Opening Doors to Hospitality & Tourism Management

Hospitality is a way of life here in San Diego and Southwest Riverside counties, directly or indirectly employing 173,000 area residents.  The San Diego Tourism Authority is projected a record year for tourism in in San Diego in 2015 -- $9.9 billion in visitor spending, 34 million visitors and $266 million in transient occupancy tax contributions to San Diego County city governments.  We believe they hit their mark.  (In San Diego County alone, one in eight jobs is currently tourism related.)

This past year we’ve launched several programs to meet the educational and training needs of people at every level of the organization including those seeking to identify their niche in the field and those seeking senior-level certification or a specialized MBA.

What’s unique is that each of these programs was developed in partnership with industry and many classes are taught by leaders in the field so they address the needs identified by those who are at the forefront. There’s also an applied or practicum component where students have the opportunity to put their learning to use in the field.

The “Professional Certificate in the Business of Hospitality”  is designed for those who are considering a career in the field or seeking to understand their growing role in the field.  This non-credit program gives participants an overview of all key functional areas from finance and HR to operations and customer service.  The full certificate incorporates seven topic areas of study. “This program is a great example of the University’s commitment to meeting the needs of North County’s hospitality sector, “ says Doug Yavanian, Community Relations Liaison at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa who is also a member of the CSU Alumni Council, Chancellor’s Hospitality Advisory Board and CSUSM Hospitality Advisory Board.

A specialization in Hospitality & Tourism Management is also available as part of the MBA program.  Alternatively, students can also choose individual credit-based courses from the MBA curriculum or they can complete a set of six predetermined graduate level courses to receive an “Advanced Certificate in Hospitality and Tourism Management. “ Courses being offered this spring include Hospitality Revenue Management and Employment Best Practices.

Ed Fuller an internationally known leader, educator and author who formerly served as president and managing director of Marriott International says, “this is the perfect combination, uniting the strength of the university’s MBA program wish the need of the expanding hospitality industry.”

On Saturday April 1 we will be joining forces with the San Diego North Economic Development Council to host a Connected Tourism Summit on campus from 7 am – 2 pm featuring industry speakers and panels, as well as a career fair. This event is open to the public with reservations required. Please call 760-750-4004 to learn more.

Do you have ideas about professional development certificates or degrees we ought to be investigating?  If so, please reach out to me at eldean@csusm.edu . Thank you!  

The Next Frontier: Cybersecurity

From government employees to big box store customers, no organization’s data is safe from determined hackers. Institutions of higher education, like ours, have a responsibility to train critical thinkers in this field to navigate, anticipate and effectively manage this evolving challenge.  

This past year, we assembled faculty, industry leaders and regional economic development personnel to help us create a relevant and meaningful Professional Science Master’s degree in cybersecurity with a focus on threat prevention.  The objective: to create a degree that combines technical training and business skills with practical knowledge, positioning graduates to fill employment demand gaps in security domains such as programming, threat prevention and IT and service management.

We want our students to be on the cutting edge of cyber; able to effectively manage and anticipate potential issues.

“By focusing on cyber threat prevention and IT security management, this program focuses on the strategies and tactics to reduce or mitigate risks before they become crises,” says RADM (Ret) Ken Slaght, Co-Chair and President of the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence and a member of the program advisory committee.

  

Our first cohort launched this fall with a group of working adults, all of whom had background in IT but none of whom had been formally educated in the field of cybersecurity. These students will work through their program part-time over five semesters, with classes held after work hours and will finish with a semester-in-residence capstone project that enables them to work on a special project in the industry.  On completion, their jobs prospects will be strong.

According to Burning Glass Technologies, “demand for cybersecurity has grown 3.5 times faster than demand for other IT jobs and 12 times faster than all other jobs.” 

“This is one field that will be rapidly gaining momentum in the years to come,” says Mark Cafferty, President and CEO, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation

ViaSat Vice President Simon Kuo notes, “this degree program combines the art and science of cybersecurity into one cohesive approach, something missing in most other Master’s programs.”

Advisory Board members, John Gormally, a major account manager with F5 Networks adds, “Information security infrastructures are the needed fabric to ensure that organizations are secure, compliant and providing protection for critical data.  CSUSM is leading the way with the launch of this program which is so closely aligned with workforce needs in the technology industry.”

If you have thoughts on other programs that we ought to be investigating or developing in order to better prepare area residents for available jobs and to meet the needs of regional employers, please contact me at eldean@csusm.edu.