A two credit-hour Physical Education: Fitness/Wellness course (PEFWL) that integrates physical fitness and lifestyle wellness topics is required of all undergraduates. The PEFWL requirement is viewed as a springboard toward a total university commitment to fitness and wellness. 

PEFWL uses a two-fold approach: (1) one 50-minute classroom lecture per week where a series of wellness lifestyle topics are discussed; and (2) two laboratory activity sessions per week where progress is made toward achieving physical fitness through a specific aerobic activity. The Ball State student enrolls in PEFWL according to the specific aerobic activity he/she wishes to pursue for the entire term. The student may select one of the following six courses: physical conditioning, fitness walking, jogging, rhythmic aerobics, fitness swimming and swimnastics.

Comprehensive PEFWL program assessments confirm that the program is making a positive impact on Ball State students' lives. These assessments involve four major elements: knowledge gained during the course; current lifestyle; physical fitness changes that occurred while enrolled; and impact of the PEFWL course on students' physical fitness, nutrition, and stress management attitudes. 

Program assessments have resulted in improvements in commonly used fitness tests (i.e., one-minute abdominal curl and one-minute push-up) and the development of college-age related norms for the improved fitness tests and for several cardiorespiratory endurance field tests. An original and validity tested in-the-water-fitness test for non-swimming water exercisers--called The 500-Yard Water Run-- was developed for the swimnastics course. 

In the PEFWL course, students develop an understanding of the "gain without pain" concept and discover that exercise can be enjoyable and social. Ball State students learn that aerobic exercise is a lifetime activity and when intertwined with other wellness habits, helps them pursue maximal potential.