SCUBA in CFS Courses
In certain Center for Field Studies courses SCUBA is an integral if not required component. Only faculty, staff, and students who hold current certifications on file with CFS will be permitted to dive in CFS classes. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Mason is a chapter of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS). For more on AAUS please visit their website at http://www.aaus.org/mc/page.do
Students, staff, and faculty who wish to become certified are encouraged to enroll in Mason’s course, PHED 255: Basic Open Water SCUBA through the Department of Health, Fitness, and Recreation. CFS also partners with Sea Ventures, (http://www.seaventures-scuba.com/) a local dive shop in Fairfax, Virginia, through which classes are also offered. Please contact Greg Justice (gjustice@gmu.edu) for more information about SCUBA certification classes and policies.
If you plan on teaching a CFS class in which SCUBA is a required skill, you must include the following statement in your syllabus:
Students are required to have a minimum of a Basic Open Water SCUBA certification prior to the start of the class. If engaging in SCUBA activity on this trip proof of current dive insurance and completed medical statement must be produced to the CFS office in advance. Students who wish to become Open Water certified may enroll in the concurrent PHED 255: Basic Open Water Scuba course at Mason. If any student is already a certified diver and owns their own equipment, s/he must produce the following to the CFS office in advance of the trip: (1) invoice documenting servicing of first and second stage regulators within the last 6 months and (2) manufacturer, model, and serial number of the first and second stage regulators. This is in accordance with the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) standards, of which Mason is a chapter.
If you plan on teaching a class in which SCUBA is an encouraged skill, you must include the following statement in your syllabus:
Students are encouraged to have a minimum of a Basic Open Water SCUBA. Students that do not have Basic Open Water Certification can not participate in SCUBA diving activities.
