September 12, 2010

On Campus and Online, Students Lose Weight for Credit

On Campus and Online, Students Lose Weight for Credit 1

Mark Greenberg for The Chronicle

Katherine Culbreath takes notes in the "Principles of Weight Management" course at the U. of Texas at San Antonio. Students with both personal and professional motivations have enrolled.

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close On Campus and Online, Students Lose Weight for Credit 1

Mark Greenberg for The Chronicle

Katherine Culbreath takes notes in the "Principles of Weight Management" course at the U. of Texas at San Antonio. Students with both personal and professional motivations have enrolled.

By Sara Lipka

When college got busy, Jennifer L. Holderead would stop at McDonald's on the way home from class. Last fall that meant almost every day. Ms. Holderead, 39, a former police officer, had almost finished her bachelor's degree in history at the University of Texas at Arlington, and she weighed 235 pounds.

"I had hit a point where I said, I need to do something," she recalls. The university's online "Exercise and Weight Management" course provided the necessary incentive. "Not only did I