Students' perceptions of hospitality education quality in the United States higher education: Domestic versus international students. (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Myong Jae; Kang, Haesang; Choi, Hyunsuk; Lee, Joong-won; Olds, David
• Is Part Of: Journal of hospitality, leisure, sport & tourism education. Volume 25(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: Hospitality management -- Higher education -- International students -- Curriculum; Hospitality industry -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Leisure industry -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Recreation industry -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Tourism -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 338.4791071
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhlste.2019.100212
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-8376

Abstract

Abstract: As the competition for recruiting hospitality management students increases among major hospitality management programs in the United States, updating programs based on student needs has become integral to program success. This study explored student perceptions of hospitality education quality in the United States and compared international and domestic student perceptions of 29 education quality attributes in five areas: student support, industry networking, innovative curriculum, learning environment, and program credential. A total of 329 usable responses including 69 responses from international students were collected at four hospitality management programs for data analysis. Overall, study results indicated that domestic students rated all five areas significantly higher than international students. However, some notable differences were found in the relative importance of education quality areas and individual education quality attributes between the two groups. Domestic students chose the industry network as the second most important area of education quality after student support, while international students rated the innovative curriculum as one of top two important quality areas. Detailed implications are discussed for program administrators and faculty.