Kellogg Community College to offer new Hospitality certificate program

This fall, Kellogg Community College will start to offer a new certificate program for students who wish to further their careers in the hospitality industry.

Kellogg Community College’s new Hospitality Management Certificate comprises five courses totalling 16 credit hours, such as three new courses which will be categorized under a new course identifier: HOSP. The program has been created so that graduates will be able to immediately pursue employment or further education in the field once they complete it. One of these options is the ability to complete the school’s Associate of Applied Science in Business Management degree with a concentration in Hospitality Management. 

The courses comprising the Hospitality Management Certificate program are ACCO 101 - General Accounting, BUAD 101 - Introduction to Business, HOSP 101 - Hospitality Management, HOSP 102 - Special Event Management, and HOSP 103 - Customer Service Excellence. 

Both BUAD 101 and ACCO 101 can be taken as early as this upcoming Summer semester, with sign ups for the semester beginning on April 7. The new HOSP classes should be on offer as early as this upcoming fall semester; registration for that semester begins on April 21.

The Kellogg Community College Academic Cabinet and the school’s Board of Trustees approved the new credential back in May of 2024. The goal of the credential is to saddle students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the tourism management and hospitality industries. The program has been designed for students who dream of working in tourism, event planning, resorts, restaurants, hotels, or any other area within the umbrella of the hospitality industry.

Kellogg Community College is the only higher education institution in the area to offer credentials in Hospitality Management, with the closest being in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The school’s Dean of Workforce Development, Bobby Beauchamp, was quoted in an article posted on the school’s website where he spoke on the strength of the hospitality pipeline in the Battle Creek area, and the benefit the school’s new program will bring to the area, saying, “KCC’s new Hospitality Management Certificate Program will provide a successful, sustainable program of study that will generate top talent, community-wide enthusiasm and vibrancy in the downtown Battle Creek area and surrounding communities. This new program will present students with enhanced employability and transfer options while also bringing strong economic development opportunities throughout the KCC service district.”

Kellogg Community College looks to work with partners in the area such as FireKeepers Casino Hotel and DoubleTree by Hilton Battle Creek, which opened a new location in the area last year, in addition to other organizations, in order to provide students with hands-on, real world experience in the workforce. Last year the program presented analysis to the Board which included official letters of support from local community partners such as Michigan Works! Southwest, FireKeepers, the Calhoun County Visitors Bureau, Battle Creek Unlimited, and 6PM Hospitality Partners. 

Beauchamp went on to laud these connections, saying “Support for this program extends deep into our local community. Such support is evidence that a clear and present need exists for this program and that key stakeholders see its value.”

Hospitality Managements students at Kellogg Community College will not only have the new certificate program available to them, but also the opportunity to test for any of several industry certifications to add to their resumes before they head out into the field.

More information about the Hospitality Management Certificate Program can be found at Kellogg Community College's website, or by contacting Hospitality Management and Office Information Technology Professor Darcy Henning by phone at 269-565-2195 or by email at henningd@kellogg.edu.