Educator - Industry Perceptions of Subject-Area Importance in Hospitality Programs

Abstract

In the fall of 1982, the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Administration at Florida State University initiated a curriculum review to determine the strengths and weaknesses of its cur rent curriculum. Part of the study examined existing programs throughout the country. The twenty-five programs surveyed were selected because of their reputations and history of suc cess. A comparative analysis was performed on the surveys returned. In order to strengthen the data base, input was also obtained from sources outside academe, particularly the employers of graduates and recent graduates themselves. The three categories of respondents were asked to indicate their perceptions of the importance of thirty-three selected subject areas in hospitality education. Educators were asked to also indicate their perceptions of the importance of selected criteria identified in the literature as being com ponents of program and faculty quality in higher education. The paper summarizes the findings and examines the results from the three perspectives. Although the study is limited in its sample size and is primarily descriptive vis a vis analytical, certain implications can be drawn from the findings that are of value to hospitality educators engaged in curriculum review.