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Hospitality shifts to Olds

Red Deer College’s hospitality and tourism program, which was among the casualties of recent budget cuts at the college, will be offered at Olds College beginning in September.

Red Deer College’s hospitality and tourism program, which was among the casualties of recent budget cuts at the college, will be offered at Olds College beginning in September.

Olds College confirmed on Thursday that it will offer certificates and diplomas in hospitality and tourism, as Red Deer College did in the past.

But it said it would use the next year to modify the program to reflect the resources available on campus.

“The Pomeroy Inn and Suites at Olds College, Chartwells, meat program, brewery, restaurant, conference services, event planning and franchise exposure are all things our future students will be able to enjoy as part of their learning experience on campus,” said Jason Dewling, vice-president of academics and research at Olds College. 

“We also enjoy hospitality program relationships with two other post-secondary institutions in the Dominican Republic and Hawaii, and want to leverage those international destinations and our current assets and partners to make our revamped hospitality and tourism programs a ‘destination program.’”

Red Deer College announced last Thursday that it will suspend its hospitality and tourism program, as well as its virtual assistant distance certificate, as of September.

The college’s early learning and child care diploma will be suspended by 2014, although students in the certificate program will able to complete their diploma, and the certificate program will continue to be offered.

Meanwhile, Red Deer College’s automotive service technician certificate will only be available via the apprenticeship route, the pharmacy technician certificate will be offered on campus but not through distance education, and the health care aide program won’t be offered on campus.

The Alberta government’s March 7 Alberta budget reduced Red Deer College’s operating grant by 7.3 per cent, leaving the college with a $6 million budget shortfall.

Olds College said in a release that Red Deer College had agreed earlier this year to accept office administration students after Olds College decided to defer intake into that program.

“This is an excellent example of two Campus Alberta partners working together to provide programming within our region that aligns to the strengths of each institution,” said Olds College president Tom Thompson.

“By playing to each college’s strengths, we avoid unnecessary duplication of programming and can provide high quality and greater access to the students of Alberta.”

Red Deer College has historically had 40 students in the certificate and 20 in the diploma streams of its hospitality and tourism program.

Olds College plans to build on these numbers.