Lack of movement is the fourth greatest death factor. Nevertheless, decrease in physical activity is seen among adults and youth. It is mentioned in some research, that the reduction in physical activity is seen in the period between school graduation and beginning of university. Overall, 36 % of students are inactive in Latvia, despite the fact that 82 % of students have positive attitude towards physical activity. Disturbing factors are as follows: lack of time, financial resources and sport facilities, and lack of qualified trainers, as well as motivational factors such as feeling of achievement, development of skills, advice on improving health, and fun. Taking into consideration the information above and also the fact that only 50 % of students would like to include physical activities in their studies, a question has to be asked whether, it is possible to change the view/attitude of students regarding physical activity by organizing compulsory physical activity (CPA) to all 1st year students, this way reducing barriers that prevent students from being physically active. Riga Technical University (RTU) organises CPA to all 1st year students. Research aim: to determine changes in student attitude towards CPA in the study process. Data collection methods: analysis and survey of literature sources involving 278 RTU 1st year students (18–24 years of age), of which 119 were females and 159 were males. From the survey questions, the following information was collected: students’ gender, chosen sport, view/attitude regarding CPA at university, and rating of attitude criteria. The survey was carried out in April 2014 and 2015. The five-point Likert scale was used to analyze the survey data. For data analyses, the following descriptive and conclusive statistical mathematical methods were used: the mean, standard deviation, error of the mean, Student’s coefficient, and Pearson’s correlation using Microsoft Office Excel data analyses programs. The results showed positive dynamics in changes in the student attitude towards CPA. Analyzing student attitude criteria ratings and correlations determined in the research and taking into consideration the theories that explain changes in behavior, action and attitude, it can be concluded that as a result of pedagogical process, 23 % of students changed their attitude towards CPA from negative and neutral to positive. It can be explained by the noticeably appreciating positive effects of CPA on managing the study workload. However, 10 % of students who did not reach the expected results changed their attitude in the negative direction. This process is related to professional activity of the academic staff, which indicates the necessity for the improvement of professional activity of the academic staff. At the same time, 12 % of students who did not change their negative and neutral attitude towards CPA during the academic year had different reasons, which require further research. Majority of students changed their attitude towards CPA at RTU, which is explained by the improvement in emotional well-being criteria (r = 0.452) and improvement of health (r = 0.402), which correlated with other attitude criteria.