Two diploma programs within Georgian College’s Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation academic area have achieved the national SMART+ Premium designation. Both the Tourism and the Hospitality – Hotel and Resort Operations Management programs were accredited.
The SMART accreditation program is an outcome of Tourism HR Canada’s mandate to build a resilient, competitive, and inclusive tourism workforce. SMART was developed to respond to the needs identified by academic programs, learners, and industry, with a flexible, voluntary evaluation process. It confers national recognition to tourism-related programs that meet or exceed industry standards and provides benchmarks that tourism program providers can use to assist them in continually improving their programs.
“We are delighted that these two programs have been acknowledged for their commitment to excellence in education. This accreditation recognizes that Georgian’s programs align with the needs of the industry who require job-ready graduates with the skills that are highly sought after by employers,” says Bryan Hunt, Dean of Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation.
Established in 1967, Georgian has over 10,200 full-time and 1,950 part-time students. It is the only Canadian college designated as a changemaker college by Ashoka U for its role as a leader in social innovation and changemaking in higher education. Recognized as a leader in student work experience, Georgian is one of the top co-op colleges, offering work-integrated opportunities ranging from paid co-op terms to internships and field placements. Georgian provides exemplary experiential teaching to students across its seven campuses from Muskoka, Simcoe County, Dufferin, and Grey-Bruce counties.
“The Tourism HR Canada team congratulates Georgian College on achieving national accreditation for these two programs,” stated Philip Mondor, President and CEO of Tourism HR Canada. “Each clearly demonstrated a commitment to innovative, hands-on learning opportunities that equip students for success. Additionally, the college offers extensive equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) programming and has built robust links to industry and community, all of which fosters a supportive and forward-thinking learning environment.”
Georgian College joins seven other educational institutions in achieving this accreditation—a total of 14 programs across Canada now have the SMART + Premium designation.
For more information on the SMART program, please click here.