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New certificate program opens doors to the winter sports industry
It’s the perfect match for Colorado’s work hard, play hard lifestyle: FLC’s unique location in the heart of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains makes the new Certificate in Ski Resort Operations, launched this fall, a valuable and exciting academic offering for students and locals alike.
The new program in the School of Business Administration provides a first step for aspiring ski industry professionals toward careers on a ski mountain or in a resort’s leadership offices. The curriculum is inclusive of all snow sports, including skiing, snowboarding, and snowbiking, and explores the trend toward resorts developing secondary seasons around mountain biking and hosting events and festivals.
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Students with a certificate will have the skills and experience to help them be identified as potential leaders in a resort setting.
Assistant Professor of Management Lorraine Taylor
“The Ski Resort Operations Certificate program focuses on an industry that is integral to our community and region,” says Assistant Professor of Management Lorraine Taylor, one of the creators of the program. “It will be attractive to employers and will likely differentiate candidates. Students with a certificate will have the skills and experience to help them be identified as potential leaders in a resort setting.”
In the program’s four courses, students learn about general resort management, with topics such as accommodations and food-and-beverage services, to topics specific to the ski industry, such as mountain management, safety, and seasonal employment. Students will also gain real-world, hands-on experience through a required internship that can be taken during any season, at any ski resort in the world.
The certificate program is open to students from all majors, as well as non-degree seeking students curious about careers in the ski industry. It will also be convenient, as it will be entirely online -- FLC’s first fully online program since receiving Colorado Higher Learning Commission approval to offer online programs in September.