Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

KEYWORDS: 
culinary education, quality assessment 
 
INTRODUCTION 
Over 12.2 million people work in the restaurant industry. Approximately 3.0 million are employed in 
kitchen operations. Although only 36% of foodservice workers have some college education (NRA, 2005), a Delphi 
survey conducted with industry experts and educators predicted, “Educational requirements to work in a restaurant 
will increase as the restaurant industry becomes more complex” (NRA, 1999). A 2005 American Culinary 
Federation (ACF) survey found that 36.5% of its active chef members listed associate degree as their highest level of 
education, while only 15.9% achieved a bachelor degree (Beverly Stuart, personal communication, 2005). 
The first culinary school in the United States, the Restaurant Institute of Connecticut (now the Culinary 
Institute of America) opened in 1946. By 1981, only four culinary schools existed (Scarrow, 1981). However, the 
number of programs expanded rapidly over the next 25 years and today, approximately 261 schools offer associate 
degrees in culinary arts (Hertzman, 2007). These schools vary by numerous criteria including type (public, private, 
or for-profit), types of degrees offered, numbers of students and faculty, student and faculty characteristics, size of 
facilities, curricula, student services, and cost. This variety poses a challenge to the potential culinary student or 
employer who wishes to determine which school to attend or from which to recruit employees. Hertzman (2007) and 
Laropa et. al. (2005) recently performed studies to attempt to quantify the diversity of these programs.
Quality assessment has become a buzzword in higher education as many stakeholders seek to determine 
education’s return on investment (Ewell, 2002). However, the different assessment methods and information sources 
make comparisons of difficult. 
Nation’s Restaurant News, 
in a feature article entitled, “Growing field of culinary 
schools difficult to evaluate” (Berta, 2005), stated that the increased number of programs, “it is difficult to assess 
and compare how well schools are teaching, retaining and preparing students in the industry” (p. 16). It calls for 
more research “to help educators improve their programs” and “better prepare students for lifelong careers in the 
industry” (p. 71). This study seeks to identify program characteristics that can be used as program quality indicators.