Ethical Challenges of the Industry: Are Graduates Prepared?

Hospitality graduates often enter their first jobs unaware of the difficult ethical dilemmas they will face. By having ethics teaching in a curriculum, the authors of this article believe that the perceptions of ethics of senior hospitality students at Northern Arizona University were comparable to those of operating industry managers.

Hospitality Education: Prevalent Perceptions

The composition of hospitality curricula has been debated by educators, alumni, and industry professionals for the last 30 years. Some higher education programs have emphasized the teaching of professional courses, while others have focused primarily on management. This study recalls highlights of curriculum research conducted since the late 1970s and provides current perceptions of alumni, lodging, and restaurant professionals on core, support, and advisor-approved electives.

Corporate Recruiters and Alumni: Perceptions of Professional Courses

Corporate recruiters and alumni of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Northern Arizona University were asked their perceptions of hospitality professional courses. The study investigates the importance that these groups attribute to 22 professional courses commonly offered in institutions of higher education.

Leadership in the Hospitality Curriculum

Although some universities have introduced leadership courses in their curricula, schools of hotel and restaurant management are not following suit. As the industry's rate of growth and complexity outpaces that of its human resources, the formation of hospitality leaders becomes indispensable.

Assessment of Higher-Education Hospitality Programs

The function of assessment in higher-education hospitality programs is to improve student learning. Although the assessment process is common in higher-education institutions, examples of assessment practices in hospitality programs have not been made available to academic practitioners. This paper describes a method successful at formulating assessment in a hospitality college professional program.