PHILIPSBURG--University of St. Martin (USM) achieved a major milestone with the accreditation of its Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) programme by Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) in the United Kingdom.
BTEC-accredited degrees are recognised in the US and in Europe. This is the first programme under the USM umbrella to be accredited. However, this does not mean that students following other programmes will not graduate with an accredited degree, said Head of USM’s Hospitality and Business Division Erwin Wolthuis.
In addition to the accreditation of the HTM programme, USM as an institution has also been accredited.
The accreditation was announced during a session at the institution on Friday, in the presence of a cross section of the community including educators, business representatives, students and representatives of government and parliament.
USM also announced on Friday that it has received “recognition” from American Hotel and Lodging Association, and that USM will be the third institution in the Caribbean to offer courses from American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). AHLEI is a professional institute that offers education for hospitality industry workers.
AHLEI operates out of Sandals Resort in Jamaica and at Epic in Aruba. St. Maarten will serve as the institute for the North Eastern Caribbean, where personnel from American hotels can come to upgrade their skills. The recognition was achieved about two weeks ago.
Wolthuis said USM’s accreditation as an institution, as well as the accreditation of the HTM programme means that the university has proven that it lives up to required international standards. “It also means that we are now able to give students an accredited degree for two years,” he told The Daily Herald after Friday’s information session. He said the accreditation and also the HTM degrees will be recognised in the United States as well as in Europe.
USM received the green light about the accreditation of the HTM programme on August 20. At that time, a batch of 11 students was already enrolled in the HTM programme for the current semester.
USM President Dr. Francio Guadeloupe said the institution has been working tirelessly for about a year-and-a-half to obtain the accreditation. “We really had to push for this and it means we had to do an about-turn in answering the question about what USM is really about, and USM is the institution for St. Maarten. St. Maarten is a hospitality island, and hospitality has to be the flagship of this university,” said Guadeloupe.
Guadeloupe said, now that USM as an institution is accredited, the university can now move to focus on obtaining the same for other programmes, such as its Associates Degree in General Liberal Arts.
Wolthuis, who took over the helm of USM’s Hospitality division in April, said USM did not have the large budget to hire additional staffers to pursue the accreditation; this means that the existing staff had to “give 200 per cent” and “go the extra mile,” to achieve this milestone. “It was more labour than financial aspect to obtaining the accreditation,” Woltghuis noted.
In a power point presentation to guests on Friday, Wolthuis said graduates of USM’s HTM programme should be employable in the local hospitality and tourism industry. They should also receive internships/assignments with prominent St. Maarten hospitality providers.
Graduates of USM’s HTM programme should also be eligible for transition into the third/fourth year of a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management programme at University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), Monroe College, New York and Johnson and Wales University.
Director of University of St. Maarten School of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (SCELL) Dr. Natasha Gittens said American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) courses will be pivotal for USM, St. Maarten and the Eastern Caribbean. She said that through SCELL and global partnerships, USM has now established itself as the “capital” for training for hospitality and professionals on the island.
Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs was among the persons who also addressed attendees at Friday’s session.
