Board Approves AAS in Hospitality

The Hospitality Management degree will develop leadership skills and management practices that are valued in the hospitality industry. The curriculum will include courses in kitchen techniques, cooking and baking fundamentals, and be integrated with Kish’s marketing, management, and business courses, Joanne Kantner, Vice President of Instruction, explained.

Graduates of the program will be prepared to enter the workforce directly or transfer into a 4-year college or university Hospitality program. Kantner said, “Kish has had preliminary discussions with Northern Illinois University with the goal of creating a transfer pathway from Kish’s AAS into NIU’s Hospitality program.” Degree-earners will be prepared to work in hotel, tourism, restaurant, and other related management fields.

The certificate in Foundations of Culinary Arts will use the laboratory facilities housed in the Kishwaukee Education Consortium (KEC) building. The certificate will emphasize cooking, baking, and preparation skills. Through KEC partnership, the certificate will be offered as dual credit, allowing participating students a direct transition pathway into Kish.

“KEC has had the ProStart national certificate for seven years, but we’re extending what we do to create an industry certificate at the college level,” said Christy Sharp, Executive Chef for KEC. She explained that this Foundations of Culinary Arts certificate and Hospitality degree are ideal for many of the KEC students who do not immediately continue their education in large culinary school programs. “We’re excited to create the bridge that will keep them in classes they’re interested in and give them a head start on their career,” Sharp said.

Students will have the option to take the Culinary certificate further, into neighboring community college Culinary programs. Joanne Kantner explained that, “Kish is working with Elgin Community College to finalize an agreement that allows students to transfer certificate credits directly into Elgin’s Culinary program.” An alternative path for certificate-earning students will be stacking the certificate directly into the AAS Hospitality Management degree or applying credit towards the NIU Hospitality Management pathway. Additionally, certificate-earners will be prepared for immediate entry into food preparation careers in settings including bakeries, banquet halls, diners, and gourmet restaurants.

Through earning the Hospitality Management AAS degree and/or the Foundations of Culinary Arts certificate, students will also pick up several valuable food certifications, as they are part of the curriculum.

Both culinary and hospitality programs were identified as a priority to meet needs of local businesses and industry partners. Christy Sharp said, “our focus here is keeping it local,” and explained how the programs being developed will be designed specifically to support local business needs, which differ from the needs of urban businesses. “We’re seeing our restaurants want more technique in the field and this [certificate and degree] should give our students a head start,” Sharp said. Joanne Kantner said, “Local businesses have given great feedback on the proposed programs.” She explained that local hotels and restaurants have shown interest in serving as internship sites, offering front and back of house on-the-job training for future students.

Following the Kish Board’s approval, the program will need approval from the Illinois College Board and the Board of Higher Education. “Pending approval, we’re hoping for a 10-person cohort to enroll in Fall 2019,” said Kantner.

For more information on the Hospitality Management AAS or Foundations of Culinary Arts certificate at Kish College, contact: Joanne Kantner at mkantner@kish.edu or 815-825-9450.