On the 10 January, 2023, NAPS concluded a path-breaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States Sport Academy (USSA). The USSA is regionally accredited in the United States by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) as an independent, not-for-profit, special-mission educational institution offering post-secondary educational program in various disciplines of sports science.
The USSA, sometimes labelled as ‘America’s Sports University’, offers programs in Exercise Science, Sports Coaching, Sports Management, and Sports Studies at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels as well as offering a wide array of post-secondary, non-degree programs in the same sport disciplines at the certificate, certification and diploma levels that have been delivered in more than 65 countries worldwide over the last four decades.
The MoU is the first of its kind to be concluded between the USSA and any Australian institution. The sporting industry encompasses and involves participation of almost all professions operating at local, national and international levels. The USSA’s mission of training professionals in Sports Studies and Sports Management aligns well with NAPS’ commitment to professional education and general strategic direction and offers unique opportunities for NAPS’s prospective students.
Under the MoU, NAPS and the USSA will work together to develop cooperative agreements to promote and deliver sport education programs available from the USSA to prospective students in Australia subject to the regulatory and accrediting requirements in both countries. The two academies shall also cooperate on the development of means by which student and staff exchanges may be effectuated in each other’s educational programs. The academies will further work to develop joint programs of sports related cultural exchanges including, but not limited to, publishing research in each other’s journals and blogs, as well as activities in Olympism, sports art, youth events and history.
The United States Sports Academy (Academy) was founded in 1972 as America’s first, and only, accredited sports university created to address the educational needs of those individuals seeking to work within the sport profession. While the primary focus of the Academy has been that of a degree granting educational institution offering sport-specific degrees from the bachelor’s through to doctoral levels, the USSA also offers an extensive range of post-secondary, non-degree (PSND) programs to meet the educational and training needs of sport organizations and educational institutions around the world. The USSA also offers more vocationally structured professional education other than a traditional academic degree through the Center for Professional Studies and Continuing Education (CPSCE).
The MoU with the USSA offers exciting opportunities for NAPS. The Academy is looking to initially promote enrolments in non-award and continuing education programs for both domestic and international students onshore and offshore.
NAPS is proud to be associated with the USSA as we begin 2023.