Oklahoma's Oral Roberts University opened in 1965 with a fitness course requirement for its newest incoming freshman and transfer students—a rarity among American universities. That requirement became even more unique to the evangelical university in January when the school added a technological requirement to the course: mandatory Fitbit ownership, whose fitness tracking must also be synced to the school's grading system.

The school formally announced the change in early January, and the news became better known around the country late last week as college-minded outlet The College Fix wrote about students' thoughts on the change. An Oral Roberts representative confirmed to Ars that students in the course, known as "Health Fitness I," have a student requirement of 10,000 steps a day, and the app-tracked targets account for 20 percent of a student's grade in the course.

In its formal press release, Oral Roberts University confirms that over 550 Fitbit units have been sold through its on-campus bookstore, and it describes the initiative as "literally transport[ing] digital electrons from student’s wearable band anywhere on campus into the secure Learning Management System."

The representative also confirmed to Ars that while students in the fitness course are required to purchase and use a Fitbit with heart rate-tracking capabilities, they are not required to use a model that tracks or syncs GPS data. This follows an early 2014 initiative that "encouraged" students in the course to sync wearable trackers' data, as opposed to having students manually log their fitness regimens in required course notebooks. We have asked representatives to clarify whether GPS data can be disabled in newer Fitbit units and how the school plans to combat Fitbit cheating systems like those offered by Unfit Bits, and we will update this report with any response.

Update: In an interview, Provost Kathaleen Reid-Martinez confirmed to Ars that participating students log into the Fitbit app and grant heart rate and steps tracking permission to an account affiliated with Oral Roberts—and no other tracking is required. When asked whether students were allowed to opt out of the Fitbit tracking requirement, Reid-Martinez said that "to date, that issue has never reached my desk," but that "if a student cannot physically wear a Fitbit, we'd comply with the American Disabilities Act and work with that student to develop an alternate process." As for cheating potential, Reid-Martinez believes any Fitbit cheaters will still have to face "the accountability of the classroom."

Oral Roberts, a school known for evangelical alumni such as Michele Bachmann and Ted Haggard, is not otherwise known for requiring specific hardware or apps for its students, though the school has promoted its choice to embrace "telepresence" systems that combine iPads, webcams, and Segway-styled scooters to let students from other cities "attend" the university.