Conceptualization of Quality Indicators for U.S. Based Four-Year Undergraduate Hospitality Management Programs

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to (a) generate a composite list of hospitality management program quality indicators and (b) arrange the quality indicators in dimensional categories under conceptual themes. Three focus group interviews were conducted with twenty-eight hospitality educators and administrators. Sixty-nine quality indicators emerged based on the content analyses of the data under five conceptual themes: students/alumni, curriculum, faculty, industry support, and facilities. Categories under each theme varied in the unidimensional and multidimensional nature of their indicators. Implications for stakeholders and recommendations for future research to determine specific quality measures that would be useful to hospitality faculty and administrators in planning and assessing academic programs are provided.