With a casino on the way and with other local establishments requesting, Dodge City Community College will add a Hospitality Management program to its list of offerings.

“We’re excited about offering another program,” said Associate Dean of Technical Education Danny Gillum.

Melissa McCoy, Director of Business Technology and Continuing Education, worked to put the program together and she said the program will be a revision to the current Business Management program.

“With the current trends that we see in industry and our community and the surrounding areas we can see the need for such a program.” McCoy said.

Dodge City Community College has established a partnership with the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute. McCoy said this gives the college the opportunity to offer 50 years of industry-driven experience to students.

McCoy said DCCC will be able to offer a Hospitality Operations Certificate, a Food and Beverage Management Diploma and a Hospitality Management Diploma. The courses focus on two areas of specialization: Rooms Division Management and Food and Beverage Management. The course can be taken separately as certificates or diplomas or taken with the other required courses to complete an associate’s degree.

“Our hope is students will see the value in completing this with an associate’s degree,” McCoy said. “There are a lot of opportunities here and we think this is going to be a very positive thing for our students and for our community.”