Abstract:

In a previous article (Demaeght de Montalay, 2021), we analyzed the evolution and future trends for the standard duration of international hotel management programs. We observed a trend towards a lengthening of these studies, for which the programs offered in a standardized way by specialized schools had successively increased from two years to three or four years, or even five years. A first explanation for this phenomenon is that it is based, of course, on competition within the job market, in which students have a comparative advantage when they hold increasingly higher qualifications. A second explanation lies in the business model of the schools themselves, who want to build loyalty among their prospects even before they become their students, by asking them to commit to increasingly long programs with a purely financial and commercial vision.

The aim of this article is to examine how we can introduce greater flexibility into student career paths, by going against this trend and offering shorter programs that complement each other. Is it really in a student's interest to commit to a three- or four-year Bachelor's program or to a five-year Master's program ? Wouldn't it be better to combine a short two-year program, followed by a one-year Bachelor's degree and, eventually, a traditional Master's degree over two years or even two one-year periods?

As a first step, we analyzed the recent evolution of programs in the major hotel management schools since we wrote our previous review, or, more precisely, since the end of our previous study published in 2021. We will thus establish a link with the situation described previously. A more in-depth analysis will focus on cases in which durations have been lengthened, or in which the lengthening of the duration has been reinforced in one way or another. A link will be made between these situations of extended duration and a change in certification (change from a certified qualification to an accredited qualification, Programme Grande Ecole, etc.). We will also look at the impact of these changes on curricular content standards.

The second part of the study is devoted to case studies of the schools identified in the first part, and to the consequences of the changes made. A qualitative study is carried out on the consequences for commercial recruitment and academic quality.
The final part will look at the results of the analyzed cases, and make specific recommendations for the future. A more flexible, modular system will be proposed to optimize curricular offer and program complementarity.
We will also analyze the impact of this strategy on the legal frameworks for work-study training, particularly in France, as well as on the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning system (Validation des Acquis de l'Expérience).
We will then look at how this model can be extended to more global business management studies and vocational business studies.
Based on this new strategic approach, we will look at the implications for the specific features of specialized business schools, and the possible bridges between these schools and more general business schools.

Keywords:

Hospitality Education, Hotel Schools, Higher Education Curriculum.