An assessment of computer-based education in two and four year hotel-restaurant management programs in the United States

Prior to this study very little research on computer-based education in hotel-restaurant education had been done. This research study had two specific purposes. The first was to determine the extent of computer-based education in selected two- and four-year hotel-restaurant programs in the United States. Clock-hours of computer instruction and the number of computer applications being offered students in these programs were identified. The second purpose was to identify the major variables that may be impacting the use of computers in these programs. A computer-based education model (CHE) was developed to determine the relationship between faculty resource variables, economic resource variables, and administrative practices on computer instruction.

In order to meet the purposes of the study, a questionnaire was developed and sent to 93 four-year and 175 two-year hotel-restaurant programs across the United States. The findings suggested that there was a significant difference between the use of computers in two- year and four-year programs. A major portion of this difference may be explained by a more stringent computer programming requirement in four-year programs. The findings suggested that both two- and four-year programs had limited computer-based education at the time of the study.

In order to identify the variables that may be impacting computer instruction in hotel-restaurant education the CBE Model was tested using multiple regression analysis. The findings suggested that there was a significant positive relationship between four variables in the CBE Model and the amount of computer use in the instructional program. Degrees held by faculty, the use of written competency statements, computer purchases, and faculty consulting all seemed to impact computer use in hotel-restaurant education.