Hospitality degree programs in Australia: a continuing evolution.

Hospitality management degree programs have changed significantly since they were first introduced in Australia over 30 years ago. This article reviews the development of these undergraduate degree programs in hospitality using a combined macro and micro approach. First, at the national level,

this study reviews the provision of degrees in hospitality, identifying the macro-level changes that have occurred in the hospitality program landscape since the mid 1970s. Second, at the program level, this study analyses the evolution of one of the longest running hospitality management programs, offered by The University of Queensland. This review identifies the underlying reasons for micro-level hospitality program changes in Australia, and relates these changes to the broader context of higher education evolution, hospitality industry development, and student expectations.

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Hospitality degree programs have grown and matured rapidly despite hospitality education being a relatively new academic pursuit (Williams, 2005a, 2005b). Overall, the growth of the Australian programs has followed a natural growth curve, with a very slow beginning in the mid 1970s, followed by accelerating growth in the 1980s, and then massive growth through the 1990s and into the present decade. 'The combination of rapid growth and the continually evolving nature of the industry resulted in hospitality and tourism programs that differed widely in their philosophies and approaches' (Williams, 2005a p. 71). This is evident in Australia at both the macro national level and the micro program level.

At the national level, a study of the 20-year evolution of all undergraduate degree programs in hospitality and tourism on offer throughout Australia was conducted by Craig-Smith (1998). The review identified a variety of different types of hospitality programs with a total of 15 programs offered at 13 institutions nationwide in 1997. A subsequent review was undertaken for 2007 to outline the significant changes that have occurred over the past decade, and to provide a picture of how hospitality degree program types and offerings have developed over the past 30 years.

To be classified as a hospitality program for the purpose of this research the program had to incorporate hospitality, hotel and/or catering in the title of its degree or major. Furthermore, the same program may be offered at multiple campuses. For example, the Australian Catholic University offers the same program in three states. For the purpose of this Australia-wide research, however, such a program is only counted once. It is recognised that the number of program offerings is therefore higher than the number of programs. As a result, a review of hospitality degree programs in a particular region or state would need to consider the number of program offerings.

Owing to the number, and variation, of hospitality degree programs offered over the past three decades, this article provides a snapshot of the main trends. This article analyses and examines the program situation for each decade and identifies the number and type of hospitality programs and the institutions involved for each 10-year period.

At the program level, the analysis of the development of The University of Queensland degree illustrates the evolution of program philosophy from its food and catering origins to a combined tourism and business focus. In addition, there have been a number of other significant changes to the program. Internal changes included program length, course number and type, elective course choice, work experience, and honours provision, while external influences included the number of competing institutions, and government policy.

The authors expect that this process of evolutionary development will continue into the future as hospitality management programs are a product of the ever-changing nexus of internal university circumstances, the state of the hospitality industry, and the needs of students, in the context of wider social and political change.

Hospitality Programs: The National Picture

It is now over 30 years since the first hospitality management degree programs were introduced in Australia. The two pioneer programs were started in 1974 by the Footscray Institute (now Victoria University) in Melbourne and by the Queensland Agricultural College (now The University of Queensland) outside Brisbane. The Footscray Institute went on to offer an additional hospitality program in 1978, with a combined focus of both hospitality and tourism. These three programs, offered by these two institutions, were the sole portfolio of Australian hospitality degree education provision in the 1970s.

From these slow beginnings, the 1980s saw a gradual expansion of program offerings and institutions involved. A hospitality degree was offered by RMIT in 1988 and another by Bond University in 1989. The three programs of the 1970s had developed to five at the close of the next decade. This gradual expansion in hospitality degrees was overtaken by a much faster acceleration in tourism-focused degrees, but the latter are not the focus of this article.

In the 1990s, expansion occurred at a quicker pace. Griffith University, the then Northern Territory University, the University of Western Sydney and the University of New South Wales all offered hospitality management degrees in 1990. Edith Cowan University offered one in 1991, La Trobe University and the University of South Australia (tourism and hospitality) in 1993, the Australian International Hotel School and La Trobe University (tourism and hospitality) in 1995, and Southern Cross University (hotel and catering management) in 1997.

In the current decade, the expansion of hospitality programs has continued to accelerate. This growth has been due to an increase in the number of institutions offering hospitality and the increasing number of institutions offering more than one hospitality-related degree program. Since 1997, 13 universities have added a hospitality program to their offering and a further six nonuniversity providers are now offering degrees in hospitality. In addition, a total of ten institutions now offer two degree programs in hospitality, compared with only two institutions in 1997.

Since the 1997 review, only two providers have moved out of hospitality education: RMIT and Bond Universities. Interestingly, these were the third and fourth institutions to begin offering hospitality back in the late 1980s. Over the 33 years since the introduction of hospitality degree programs in Australia, the original two programs offered by the two founding providers have expanded to 40 degree programs, offered by 30 institutions (Figure 1).

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Before the abolition of the binary system of universities and colleges of advanced education in 1990 the majority of hospitality programs were offered by colleges of advanced education. Following the introduction of the new system, universities were the main provider of hospitality degrees but over recent years private hotel schools and some vocational colleges have joined the ranks of providers.

A further trend has been for institutions to become more flexible with program offerings, allowing for an exit point at diploma level before final completion of the degree and for more meaningful and flexible articulation arrangements between institutions and levels of program. Such arrangements are not limited to Australia with the trend already noted in other countries, such as Hong Kong (Lo, 2006).

Hospitality Degree Program Typology

In previous surveys (see Craig-Smith, 1998), it was possible to classify hospitality degree programs on the strength of their hospitality focus. While this is still possible today (2007) there have been some program philosophy changes over the past decade.

In the late 1990s, hospitality degree programs were classified on the level of hospitality focus ranging from degrees specifically centralising around hospitality to general degrees with just a few hospitality courses. Those programs most focused were bachelor of hospitality programs such as Bachelor of Hospitality Management. As the program title suggests, hospitality is central to the entire program and most of the constituent courses would have hospitality somewhere in their title or content. Such specialised programs specifically cater for students planning to enter the hospitality industry from the outset of their higher education journey. The Bachelor of Hospitality offered by James Cook University would fit within this category.

Slightly less focused than the above category, but still emphasising the hospitality content of the program, were degrees in business and hospitality such as Bachelor of Business (Hospitality) or Bachelor of Management (Hospitality). These may contain some more general business or management courses as well as the usual portfolio of hospitality-specific courses. The Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) at Victoria University would fit within this category.

The third category was business degrees offering a major in hospitality. These are more general business degrees and may cater to a variety of students, only some of whom intend to go into the hospitality field. The hospitality content of the program is confined to the major and may account for as little as 25% of the entire program. The Bachelor of Business at The University of Queensland fits within this category.

Finally, there were programs that included only a few courses in hospitality taken only by those students generally interested in hospitality but not intending to pursue a hospitality career. The Bachelor of Arts offered by the RMIT University would fit within this category.

Today, all these categories of hospitality programs are still offered but recent trends have somewhat complicated this fourfold classification. The revised typology (Figure 2) still maintains both the most and least focused hospitality program types at either end of the spectrum: the Hospitality Focused and the Non-Hospitality Focused.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Due to the blurring of the program definitions, the degrees in business and hospitality category, as well as the business degrees with a hospitality major category, as discussed above, have been combined to form the Business and Hospitality Focused program type. Such programs generally incorporate a core of business studies with a hospitality specialisation/major.

Although one of the earliest programs on offer, as far back as the late 1970s, included both hospitality and tourism it remained the exception for many years. Recently, the introduction of a significant tourism element has become popular and tourism had begun to appear in the program title. This popularity has required the addition of a new program type which provides a dual specialisation in hospitality and tourism: the Tourism Added Focused.

Today, Bachelor of Hospitality programs have been joined by Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism. Similarly, the Bachelor of Business (Hospitality) has been joined by Bachelor of Business (Hospitality and Tourism). In addition, there are Bachelor of Business degrees with a major in hospitality and tourism as well as majors in hospitality and in tourism. Even the non-hospitality focused programs may also include course offerings in both areas of hospitality and tourism.

This trend is partly due to the recognition that hospitality and tourism are closely related in many ways and that any graduate working in the one area should also be familiar with the working of the other area and it is partly to accommodate the generation Y student who deliberately seeks degree programs which provide for as many career opportunities as possible. A Bachelor of Business (Hospitality and Tourism is perceived by many students to provide career opportunities in business, in hospitality, and in tourism, and as such, are as seen as preferable to more focused undergraduate programs. In addition to the increasing number of programs on offer, the types of programs and their significance in the program mix has also changed over time (Figure 3).

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

The original hospitality degree programs in Australia were both business and hospitality focused. Over the past 30 years this has continued to be the most common type of program on offer. There are currently 20 such programs on offer Australia-wide, which is significantly more than the total number of hospitality programs offered 10 years ago in 1997. While the business and hospitality type of program makes up half the current programs, this percentage has dropped from the only format in 1977, and two thirds of the program offerings in both 1987 and 1997.

While hospitality programs where initially offered in Australia from the mid-1970s, the first hospitality-focused program was not offered until the late 1980s with the introduction of the Bachelor of Hospitality Management offered by Bond University in 1989. This was joined by a program of the same name provided by the Australian International Hotel School (AIHS) in 1995. These two were the only hospitality-focused offerings in 1997. Although these two programs are no longer offered, at least not in the same format in the case of the AIHS, there has been a significant growth in hospitality-focused programs over the last 10 years with a total of another eight such programs on offer in 2007. This increase has been greater than the overall growth in hospitality programs with the hospitality-focused programs increasing from 13% of all hospitality programs in 1997 to 20% of the offerings in 2007.

As mentioned above, the first hospitality program with the tourism added focus was offered in 1978 as the second program offering at Footscray Institute (now Victoria University). By 1995 the number of tourism added programs had increased to three. This growth has intensified over the past decade with the addition of more programs with hospitality as a specialisation alongside tourism. There are now 12 such programs, providing almost a third of the total hospitality programs on offer. This growth in combined hospitality and tourism programs has significantly impacted upon the total number of program offerings as a number of providers offer two degree programs, with one in hospitality and the other in hospitality and tourism. Despite this, seven of these programs are the single offering of the institution, highlighting the role of these combined hospitality and tourism programs.

While included in the above hospitality program typology, there is also a growing program format which incorporates a diploma level qualification in hospitality. As mentioned previously this is part of the growing trend for flexible entry and exit levels, and articulation between providers.

Hospitality: The Program Level

Whilst national tourism and hospitality education provision and student output have been the focus of many surveys, reports and academic papers, less attention has been paid to analysis at the micro (program) level. This section examines a thirty-year evolution and relates that evolution to changing circumstances in higher education, the hospitality industry at large, student profiles and expectations, and the wider marketplace. Although focused on the evolution of just one program, the factors analysed have broad practicability to all hospitality-related programs offered in Australia.

Apart from the fact that both authors have been intimately involved with The University of Queensland hospitality undergraduate program offerings for some 20 years, there is academic merit in examining this particular program evolution. The original hospitality program was one of the very first two to be offered in Australia and was the first to be offered in Queensland. This provides a 33-year time span of evolution from the time of the first offering in Australia to the present day.

Detailed analysis of a particular program, with all its variations and metamorphisms, requires careful handling if tedious repartition is to be avoided. Consistent with the national review this program level analysis takes a snapshot approach by examining the program content at various times, approximately ten years apart, and relating the observed changes to various factors. Whilst the actual program content may be unique to just one university, the reasons for the observed program evolution are relevant nationally and of equal interest to all undergraduate program directors.

Genesis of the Original Program

The original hospitality program first appeared as an undergraduate degree in 1974; but, as with all new programs, its origins started very much earlier. In fact the origins of this program can be traced to the late 1960s following the concept of Colleges of Advanced Education (CAE) which was first mooted by the Martin Report (Martin, 1964). The Queensland Agricultural College was keen to be classified as a CAE and recognised that to become a successful CAE it had to broaden and diversify its portfolio of program offerings from its then narrow focus on agriculture.

Once it obtained CAE status in 1971 it began to look at ways to diversify. Like most educational institutions, it developed new programs which did not depart radically from its existing programs, so new developments could capitalise as much as possible on existing expertise and resources. With existing expertise and resources firmly focused on food production it was a first logical step to move into food processing and the college did this in 1967. Once food processing was underway, the next logical step was to move into food service management which it did in 1972 and from there into hospitality management. Thus, it can be seen that hospitality management was a logical and progressive evolution from the mainstream focus of the college. In these early days, it was principally the hotel chains within the tourism sector that were interested in serious recruitment at the graduate level. This further explains why it was a hospitality focused and not a travel-focused degree which started first. The recruitment issue, if not the logical progression from food production to food processing to food service and hospitality, accounts for why most of the initial degree programs were in hospitality rather than in travel and tourism.

A Diploma of Hospitality Management was first offered in 1972 and shortly afterwards the Bachelor of Business in Hospitality Management received state accreditation, in 1974. Although the first dedicated student intake into the degree program commenced in 1975, all graduating students in the earlier established diploma program were given the option of staying on to complete a degree with an extra three semesters of study. Only a handful of students availed themselves of this bridging option, but a handful of students did so and graduated from the degree in mid-1976.

The first Bachelor of Hospitality Management in Queensland and joint first program in Australia is shown in Table 1.

A number of comments can be made from an examination of this first (mid-1970s) program. The initial degree was of four years duration; this was common with the early CAE degrees. The 4 years of study differentiated the degree offerings from the 3-year diploma programs of the day. Second, there were no fewer than 40 separate courses. Admittedly, this was a 4- and not a 3-year program, but 40 courses would be considered very high in modern (early years of the 21st century) terms. Third, the parent program, from which this evolved, can be detected in the composition of the new degree. Food Chemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, Microbiology, Food Technology, Quantity Food Sanitation, Catering Technology I and II, together with Nutrition II as an elective, all bear witness to the degree's ancestry. In fact, it is very unlikely that a hospitality-focused degree program of this composition would even be considered today. However, such a curriculum was consistent with other pioneer hospitality programs which were generally 'foodservice' orientated (Boger, 2000).

The initial degree was structured to reflect the perceived demands of the industry at that time, which was for people with an understanding of the applications of food science and technology to large volume feeding systems. An intimate knowledge of large-scale finished food products, preservation and storage was seen as a basic requirement. Managerial, marketing and human behaviour requirements of the industry, as a whole, were not seen as being overly important in the mid-1970s.

A Hospitality Program for the 1980s

By the mid-1980s, the demands of industry had changed sufficiently to precipitate philosophical changes to the original hospitality degree. The early requirement for knowledge in food production and the application of science and technology to food production needed to be replaced by skills and knowledge in marketing, financial management, human resource management and property management. The Australian tourism industry was expanding rapidly in the 1980s and was experiencing increased visitation from South-East Asia and, in particular, Japan. A more demanding and sophisticated tourist market was demanding higher standards of service which in turn demanded a better educated and more efficient workforce trained to international standards. This resulted in a shift in emphasis to the development of the applications of principles and technologies of management and to problem-solving in the hospitality industry. In addition, a tourism management degree program developed as an offshoot of the hospitality degree program in 1988. This shared many courses with hospitality but had special travel and tourism-focused courses replacing the more hospitality relevant ones.

Concomitant with a switch to a greater managerial focus was the need to expose students to a working environment; consequently a 6-month (1 semester) industrial placement internship was also introduced along with philosophical changes in emphasis. By the mid-1980s, colleges of advanced education were also becoming more familiar with degree level education and more confident in their ability to deliver degree programs. The 4-year degree program was no longer mandatory and the 1980s review reduced the overall program from 4 years to 3 1/2 years, which included a 1-semester industry internship. By the mid-1980s the program was structured as follows in Table 2.

A number of comments can be made from an analysis of the degree, as structured in the mid-1980s. Apart from the introduction of an industrial internship and a reduction in the length of the degree from 4 years to 3 1/2 years, there was also a reduction in the number of courses which comprised the program. The 40 courses had been reduced to 33. The other significant difference was in the focus of some of the courses, with a greater emphasis on marketing, industrial relations, managerial finance and international business. These changes reflected broader changes within Australian society. Students were also keen to complete their program in the shortest possible time, and a 3 1/2-year program was more popular than a 4-year degree.

Evolution in the 1990s

The revised 3 1/2-year program, first introduced in 1984, continued with only minor modification until the postmerger years of consolidation with The University of Queensland. The concept of a binary system of higher education with universities focusing on traditional disciplines supported by a strong research focus, and colleges of advanced education concentrating on more vocationally- and practically-based disciplines underpinned by a consultancy focus was being increasingly questioned by educationalists, industry and government.

Just as the Martin Report appeared in the early 1960s as a result of the then Commonwealth Government's concern about the nature and direction of Australian Higher Education, so in the late 1980s the Dawkins Report (Dawkins, 1988) appeared which reflected Commonwealth Tertiary Education thinking two decades later. Interestingly, while almost 2 decades separate both reports, and each stemmed from opposing political ideologies (Martin under the Menzies Liberal administration and Dawkins under the Hawke Labor administration) both were precipitated by very similar concerns; namely, student access to higher education, cost implications for the government, and the development of a broadbased skilled workforce.

There were, however, many differences between the commissioning of the Martin Report and the Dawkins Report. Dawkins was driven by many factors. The sheer number of institutions was considered excessive and the government was determined that the number of institutions should be reduced by mergers and amalgamations. Driven by Labor's macro- and micro-economic reforms, Dawkins saw the need to increase the skills level of students so that they could create the clever country and work the new technological age to Australia's advantage. Sceptics might also claim that it was also a mechanism whereby young people could be taken off the dole queue (a vote loser) to fulltime education (a vote catcher).

The outcome of the Dawkins Report was the abolition of the binary system and its replacement with a unified national system. A series of amalgamations reduced over 70 institutions to approximately half that number, thereby reducing administration costs and potential program duplication. While the success of the reduced administration costs can be disputed, the unified national system brought about a greater uniformity to the tertiary education sector with 39 universities Australia-wide.

This major higher education restructure, the greatest in 20 years, profoundly affected the provision of hospitality and tourism education. Prior to the mergers, the majority of hospitality programs had been offered by the college sector, but after the mergers hospitality became a university discipline. The newly created universities and the enlarged earlier existing universities embarked on expansion where each institution looked to develop its program offerings and student intake.

To bring the 1980s CAE hospitality degree more in line with the undergraduate programs of The University of Queensland the 6-month industry internship was relaced by two 8-week industry internships scheduled to take place between the first and second, and the second and third year of a new three-year degree. This streamlining of the degree brought an essentially CAE degree more in line with university degrees, which were generally of 3 and not 3 1/2-years duration. In addition, a 4th-year honours program was added to the degree for the first time. The honours component also reflected The University of Queensland philosophy, whereby most undergraduate programs had provision for the more able students to continue to a higher level if they should so wish.

Changes to national government policy also meant that university education was now incurring significant tuition costs for students. This, and greater competition arising from the fact that there were now many more programs to choose from, dictated a more streamlined three year program (Table 3).

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly the new 3-year degree went against the general university trend of giving freedom of choice to prospective students. This came about for economic rather than academic reasons. It was recognised by the program planning team that students should be given academic elective choice as this provides 'opportunities for broadening the individual's educational experience in a way that he or she might find personally important' (Williams, 2005a, p. 73). However, dictates on departmental funding drove the organisation to go for the most cost-efficient mode of educational delivery. This was achieved by making all courses in the degree compulsory, thereby minimising the number of courses that needed to be offered. Student choice was partly satisfied by the fact that they could follow either a hospitality pathway or a tourism pathway, which was seen by many as elective choice.

The number of courses comprising the degree program was reduced from 33 to 25; this brought the program more in line with similar university undergraduate offerings. A central focus of the revised degree was a business core of courses (shared with the travel and tourism students together with business students concentrating on other diverse areas of specialism). The specialist hospitality courses covered accommodation management, front office management, food and beverage management, and property management (The University of Queensland, 1993).

Thus, the most significant observations to be made regarding program development in the early 1990s were the reduction in the number of courses comprising the program, the length of the program, a common business core with other business-focused degrees and the option of an honours year for the more able students.

By mid-1996 the program underwent further changes for commencement in 1997. In common with most degree offerings, the hospitality program came up for review after 5 years of operation. This review resulted in some changes to the duration of the program and very dramatic changes to both the degree content and structure. These changes reflected observed shortcomings with the 1990 modifications rather than any significant changes within the hospitality industry. The late-1990s degree was structured as shown in Table 4.

Now the degree was further reduced from 25 courses to 24 to bring it in line with other undergraduate 3-year programs across the university. The compulsory core remained very similar but was reduced from 11 courses to 9. The core hospitality courses experienced only very minor change. The most significant change was in the free elective choice of four courses, which allowed for a 'minor' concentration of study, and the freeing up of the order in which courses could be taken. Subject only to prerequisite and corequisite constraint pertaining to some of the courses, almost any course could be taken at the discretion of the student (always providing the course was offered in that particular semester). Students were increasingly undertaking full- or part-time employment whilst simultaneously studying at university and a greater degree of delivery flexibility was being increasingly demanded. This reflected higher education thinking in the mid 1990s, rather than any reason dictated by the hospitality industry.

Into the 21st Century

Since the turn of the century there have been further shifts in degree structure and emphasis. Following closer alignment with the main university regarding undergraduate business education, the hospitality degree (along with the tourism, travel and leisure degrees) was rolled into one faculty wide business degree with hospitality now becoming one of a number of majors. While the hospitality degree had always been called a Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) it was, until this point, a discrete degree into which students specifically enrolled. The Bachelor of Business (Tourism Management), established in 1988, was structured similarly and students could switch from one to the other, but this involved a program transfer and was not merely a switch of major. Now the degree became very much a business degree with a series of elective majors, of which hospitality was one (Table 5).

The business core comprises 12 courses which constitute 50% of the program and the hospitality major (along with every other major) comprises 6 courses or 25% of the program. The remaining 25% (6 courses) can be taken as free elective choice in almost any area of interest to the student or, as more commonly happens, the student will take a second major. This can be in a variety of business areas but travel and tourism management, event management, and sport and leisure management are popular second major choices. As almost all students enrolled on this program now undertake ongoing paid employment in the industry the compulsory industrial internship has been abolished. For the most able students there is an executive shadowing program which attracts very strong competition for entry.

There has been a progressive move away from a strongly focused practical hands-on emphasis in cooking, food service and hotel operation to a greater emphasis on service quality, total quality management, technological applications in the industry and globalisation. Students are encouraged to obtain the more practical training through ongoing employment.

Conscious of some loss of ownership of the degree in business, and cognisant of a growing student demand for a degree which covers both hospitality and tourism in the one degree, a Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management was introduced in 2000 (Table 6). This program was devised as an offshoot of both the original hospitality management degree, started in 1974, and the tourism degree which started in 1988. This degree differs in a number of important respects from the Bachelor of Business with majors.

The Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management has a core of six compulsory business courses, and six compulsory specialist courses in the hotel and tourism areas. In addition to the core, students can take two of three majors which are offered in hospitality management, tourism management and event management, which is a rapidly growing and very popular area for study. Whereas the Bachelor of Business is essentially a business degree with majors in the hospitality area, the Bachelor of Hotel and Tourism Management is a specialist hospitality and tourism degree with a smaller core of general business.

Identified Drivers of Change

The development of hospitality programs has evolved from a limited number of educational choices in the 1970s to multiple options available throughout the majority of the Australian states and territories. This growth has followed similar patterns identified in other nations, such as the United Kingdom (Craig-Smith, 1998) and the United States (Boger, 2000), and more recently countries such as China (King, McKercher, & Waryszak, 2003) and Brazil (Knowles, Teixeria, & Egan, 2003).

'A college curriculum is the product of many forces, values, and perspectives within society' (Williams, 2005b, p. 25). Even in the 30 years since the first hospitality degree programs began in Australia, there have been significant changes in the higher education sector federal policy, institution types, agendas, and number, as well as the size, importance and needs of the hospitality industry, and the characteristics and goals of the students (Figure 4).

[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]

Overall, the dramatic increase in the number of hospitality management degree programs has been in response to 'students seeking to qualify for a growing number of job opportunities within the hospitality industry' (Williams, 2005b, p. 26). This has lead to a highly competitive offering of hospitality programs at Australian universities (King et al., 2003).

Where changes in demand provide the opportunity to develop new programs, universities often base these programs on their existing offerings (Reigel & Dallas, 1999). Consequently, hospitality programs 'differ widely and lack the standardisation that characterizes many traditional fields of study' (Williams, 2005a, p. 71). Although these hospitality management programs vary, they are based in the operations of the hospitality industry (Davidson, 1996). This has led to an ongoing debate regarding the concept of hospitality and the appropriate content for the curriculum (Morrison, 2006). Such intellectual discourse is not unique to hospitality and can be seen as a healthy challenge necessary for the progress of hospitality as an academic field, as well as for the refinement of curriculum (Morrison & O'Gorman, 2006).

According to Reigel and Dallas (1999) there are five approaches to hospitality degree programs: tourism, foods and home economics, craft and skill, business administration, and the combined approach. The above discussion highlighted the 'food' and 'technical skill' origin of The University of Queensland hospitality management degree. At this stage both programs are now offered by the School of Tourism, with the core business courses delivered by the School of Business. The approach taken is therefore a combined tourism and business approach which developed from the foods and home economics, and the craft and skills approaches, thus illustrating the five options identified by Reigel and Dallas (1999). Such a direct link with the Business School is also representative of the universal trend for hospitality management degree programs to be affiliated with schools of business (Williams, 2005b).

As well as the overarching approach to hospitality degree programs the analysis above has highlighted a number of other significant changes. Internally, these include the duration of the program and the related number of courses, the types of courses incorporated, the various work experience models, the extent and variety of elective courses, and the progression into an honours program.

External drivers of change have included the level of competition as the number of institutions offering hospitality degree programs increased, and changes in national government policy resulting in a significant restructure of higher education institutions and increased cost to students of attending university. In addition, there is a continual need for clear program objectives that will cater to the various needs of all the relevant stakeholders (Williams, 2005a). For example, in this global marketplace there is a growing body of students from overseas, some of whom wish to remain in Australia after their degree, while others plan to return to their home country.

The need to incorporate input from industry is particularly relevant, and challenging, for hospitality educators to ensure and maintain relevance in this ever changing world (Davidson, 1996; Pavesic, 1993). This industry relevance also must be balanced with the need to provide quality university-level education (King et al., 2003). Within the hospitality industry there is a growing requirement for formal education for managerial positions (Knowles et al., 2003; Williams, 2005b). This situation is illustrated by the trend towards employment of graduates for entry-level management positions (Reigel & Dallas, 1999). In addition, program developers also need to anticipate the future needs of the graduate as there is a significant lag between curriculum design and graduation (Raybould & Wilkins, 2006). This link between the universities and industry is vital for positive outcomes for graduates.

The Future

In a review of the development of hospitality and tourism programs in Australia, Hobson (1995) attributed the dramatic growth during the late 1980s and early 1990s to the increase in international visitor arrivals, the economy of the nation, and the changes in education policy at the federal level. Since then, the growth in hospitality programs has been even more dramatic with 40 degree programs now offered by 30 institutions nationally.

The question for the future is whether the growth will continue, or even if the current level of program offerings is sustainable. This may mean that the life cycle of hospitality programs will reach the consolidation stage with some of the less viable programs disappearing from the hospitality degree landscape.

It is the authors' opinion that debate regarding the philosophy of hospitality degree programs will continue, and various institutions will address the issues of management preparation, practical skills, industry relevance and input, and research-driven curriculum in different ways.

While the current two hospitality offerings at The University of Queensland remain popular at present, as with any degree program it is essential that there be constant monitoring and change. The increased emphasis on service quality and management, sustainable management, business in a global environment, cross-cultural values and issues, and increasing emphasis on events as an emerging area of study in its own right are just the latest developments in a long period of gradual evolution and maturity.

Such decisions on program development should be informed by current research. This provides the opportunity for further research into hospitality education trends, particularly in terms of linkages between providers, changing entry and exit points and requirements, student needs and level of demand, and industry take-up, as well as the associated tourism education provision, and wider higher education trends.

In conclusion, the changes in the curriculum of hospitality management programs can be seen as a continual process of modification and revitalization (Williams, 2005b). Continuing to produce graduates for the world's hospitality industry is therefore an ongoing challenge for the educational providers.

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Pavesic, D.V. (1993). Hospitality education 2005: Curricular and programmatic trends. Hospitality Research Journal, 17(1), 285-294.

Queensland Agricultural College. (1974). Handbook of tertiary courses 1974. Lawes, Australia: Author.

Queensland Agricultural College. (1984). Queensland Agricultural College 1984 Handbook. Lawes, Australia: Author.

Raybould, M., & Wilkins, H. (2006). Generic skills for hospitality management: A comparative study of management expectation and student perceptions. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 13(2), 177-188.

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Correspondence

Dr Noreen Breakey, School of Tourism, University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia. E-mail: n.breakey@uq.edu.au

Noreen M. Breakey and Stephen J. Craig-Smith

The University of Queensland, Australia

Table 1
Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) 1974

Semester 1                            Semester 2

Catering Operations I                 Catering Operations II
Accounting I                          Accounting II
Food Chemistry                        Food Science and Nutrition
Services I                            Microbiology
Food and Management                   Services II

Semester 3                            Semester 4

Catering Operations III               Catering Operations IV
Management Principles                 Economics I
Statistics                            Computer and Data Processing
Business Communications               Accommodation Management
Sociology                             Food Technology

Semester 5                            Semester 6

Catering Management I                 Catering Management II
Purchasing                            Managerial Accounting for the
                                        Hospitality Industry
Personnel and Industrial Relations    Industry
International Tourism                 Economics II
Quality Food Sanitation               Domestic Tourism
Design and Planning I                 Design and Planning II
Technical Paper                       Technical Paper

Semester 7                            Semester 8

Achieve any 4 of the following.       Achieve any 4 of the following.
  International Catering                International Wines
  Business and Hospitality Law          Business Finance
  Operations Research                   Club Management
  Accounting for Small Business         Policy Seminar
  Recreation and Resort Management      Travel Management
  Catering Technology I                 Catering Technology II
  Thesis                                Nutrition 11
  Marketing                             Thesis (continuation)

Note From Handbook of Tertiary Courses 19741 (Queensland
Agricultural College. 1974)

Table 2
Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) 1984

Semester 1                              Semester 2

Business Communications I               Accommodation Systems II
Business Law I                          Business Accounting II
Economics I                             Food and Beverage Systems II
Hospitality and Tourism I               Hygiene II
Quantitative Analysis I                 Management Principles II
                                        Tourism Systems II

Semester 3                              Semester 4

Accommodation Studies III               Industrial Experience Program
Catering Operations III
Consumer Behaviour III
Food and Beverage Systems III
Marketing III

Semester 5                              Semester 6

Hospitality Marketing and Products V    Core subjects
Hospitality Property Management V         Hospitality Property
Human Resource Management V                 Management VI
Management Information Systems V          International Business VI
                                          Managerial Finance VI
                                          Marketing Research VI
                                        Elective subjects--two of:
                                          Inbound Management VI
                                          Lodging Management VI
                                          Restaurant Management VI
                                          Travel Management

Semester 7                              Semester 7

Core subjects:                          Elective subjects--two of:
  Business VII                            Inbound Management VII
  Industrial Relations VII                Institutional Management VI
  Managerial Finance VII                  Resort and Convention
  Strategic Marketing VII                   Management VI
                                          Travel Management VI

Note. From Queensland Agricultural College 1984 Handbook
(Queensland Agricutural College, 1984)

Table 3
Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) 1992

Semester 1                           Semester 2

Accommodation Studies                Computing Studies
Financial Accounting                 Food and Beverage Service
Management Principles                Food and Catering Studies
Principles of Hospitality            Quantitative Analysis I
  and Tourism
Maceoeconomics

Semester 3                           Semester 4

Business Law                         Human Resource Management
Hospitality Management Operations    Hospitality Property Management I
Marketing                            Managerial Accounting
Quantitative Analysis II             Macroeconomics

Semester 5                           Semester 6

Consumer Behaviour                   Sociology
Food and Beverage Systems            Business Policy
Hospitality Property Management II   Finance and Tax
Marketing Research                   Industrial Relations

Note: From The University of Queensland Calendar 1992: Vol. 3. Gatton
College Handbook (The University of Queensland, 1992)

Table 4
Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) 1997

Program components          Courses

Compulsory business core    Macroeconomics
                            Microeconomics
                            Business Law
                            Financial Accounting
                            Management Principles
                            Finance
                            Managerial Accounting
                            Marketing
                            Quantitative Analysis

Compulsory hospitality      Accommodation Studies
  management courses        Food and Beverage Service
                            Food and Catering Studies
                            Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
                            Information Systems for Managers
                            Hospitality Management Operations I
                            Hospitality Management Operations II
                            Hospitality Facilities Management
                            Cost Management for the Hospitality
                              Industry

Plus two of                 Consumer Behaviour
                            Human Resource Management
                            Sociology
                            Industrial Relations
                            Principles of Taxation
                            Small Business Management
                            Applied Marketing Research

Elective courses            Four from a very wide selection of
                              university courses

Note: From The University of Queensland Calendar Series 1997: Vol. 2.
The Undergraduate Studies Book (The University of Queensland, 1997)

Table 5
Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) 2006

Program components          Courses

Compulsory business core    Accounting For Decision Making
                            Introductory Microeconomics
                            Quantitative Economic And Business
                              Analysis A
                            Financial Management
                            Business Law
                            Computer-Based Information Systems
                            Introduction To Management
                            Organisational Behaviour
                            Introduction To Marketing

Compulsory hospitality      Tourism, Leisure, Hospitality: Principles
  management courses        Comparative Business Cultures
Plus one of                 Financial Reporting
                            Fundamentals of Cost Accounting
                            Introductory Macroeconomics
                            Managerial Skills and Communication
                            Services Management

Plus six of                 Hotel Management Operations
                            Hotel Management Technology Applications
                            Hospitality Small Business Operations
                            International Gaming Management
                            International Hotel Management
                            Food and Beverage Management
                            Professional Development--Project
                              or Placement

Elective courses            6 courses--as a second major or electives
                              from a very wide selection of
                              university courses

Note: From The University of Queensland Program Information 2006
(The University of Queensiand, 2006)

Table 6
Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management 2006

Program components          Courses

Compulsory business core    Business Law
                            Accounting For Decision Making
                            Introduction To Management
                            Introduction To Marketing
                            Financial Management
                            Introduction To Human Resource Management

Compulsory hotel and        Tourism, Leisure, Hospitality: Principles
  tourism core              Asian Cultures And Tourism
                            Tourism And Leisure Behaviour
                            Festivals And Special Events
                            Hospitality Management Operations
                            Leisure In Society

Plus six of                 Hotel Management Technology Applications
                            Hospitality Small Business Operations
                            International Gaming Management
                            International Hotel Management
                            Services Management in Hospitality
                            Food and Beverage Management
                            International Transport Systems
                            International Travel Management
                            Tourism Impact and Sustainability
                            Tourism Policy and Planning
                            Tourism Destination Marketing
                            Event Sponsorship and Fundraising
                            Event Management and the Arts
                            Meetings and Conventions Management
                            Event Industry Operations
                            Event Facilities Management
                            Professional Development--Project
                              or Placement

Elective courses            6 courses from the above options or
                              electives from a very wide selection of
                              university courses

Note: From The University of Queensland Program Information 2006
(The University of Queensland, 2006)