Revised Research Proposal

To: Dr. Erika Paterson, ENGL 301 Instrutor
From: Long You, ENGL 301 Student

Date: Apr 15, 2023

Subject: Proposal for Encouraging TWU Students to Participate in Exercise at City of Richmond’s City Center Community Center

Introduction 

Trinity Western University (TWU) is a global Christian university that offers a variety of courses. TWU Richmond, the university’s campus in Richmond, offers MBA and Leadership Bachelor programs at its Lansdowne and Minoru locations. TWU Richmond, Minoru is situated on the third and fourth floors above the City of Richmond’s City Centre Community Centre (C4), which provides recreational facilities and programs for the local community. The C4’s fitness center plays a vital role in supporting the health and well-being of the neighborhood community.

However, since the pandemic hit, the C4 fitness center has been slowly recovering. To encourage TWU students to exercise at the fitness center and increase the membership enrollment of C4, TWU, and C4 jointly launched the TWU Student Kick-Off Week Promotion in January 2023. Despite offering free fitness classes, workshops, and admission to the fitness center, the student participation rate was extremely low, and no student signed up for the membership. In light of this, both TWU Richmond and C4 are keen to investigate the motivations and barriers for students to engage in exercising at the fitness center. The research results will be used to design the next campaign in September 2023..

Literature Review and Statement of Problem

Research has shown that lack of time, motivation, and multiple commitments are the most common barriers for people to begin and continue to exercise (Ebben, 2008). Before the promotion, TWU and C4 should identify the specific factors that potentially compromise students’ exercise adherence and work together to provide solutions. On the other hand, health, fitness, stress reduction, and pleasure are among the most common reasons people exercise (Ebben, 2008). TWU and C4 should understand each student’s motivations for exercise and customize the fitness proposals to encourage those unique motivations. The major task for TWU and C4 is to identify students’ motivations and barriers to exercise in the fitness center and offer relevant solutions based on research analysis.

Proposed Solution

Identifying students’ motivations and barriers to exercise in the fitness center is the foundation of a marketing campaign. With a significant number of international students in the TWU Richmond campus, cultural, social, and personal factors may influence the approach to fitness centers. For example, in some cultures, it may be common to exercise outdoors or participate in group activities, while in others, individual workouts in a gym setting may be more prevalent. Therefore, a possible solution is to investigate and identify these differences (barriers and motivations). TWU and C4 could then relaunch the campaign based on the research analysis.

Scope

To identify students’ motivations and barriers to exercise in the fitness center, the research will focus on the following areas:

• How often do TWU students engage in physical activities or exercise each week?
• What type of physical activities or exercises do they prefer?
• Do they feel they have access to adequate fitness facilities near campus?
• How important is it to them to have access to a fitness center near campus?
• What motivates them to engage in physical activities and exercises?
• What barriers prevent them from participating in physical activities and exercises?

Methods and Timeline

To conduct this research, I plan to use both primary and secondary sources. My primary information source is Nelson Chiu, the C4 fitness coordinator, who will connect me to the TWU student service and account coordinator. Nelson has also agreed to speak to TWU about facilitating a student email survey. At the end of March 2023, I will round out my primary research with the student survey through my UBC Qualtrics account. A secondary source will include research articles about university students’ fitness participation.

My Qualifications

As a BCRPA-certified personal trainer with years of experience working at C4 and soon to be a BKIN graduate in Kinesiology, I possess an in-depth understanding of fitness center operations and the factors that motivate individuals to engage in physical activities. Moreover, my TCPS 2 certification in research ethics ensures that I will adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct and respect for participants’ rights.

Conclusion

By leveraging my expertise and training, I am confident that I can effectively identify the motivations and barriers that hinder TWU students from utilizing the fitness center and recommend strategies that can improve their engagement. With your approval, I am eager to commence my research and help TWU and C4 develop a more impactful marketing campaign.

Reference

Ebben, W. (2008). Motivations and barriers to exercise among college students American  Society of Exercise Physiologists.