If you are looking for ways to advance your career in hospitality through ongoing education, an important question has probably crossed your mind: How do I find out if a college offers continuing education credits for my hospitality degree? By reading the information found below, you can obtain an answer to this question and several others that pertain to education and careers within the field of hospitality.
Continuing Education Credits-The Basics
Although broadly defined, a continuing education credit (CEC) is basically a course used in continuing education programs, especially those that are required for a professional to maintain their license. Some examples of individuals who are required to attain CECs include: teachers, lighting designers, engineers, architects, school administrators, mental health professionals, social workers, and nurses. Generally, a CEC incorporates ten hours of participation within a continuing education program that offers qualified instruction. CEC records are used for the purpose of providing employers with pertinent information regarding training. Some of the Hospitality CEC courses an individual might take include Food Service Recertification, Front Desk Management, and Intro to Tourism.
Attaining CEC’s For A Hospitality Degree
If you are interested in obtaining CEC’s for a hospitality degree, you will need to know whether or not a college offers them. Generally, this information is obtained by consulting with the college’s academic department or its college of continuing and professional education. By visiting a learning institution’s website and entering the keywords “Continuing Education Credit Hospitality,” you will typically be led to a page within the college’s academic section that offers you a brief overview of the institution’s CEC rules and regulations. Although each set of guidelines regarding how to begin obtaining continuing education credits from a college will be unique, you will typically find this information:
1. A Brief Description of the Program
This aspect of the descriptive page will provide you with information such as whether you can obtain your CECs part time, full time, or one at a time. If the learning institution offers scheduling flexibility or allows students to take courses on nights or weekends, they will generally advertise this fact. The descriptive page will also indicate whether there are any options to customize your education through the use of electives or concentrations. Because customization gives people the opportunity to make their careers flexible, many institutions place primacy upon giving individuals these options. If the learning institution has a notable faculty or an international reputation, this information will likely be mentioned. Finally, any opportunities to participate in site visits, internships, or group projects is usually listed in the learning institution’s summary of its CEC program.
2. Application Information
Colleges that offer CECs will generally provide data regarding their application deadlines on their general information page. In some cases, an institution may accept applications year-round. However, other colleges may offer programs for which enrollment applications can be submitted during just one month of the year.
3. Call to Action-Request Information.
Many colleges will include a “Request Information” link on the academic page that provides students with basic information about its CEC program. By clicking this link, prospective students will generally be led to a page asking them for basic contact information such as e-mail, phone number, address, etc. In submitting this information, prospective students can have informational brochures and similar data mailed or e-mailed to them so they can attain a detailed understanding about the CEC courses they are interested in taking.
Career Advancement
Although some people complete CECs because they are required, any individual who takes CECs within the sector of hospitality should know that doing so can entail a plethora of personal and professional rewards. In addition to learning more about one’s field, completing CECs can make a job candidate more marketable than other competitors in the mind of an employer. There are a plethora of different jobs that one can become more proficient in by completing CECs, and that of a lodging manager is just one example. With CEC courses, individuals who hold this job title can learn about things such as the latest front desk technology software as well as evolving methodologies for conflict resolution with disgruntled employees and/or customers.
Conclusion
If you are thinking about advancing your career in the field of hospitality, you should know that obtaining CECs can help you accomplish your objective. Now that you have an answer to the question “How do I find out if a college offers continuing education credits for a hospitality degree?,” you can begin the process of enrolling in the learning institution that will help advance your vocational goals.