessary to contribute meaningfully to discussions and actions aimed at advancing social justice and equity in the Outdoor Recreation Economy and beyond.
By the end of this course, students will possess the knowledge and analytical skills necessary to contribute meaningfully to discussions and actions aimed at advancing social justice and equity in the Outdoor Recreation Economy and beyond.
During the course, you will have the opportunity to:
- analyze the historical and present-day socio-economic factors that influence social justice and equity in the Outdoor Recreation Economy and beyond to understand the interconnection;
- examine the cultural and political dimensions impacting diverse communities;
- explore strategies for promoting fairness and equity in economic, community and workplace settings;
- assess the role of social justice in ensuring the safety and security of individuals and communities in the Outdoor Recreation Economy; and
- engage in critical discussions and research to deepen their comprehension of these vital topics.
Not all courses are offered every term. Visit CU Boulder Class Search or contact us for more information about scheduling.
Carly McNiece
Admissions Specialist for the Outdoor Recreation Economy program
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