Thursday, October 15, 2009

Cherokee Nation Establishes Long Distance Program with U. of Nevada

Despite the 1,132 miles separating Tahlequah, Okalahoma, and Las Vegas, members of the Cherokee Nation will be able to begin a new undergraduate degree program in hotel management at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, the Cherokee Phoenix announced today. The aim is to prepare students for employment in gaming and hotel management.

“It’s an industry with lots of opportunities for success,” said Stuart Mann, dean of the Harrah College at UNVL which joined with the Cherokee Nation Education Services to offer the degree.

Students must be juniors or seniors in college who have completed five business courses. The distance-education program will be a two-year program, equivalent to six semesters including summers. According to the Cherokee Nation Education Services, the Cherokee Nation will be the first tribe in the world to team-up with an out-of-state university to offer a bachelor’s degree in one of the largest employment industries in the country.

The students will be in a classroom in Tahlequah and receive audio and video broadcasts from the Harrah College campus in Las Vegas. Students in Las Vegas at UNLV will participate in the class with the Tahlequah students via video feed.

“The students in Tahlequah will be able to ask questions and be seen and heard by the faculty member as if they are in the last two rows of our own classrooms here at UNLV,” Mann said. The courses may include food and beverage management, conventions and meetings, human resources, accounting and finance, marketing and lodging. In addition, students will be able to work in the Cherokee Casino in Catoosa.

For more information call 1-800-256-0671, Ext. 2945.