Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Stress Management and Wellness Concepts (Face-to-Face)

PE 2100-01

Course: PE 2100-01
Credits: 2
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: PEHP
CRN: 31555

Course Description

Catalog Description:

Examines the psycho/physiological correlates of stress and the various approaches to minimize negative effects. This course will also review the wellness concept as it relates to stress and quality lifestyle improvement.

Required Texts

Required and Recommended Texts and Materials:
  • Managing Stress : Skills for Anxiety Reduction, Self-Care, & Personal Resiliency
  • ISBN: 9781284283150
  • Author: Seaward, Brian Luke
  • Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC
  • 11th Edition
  • Publication Date: Jan. 5, 2024

Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes:
  • Understand what stress is and the different types of stress
  • Assess where you are now and learn how to improve your stress levels
  • Find new activities and avenues to release or redirect stress in your life
  • Learn how stress can increase your risk of many chronic diseases
  • Learn the sociology of stress, including technology, environment, occupation, race and gender
  • Learn the physiology of stress
  • Understand the psychology behind stress
  • Learn coping strategies; cognitive restructuring, behavior modification, journal writing, art therapy, humor therapy, creative problem solving, communication skills, and resource management
  • Learn relaxation techniques, from breathing to meditation, yoga, massage, visualization

Course Requirements

Assessment/Evaluation/Grading

Course Requirements: This course includes five major components that contribute equally to your final grade:

  • Weekly Wellness Check-in: Participation and completion of weekly wellness activities and self-assessments designed to support your personal health and fitness journey.
  • Attendance: Regular attendance is essential. Being present allows you to engage fully in the course and build consistent habits.
  • Quizzes: Short quizzes will assess your understanding of key concepts related to wellness and course materials.
  • Reflections: Written or verbal reflections provide an opportunity to connect course content to your personal experiences and growth.
  • Final Project: A culminating project demonstrating your overall learning and application of course principles in the form of an individualized stress management plan.

Grading: Each of the five components—Weekly Wellness Check-in, attendance, quizzes, reflections, and final project— will each count for 20% of your final grade. Your final grade will be the weighted average of these components. Grades will be assigned based on the percentage total according to the standard scale.

Course Outline

 | Date T/TR | Topic | Assignment/Assessment | ELO (Essential Learning Outcome)
 | 8\28 | Introduction & Syllabus Overview | Weekly Wellness Check-In (WWC)/ Syllabus Quiz | 1,6,7
 | 9/2-9/4 | Defining Stress | Ch. 2 & 10/Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)/Quiz/WWC | 1,2,4,6,7
 | 9/9-9/11 | Sociology of Stress  |  Ch. 3 & 18/Quiz/WWC | 1,2,5,6,7
 | 9/16-9/18 | Stress and Disease | Ch. 4 & 25/Quiz/WWC | 1,2, 4,6,7
 | 9/23-9/25 | Physiology of Stress | Ch. 5 & 25/Quiz/WWC | 1,2,6,7
 | 9/30-10/2 | Psychology of Stress | Ch. 6 & 23/Quiz/WWC | 1,2,6,7
 | 10/7-10/9 | Stress and Emotion | Ch. 7 & 19/Quiz/WWC | 1,2,6,7
 | 10/14 | FALL BREAK-NO CLASS | 
 | 10/16 | Echotherapy Applied | Ch. 26/Reflection/WWC | 2,3,8,9
 | 10/21-10/23 | Meditation & Imagery Applied | Ch. 20 & 22/Reflection/WWC | 2,3,8,9
 | 10/28-10/30 | Massage Therapy Applied | Ch.24/Reflection/WWC | 2,3,8,9
 | 11/4-11/6 | Art Therapy & Creative Thinking Applied | Ch. 13 & 15/Reflection/WWC | 2,3,8,9
 | 11/11–11/13 | Humor Therapy Applied | Ch. 14/Reflection/WWC | 2,3,8,9
 | 11/18-11/20 | Yoga Applied | Ch. 21/Reflection/WWC | 2,3,8,9
 | 11/25-11/27 | THANKSGIVING BREAK- NO CLASSES |  
 | 12/2-12/4 | Final Project Outline & Questions | Final Project: Individualized Stress Management Plan | 2,3,8,9
 | 12/9-12/11 | FINALS WEEK- NO CLASSES | Stress Management Reflection

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late Work/Make-up Work:

Timely submission of work is essential to your success in this course and helps ensure fairness to all students. As such, late work will not be accepted, and make-up quizzes or assignments will not be offered.

However, to account for unforeseen personal, medical, or technical issues, students are allowed the following exceptions:

  • One (1) assignment will be dropped (the lowest grade will be automatically excluded from your final average).
  • One (1) quiz will be dropped (again, the lowest quiz score will not count toward your final grade).

These drops are intended to provide flexibility and do not require documentation. Use them wisely. No additional make-up work will be provided for missed deadlines.

Attendance Policy

Attendance:

Attendance is mandatory and counts for 20% of your final grade. As a discipline grounded in wellness and personal development, being physically present is a critical part of the learning process. You cannot outsource your well-being—you must show up for yourself to grow stronger, healthier, and more aware. Being present is key to your growth and success. Each class is a chance to build habits and support the community.

Unexcused absences will lower your attendance grade. If you miss class due to illness or emergencies, notify Professor Despain promptly and provide documentation if needed. Please manage your time and energy in a way that supports consistent participation.

AI Policy and Safety Statement

Acceptable and Unacceptable Use of AI
AI tools (like ChatGPT or Grammarly) may be used as helpful aids for brainstorming, clarifying concepts, and improving writing. However, all submitted work must be your own and reflect your understanding.
Allowed: Using AI to generate ideas, check grammar, or get explanations.
Not allowed: Submitting AI-generated work without your input, using AI for quizzes/exams, or presenting AI content as solely your own.
You’re responsible for reviewing and revising any AI-assisted work to ensure it’s accurate and original. Use AI as a tool to support learning—not replace it.
Statement of Safety or Risk Assumption
This course includes or could include, a laboratory, physical activity, personal travel, or field trips. Participation in the course may expose me to certain foreseeable and unforeseeable risks of injury such as, but not limited to illness, injury or even death. Knowing of these risks, I freely and voluntarily participate in the course and hereby agree to assume and accept any and all associated risks.

Southern Utah University Syllabus Policy Statements: Syllabus Policy Statements
DISCLAIMER STATEMENT: Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.