Report of the Academic Program Review Committee for the
Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration
for the Review Period FY2004-FY2006
Approved by CAP, May 1, 2007
APRC Review Committee: Harry Dangel (chair), Michael Eriksen, Lorilee Schneider
Department Profile for FY2004-FY2006
Faculty and Staff
The Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality (CDSoH) is Georgia’s largest and only accredited hospitality program (Accreditation Commission of Programs in Hospitality Administration). The School was moved into the Robinson College of Business (RCB) in 1995, which required a significant redesign of the curriculum in order to meet the requirements of a bachelor’s degree in business administration. This is the first Academic Program Review for Hospitality as their professional accreditation in 1999 was accepted as satisfying the Academic Program Review requirements.
During the three-year review period the School of Hospitality averaged slightly fewer than six full-time faculty: Four tenure-track (one professor, two associate professors and one assistant professor) and two non-tenure track faculty (one lecturer and one visiting instructor) as of FY2007. Two of the three tenured faculty are male, all other faculty are female. There are no minority faculty members. During the review period one tenure-track assistant professor was added—FY 2005. There are also 6 part-time instructors, five of whom appear to teach on a regular basis. PTIs accounted for 22% of the courses taught in FY2007. The CDSoH is supported by two full-time staff members.
Average Enrollment by level and faculty type
The CDSoH teaches undergraduate, upper-division courses –4009 credit hours in 2004, 3762 in 2005, and 4917 in 2006 (three-year average 4229.3). The program reports a 287% growth in credit hours since 2000. The School also offers a 12 semester hour certificate program for other BBA and post-bachelors students and has been working on adding an elective emphasis on airport and airline management. The CDSoH reports that the airlines have been very supportive of their plans to offer these courses. There are currently eight elective courses available to students (12 courses when the airport and airline management option is approved). An MBA concentration in hospitality was initiated in 1998 but the limited enrollment has resulted in a drop in credit hours taught from 72 in FY 2004 to 9 in FY 2006. The Hospitality Administration Strategic Plan for 2006-2010 reports “increasing GMAT requirements as a negative impact on hospitality concentration enrollment”.
During the review period the average annual number of credit hours taught by tenure-track faculty was 412.1 and by non-tenure-track faculty was 615. The ratio of both undergraduate students to tenure-track faculty (10.4 to 1) and undergraduate credit hours per tenure-track faculty member (154 to 1) is somewhat lower than that reported for peer institutions (57% of the mean student to tenure-track faculty ratio of 18.2 reported for peers and 56% of peers’ mean of 266 undergraduate credit hours to tenure-track faculty ratio). The School of Hospitality questioned the usefulness of these data because all but one of the peer institutions also teach lower-division courses (assumed to have larger student-faculty ratios). The CDSoH direct instructional expenditure per student credit hour (for FY 2005) was $204 (compared to $182.45 for peers) and direct instructional expenditure per full-time equivalent student of $6,121 (compared to $5247 for peers). Personnel costs were 97% of the direct instructional expenditure for CDSoH compared to a 93.2% average for the ten peer schools.
Scholarly and Creative Productivity and External Funding
Table 1 shows the scholarly production of tenure-track faculty for the review period. In addition to individual publications, the School of Hospitality Administration publishes a scholarly research journal, Journal of Applied Hospitality Management (formerly, Praxis –The Journal of Applied Hospitality Research). No external research funding was reported. New funding for scholarships from a private endowment of $100,000 and $307,000 in funds (approximately $150,000 was from industry contributions) for dedicated hospitality classrooms/labs was reported.
Table 1. Scholarly and Creative ProductivityType / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / Average per TT faculty
Refereed:
Scholarly / 4 / 7 / 4 / 1.36
Professional
Practical / 15 / 2 / 1.54
Books / 2 / 2 / .36
Faculty Service
Faculty members are active in service activities which include the university, industry, and government constituents.
Student Numbers by Degree Programs and Degrees Awarded
The School of Hospitality Administration currently offers a bachelor’s degree and an MBA concentration in hospitality. As shown in Table 2, there has been a steady increase in the number of majors and degrees awarded in the Bachelor of Business Administration program (33% and 54% respectively). The number of students in the MBA concentration in Hospitality in 2006 had dropped to 42% (6 students) of the 2004 enrollment of 14.
Table 2. Student Numbers by Degree Programs and Degrees AwardedSchool of Hospitality Administration
FY 2004 / FY 2005 / FY 2006 / 3 YR. AVG.
Programs / Majors / Degrees Conferred / Majors / Degrees Conferred / Majors / Degrees Conferred / Majors / Degrees Conferred
BBA / 179 / 24 / 213 / 28 / 239 / 37 / 210.3 / 29.7
MBA / 14 / 1 / 11 / 1 / 6 / 1 / 10.3 / 1.0
Total / 193 / 25 / 224 / 29 / 245 / 38 / 220.7 / 30.7
Quality of students
Input Measures: The reported SAT scores and Freshman Index totals for students in the School of Hospitality Administration were comparable to the GSU and Robinson College of Business averages, especially for 2005 and 2006. It should be noted that the number of freshmen for whom scores are reported is a small fraction of the total number of reported majors.
Fall 04 / SAT Scores / Freshman IndexN / Average / N / Average
All Students / 2,038 / 1095 / 2,250 / 2746
College of Business / 445 / 1087 / 488 / 2744
Hospitality / 8 / 1010 / 8 / 2669
Fall 05 / SAT Scores / Freshman Index
N / Average / N / Average
All Students / 2,038 / 1091 / 2,271 / 2735
College of Business / 427 / 1091 / 478 / 2743
Hospitality / 6 / 1127 / 9 / 2773
Fall 06 / SAT Scores / Freshman Index
N / Average / N / Average
All Students / 1,863 / 1092 / 2,153 / 2747
College of Business / 434 / 1084 / 507 / 2741
Hospitality / 7 / 1050 / 9 / 2754
During the review period 38% of the applicants were accepted into the MBA concentration--an annual average of 4.3 applicants (range 4 to 5). Across the three review years the students who enrolled scored an average of 581 on the GMAT—nearly 30 point below the mean GMAT for students in RCB.
Measures of student learning: The program has 10 student learning outcomes which are aligned with the professional accreditation standards (Accreditation Commission of Programs in Hospitality Administration) as well as with the general education learning outcomes of the University. Student mastery of the learning outcomes in 2006 was documented through six separate assessments. The programs reported that performance targets were met on the senior exit examination, course projects, and the examination on food sanitation procedures. Performance targets were partially met on course examinations, work performance assessments, and the work portfolio. Action plans were prepared to improve student performance in areas in which targets were partially met.
Assessment
It is clearly apparent from the Self Study, the External Reviewers Report, and feedback from former students and their employers that the School of Hospitality is an important and effective component of the Robinson College of Business and the hospitality industry of Atlanta and Georgia.
Academic Quality
The Self Study notes that in 2002 the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education included a ranking of undergraduate programs in which the Georgia State program was ranked 13th overall and 12th in public institutions. The external reviewers also report that the “quality of the unit’s instruction is very good” (p. 1). They note that, “Professionals in the community express admiration for the program’s involvement in hospitality industry activities and the quality of students produced”.
The 2005-2006 learning assessment report includes a variety of student learning outcomes, six direct assessments of learning that are aligned with student learning outcomes, and an accompanying set of action plans to promote higher student performance in the future. The external team raised concerns that the undergraduate program, although “broad and creative”, “seems to lack depth” (p. 1). The team noted that verbs used to describe learning outcomes are often “describe and explain” (p. 4), which connote skills more appropriate for lower-division courses. They suggested that several of the learning outcomes should be reworded to facilitate their assessment.
Regarding the curricular offerings of the School of Hospitality Administration, the external review team congratulated the faculty for offering students a relatively wide variety of electives. They also noted, however, that with the limited faculty and number of course hours available in the major, the program risks “a lack of focus for the undergraduate major” (p. 6).
Student responses to the APR survey yields consistently high ratings for nearly all items, including faculty interest, preparation, advising and communication with students, for quality and availability of courses and student preparation for vocation.
Currently, the MBA concentration does not have a sufficient number of students to permit courses to be offered on a regular basis, and faculty are considering offering a combined hospitality/real estate concentration at the master’s level.
Research and Service
The School of Hospitality Administration’s level of scholarship and service is respectable given the undergraduate teaching loads. External reviewers note that the lack of a viable graduate program likely limits faculty scholarly productivity. It is especially noteworthy that the unit houses a professional journal and that three of its faculty have shared the editorship at one time or another. The many faculty service activities within the University, with Atlanta and Georgia constituent groups, and within the profession are varied, and appropriate, including a recent Sparks Award winner for university service and a high level of industry involvement.
Centrality
Hospitality’s centrality to the mission of the University is drawn from the fact that hospitality is the second largest industry for both Atlanta and Georgia. Graduates of the School of Hospitality play a significant role play in tourism industry of urban Atlanta. This theme, i.e., “Academic programs contribute to the economic, educational, social, professional and cultural vitality of the city, the state and the region”, is a goal of the University’s Strategic Plan. A similar emphasis is given by the Robinson College of Business mission statement, “We serve our community through complementary research, teaching and outreach activities, leveraging our proximity to multinational corporations, entrepreneurial enterprises, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations”. The connection to the hospitality industry is reinforced by multiple references in the Self-Study and the external reviewer’s reports of CDSoH’s industry board and the guidance and support it provides.
Viability
The growth in the number of undergraduate majors and sharp increase in credit hours are both positive indicators of the viability of the School of Hospitality Administration. Some of this might be attributed to the added certificate option as well as to overall program growth. Similarly, the effort to offer additional electives through a set of airport and airline management courses and a new study abroad program with the Université of Savoie in France are also indicators of viability. Survey results from graduates and employers indicate that both hold the School of Hospitality in high regard.
Plans have also been made for two significant capital facility additions—the Hospitality Learning Center in the Georgia World Congress Center and the Culinary Learning Center in the Bennett Brown Building. The new facilities are being developed through private financing, including more than $150,000 in industry contributions. These upgrades in facilities, along with 2005 GSU technology fee support to integrate more technology into courses will provide additional support for the instructional program.
Strategic focus (comparative advantage): The CDSoH has a compelling comparative advantage. As noted by the external reviewers, “The program has been able to take strategic advantage of their location in a very strong hospitality location destination” (p. 3). The growth in credit hours and majors and success of graduates in finding responsible employment with respected companies confirm this advantage.
The strategic goals of the University and Robinson College of Business to be a highly regarded research university raise a concern about the viability of the MBA concentration within CDSoH. Within this context, the external team questioned the planned joint MBA concentration with the Department of Real Estate. “It is very difficult to know whether this narrow industry niche will be of sufficient long-term interest to revitalize the program or if the program should be completely revitalized” (p. 3).
Strategic goals and objectives were not proposed by the unit at the time of the last program review.
Evaluation of the program’s goals and objectives
The CDSoH has an ambitious set of goals for the coming years. The School’s goal to have over 300 majors in hospitality is laudable, but should be addressed within the existing constraints of balancing quality and quantity. The School of Hospitality will need to examine the extent to which 20% additional majors may provide challenges for the capacity of facilities (e.g., will courses with limited enrollments, laboratory and capstone courses, present a bottleneck for students), available faculty (including the anticipated new hire for fall 2007), faculty research productivity, continued reliance of part-time instructors, and plans to open new facilities and to reconfiguration of the MBA concentration.
On the other hand, an increase in program size may offer an economy of scale which would reduce the number of different course preparations per faculty member and, given a sufficient number of faculty to cover the additional courses, could offer more flexibility and time for research activities. Certainly the possibility, reported in the Self-Study, of two additional tenure-track positions to start fall 2008 would mitigate the addition work of more students on current faculty and reduce reliance of part-time instructors, although University hiring patterns of the past couple of years make this a tenuous expectation.