The effectiveness of a commercial recreation degree in securing employment interviews in private leisure companies

Includes bibliographical references (pages 44-45)This exploratory inquiry addressed the issue of competitiveness\ud that a commercial recreation degree holder would have in the\ud leisure industry. It involved comparing the effectiveness of four\ud academic preparations: business; commercial recreation; general\ud recreation; and liberal studies.\ud Increasing numbers of college students express concern\ud whether their education will result in employment, and is\ud considered very important for those students completing professional\ud preparation degree requirements. Specifically, students completing graduating with a recreation degree, recognizing the reduction of\ud government entry level positions, are concerned about their\ud future. University recreation department curriculum committees\ud ask how curriculum should be revised to better meet professional\ud needs. Educators recognize the growing leisure industry and its\ud increased employment opportunities is a potential area for\ud recreation graduates to seek positions. As an exploratory investigation this inquiry focused on the\ud perception employee selectors would have of resumes that\ud reflected the four degrees.\ud Respondents were asked to rank the four resumes, from most\ud desirable to least desirable for an initial interview. They\ud were asked to give their reasons for their selection. In all\ud cases, the business degree was considered the most desirable.\ud Three of the five respondents-ranked the commercial recreation\ud degree second.\ud The respondents comments suggest that they lack an\ud understanding of the merits of the commercial recreation degree.\ud Because of the drastic modification in the original methodology,\ud few significant findings were obtained. But anecdotal data did\ud point out the lack of understanding and credibility of the degree\ud in the leisure industry labor market could penalize those\ud graduates holding the degree