The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) has signed an agreement with American Public University (APU) to enable hospitality professionals holding the Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA®) designation to earn undergraduate or graduate academic credit in select APU programs.

Under the terms of the agreement, effective May 1, CHA designees admitted to and enrolled at APU may be eligible to receive academic credit towards a degree in management, business administration, or hospitality management. Eligible students may also be able to receive credit toward their undergraduate degree through the university's prior learning assessment program, based upon knowledge gained through their career experiences.

As part of fully-online American Public University System (APUS), which serves more than 100,000 working adults worldwide, APU offers more than 90 affordable and flexible degree programs. Its B.A. in Hospitality Management program offers four areas of concentration: food service, lodging, meeting and event planning, and tourism.

"Historically, hospitality has always been a profession where you didn't have to have a college degree in order to succeed. However, 21st century expectations are different. We expect that managers will have a bachelor's degree," said Robert L. Steele III, CHA, EI's president and chief operating officer. "Having the ability to earn transfer credits for the CHA will help to make it more cost effective for hotel managers who wish to earn a bachelor's degree in hospitality management to do so through APUS while still working full time."

"We are excited to partner with AH&LEI. Our new relationship will help provide further value to its members and certificate holders, while helping develop strong leaders across the hospitality industry through our quality academic programs," said Dr. Wallace E. Boston, APUS president and CEO.

To learn more, visit www.studyatapu.com/AHLA or www.apu.apus.edu.

About the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI)

Established in 1953 as the nonprofit education and training arm of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), AHLEI's mission is to be the preferred provider of quality resources to educate, develop, and certify hospitality educators, students and professionals worldwide. AHLEI became part of the National Restaurant Association" Training & Certification division in 2017, connecting and leveraging the resources of two organizations that are deeply committed to a vision of career success and upward mobility for current and future hospitality, restaurant, and food service employees.

Elizabeth Johnson
Senior PR & Marketing Manager
+1.517-318-2359
Educational Institute