Executive Summary
The hospitality industry faces a persistent skills gap as graduates enter the workforce with limited preparation in the adaptive, operational, and AI-enabled competencies modern employers require (Jackson, 2013; Sigala, 2018). Cooperative education offers a structured response, yet many programs default to a single internship that leaves the integration of theory and practice to chance. This report presents an undergraduate scaffolded cooperative education framework developed at a U.S. hospitality business school that sequences two foundation courses, six concurrent work-integrated courses, and a capstone digital portfolio across a two-year arc. The framework is grounded in experiential learning and scaffolding theory (Kolb, 1984; Vygotsky, 1978), maps every course to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) career-readiness competencies, and embeds structured reflection and responsible AI use. The report gives industry partners and educators a replicable model, benchmarked evidence on employer return, measurement indicators, and concrete steps for engagement.
Recommended Citation
Mendez, Juan and Reynolds, Joel
(2026)
"Industry Implications of a Scaffolded Hospitality Co-op,"
ICHRIE Research Reports: Vol. 11:
Iss.
6, Article 1.
DOI: 10.61701/401359.191
Available at:
https://via.library.depaul.edu/ichrie_rr/vol11/iss6/1
Included in
Hospitality Administration and Management Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons
