Graduation

Conditions Required for Graduation

To qualify for a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm.) degree with a major in Hospitality and Tourism Management or Sport and Event Management a student must satisfy all of the following conditions:

  • have successfully completed a minimum of 20.00 approved credits according to the Schedule of Studies for their major
  • have successfully completed 1.50 credits from the Liberal Education Requirement list
  • be meeting Continuation of Study requirements. Students are NOT eligible to graduate while on Probationary or Required to Withdraw status and therefore must have a minimum cumulative average of 60.0%
  • have taken at least 5.00 of the credits required for graduation in their program at the University of Guelph, * and
  • have completed the required number of hours of work experience in the hospitality, tourism or sport industry (see below)

  * University of Guelph courses include courses taken on exchange and study abroad programs.  Letter of permission courses are not included.

Hospitality, Tourism & Sport Work Experience Graduation Requirement

Verified work experience in the hospitality and tourism or sport and event industry is a graduation requirement for all students in the Hospitality and Tourism Management major or the Sport and Event Management major in the BComm program. A total of 1200 hours of work experience must be verified using the Hospitality and Tourism Work Experience Verification Form or Sport and Event Work Experience Form (which is available on the Courselink website – “Academic Advising for HFTM Students”) before a student can be approved to graduate. The amount of employment is stated in hours rather than weeks or days to allow for various types of employment, including part-time and volunteer. Two or more positions with different responsibilities with two (2) or more employers are preferred requirements.

Objectives of the Work Experience Requirement

The objective of the work experience graduation requirement is to ensure that students in both majors have a balance between theory and practice in their respective industry. Students will:

  • learn more about their career interests and gain valuable experience in the various parts of the hospitality and tourism industry
  • recognize, develop and practice the skills they will need in order to be successful in their future careers
  • put their classroom theory to use in the industry and gain further insights into their academic assignments
  • be able to compare and contrast (and make intelligent career choices) different types of companies and cultures and work environments
  • improve their eventual marketability upon graduation.

What Type of Work Experience Counts?

Work experience must be related to the industry related to that student’s major, but in order to give students as much flexibility as possible the hospitality and tourism industry and sport and even industry are interpreted in their broadest sense. The following definitions of each industry is used as a guideline:

“The hospitality and tourism industry includes not only those establishments conventionally associated with the name such as hotels, clubs, fast food, tourist agencies, attractions, resorts, foodservice suppliers and restaurants, but also any firm or establishment engaged in foodservices or housing for temporary and/or permanent residents such as dormitories, seniors residences, in-flight foodservice kitchens, school cafeterias or any type of health care facility.”

“The sport and event industry is any business or organizations that are involved in producing, facilitating, promoting, or organizing any activity, experience, or business enterprise focused on sports”.

Two (2) or more positions with different responsibilities with two (2) or more employers are preferred requirements. There is no requirement regarding the specific level of jobs required and entry level jobs are acceptable, but the School hopes that students will try to progress to supervisory positions. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that any job they are considering is acceptable by consulting the School’s Academic Advisor who will consider their individual situation. When there are extenuating circumstances necessitating that a student work outside the hospitality and tourism industry for some of their hours a note will be put into their student file and documentation may be required. Volunteer as well as paid employment is acceptable.

Time Frame for Completing Work Experience

The 1200 hours of work experience are to be obtained while enrolled in the program OR since the age of 18 years. However, many transfer students entering the HTM or SPMT majors already have considerable work experience and it is not necessary for them to obtain extensive further experience. Therefore, the number of hours transfer students are required to complete is pro-rated based on the number of credits they receive towards their major (e.g. if a student receives 5.00 transfer credits they are required to complete 900 hours of work; 10.00 credits, 600 hours etc.). A minimum of 500 hours of work must be completed and verified while enrolled in the program. In other words, a student cannot complete all of their work experience hours prior to entering their program. Advanced standing students with little or no hospitality and tourism work experience are required to complete the full 1200 hours.

Students must submit their completed ‘Hospitality and Tourism / Sport and Event Work Experience Verification Forms’ to the HFTM Undergraduate Academic Advisor no later than the application deadline for graduation (usually 2 months prior to the end of their program and 4 months before their graduation ceremony). If a student has not completed the required number of hours of hospitality and tourism work experience by the time they apply to graduate then permission to graduate will be denied until the work experience is completed and verified.

Verification of Work Experience

It is the student's responsibility to ask each employer to complete a Work Experience Verification Form. The completed forms must be returned to the HFTM Undergraduate Academic Advisor through the Courselink website. WebAdvisor does not keep track of the work experience requirement.

The School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management retains the right to verify the accuracy of the information submitted and employers may be contacted using the phone number and address on the verification forms