UNLV hotel college looks at Singapore

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005 | 11:06 a.m.

As tourism in Asia explodes, UNLV's Harrah's Hotel College is jockeying itself to offer its hotel management courses at what officials believe is the gateway to the continent -- the island republic of Singapore.

UNLV officials have already gotten the green light from the Singapore government, whose Economic Development Board has offered to front the money necessary to start both a bachelor's and an executive master's degree program in hotel administration, Stuart Mann, dean of the hotel college, said.

"It's a feather in UNLV's cap," Mann said of the invitation to join Singapore's elite list of foreign universities, which include the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, Stanford, John Hopkins, Duke, Georgia Tech and Cornell.

"It allows UNLV to be side by side with some of the most prestigious schools in the world," Mann said.

But before the college officials sign any agreements, they first have to get approval from the university system's Board of Regents. Mann is asking the regents on Friday for a tuition variance for the international courses, which will follow the same curriculum as the hotel administration degrees offered in Las Vegas.

The variances, about $5,500 per semester for the bachelor's degree program and $35,000 for the master's degree, will allow the program to be completely self-supporting, Mann said.

The program will not cost UNLV anything or take away from the education of local students who are the college's first priority, Mann said. Any extra revenue earned once the international branch is off the ground will be reinvested back into the hotel college here.

Mann is also asking regents to allow the system's chancellor to approve all future agreements between UNLV and Singapore authorities as the university moves forward with its plans. Technically, the chancellor already has that authority via the Board of Regents handbook, but Mann said he and other UNLV officials just want to make sure regents are fully on board with the college's goals.

The Board of Regents backed UNLV's desire to offer courses in Singapore back in 1994, Mann said, but those plans fell through when one of the Singapore partners backed out.

By expanding UNLV's hotel administration courses to Asia, the college will be able improve its reputation internationally and meet the needs of the growing tourist market there, Mann said.

With the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Shanghai World Trade Fair in 2010, tourism experts predict China will be the No. 1 destination to visit worldwide by 2012, Mann said. The growth of the industry in China and all around Asia have increased the need for managers across the continent.

Singapore itself is a thriving metropolis with several large hotel resorts, Mann said, and the government there is considering allowing limited gaming licenses that may attract U.S. businesses to the area.

The hotel college already has a massive international student body, as about 500 of the 2,5000 students enrolled are from overseas, Mann said. Many of the students are from Asia, including about 150 students from Korea and 75 from Japan.

The high cost of traveling to and being educated in the United States, however, means that many more students who are interested in the hotel college cannot afford to come, Mann said. He and other UNLV officials are hoping that the Singapore classes, if approved by regents, will draw students from all over Asia who are interested in careers in tourism.

The partnership with Singapore will also allow local students and professors to add international experience to their own resumes, Mann said. If approved by regents, he said he foresees hiring new faculty for the overseas courses and rotating tenured faculty on a semester or yearlong basis. Local students will also have the option of taking courses in Singapore.

That kind of international experience is invaluable, Mann said, both in the knowledge professors will bring back to students in Las Vegas and in helping improve the marketability of students when they look for jobs.

Under the current proposal, students seeking the bachelor's degree in Singapore will complete their general education requirements at local universities and then complete the upper division hotel administration courses with UNLV's Singapore branch, Mann said. The executive master's degree in hotel administration will be an intensive, 30-credit program for people already working in the industry.

The Singapore Economic Development Board has offered an unsecure loan up to $1 million to start the program, Mann said, which will only have to be repaid if the program is financially viable. The business plan predicts that the program will be self-sufficient by its second year, and that it will likely bring in extra money to the Hotel College.

Regent Thalia Dondero said she was concerned about the university's liabilities in working in a foreign country and wanted to see the actual contract between UNLV and the Singapore Economic Development Board, but other regents said they thought the partnership was a great opportunity.

"I think it's a win-win situation that is rare to come by," Regent Bret Whipple said.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to debate the Singapore proposal Friday afternoon at the Community College of Southern Nevada West Charleston campus, building D, room 152.