LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
As enrollment dips, SAM degree and certificate programs are modernizing curriculum and evolving in step with the industry to keep the talent pipeline alive. EDUCATION FOR THE REAL WORLD By Mark Aiken
For decades, ski area management de- gree and certificate programs served as a steady pipeline for resort talent. While many folks learned (and still learn) on the job, aspiring lift mechan- ics, snowsports school managers, and mountain operations directors can also find a clear path into the indus- try through college-level training. “I don’t need to tell mountain man- agers this,” says Jim Vander Spoel, direc- tor of Gogebic Community College’s ski area management associate degree pro- gram. “But I’m telling our students (and their parents) that you can make a career in this business.” The ski area management (SAM) program at Gogebic in Ironwood, Mich., is one of several across North America. Gogebic’s students learn, in part, by run- ning Mount Zion, the school’s own ful- ly-functioning, open-to-the-public alpine ski area, tubing park, and XC ski center— or “learning lab,” as Vander Spoel calls it. For all that, programs like Gogebic’s are facing headwinds. Enrollment is down across nearly every program we spoke with, schools are contending with funding and staffing pressures, and stu- dents increasingly opt to go straight into the workforce rather than spend time in classrooms. Despite those challenges, the pro- grams are adapting and evolving to meet the needs of the industry. Where Things Stand Ski area management and operations training programs began appearing in the early 1970s as snowsports and rec- reation became solidified as an industry. Since that time, more programs have emerged. Over the years, some have rebuilt or rebranded, and others, such as the one at the former Sierra Nevada Col- lege, have disappeared entirely. The long-running associate degree at Gogebic continues to anchor the Midwest. Colorado Mountain College
Hands-on learning: Colorado Mountain College students get “under the hood” at the Leadville campus.
(CMC) offers Associate of Applied Sci- ence degrees in ski area operations and ski area business across multiple cam- puses in mountain towns throughout the state. Vermont State University (VSU), created in 2023 by merging sev- eral small colleges, maintains the legacy of the former Lyndon State College SAM program, founded in 1973, with a moun- tain resort management concentration in its outdoor education, leadership, and tourism degree. The University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) has offered a SAM program in various forms since 1980; currently, it awards graduates a certifi- cate in alpine operations to go with their bachelor’s degree in outdoor recreation and business administration. Selkirk College’s two-year diploma program (known as SROAM, i.e., Ski Resort Operations and Management) in Nelson, B.C., is the only one of its kind in Canada. It was initiated decades ago in conjunction with the Canada West Ski Areas Association and Canadian resorts that saw the need for educated graduates. Newer entrants are emerging, too. Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C., introduced a ski industry business and instruction minor within its outdoor
recreation management degree in 2019 in partnership with Beech Mountain Resort. Wyoming’s Northwest College partnered with Antelope Butte Moun- tain to roll out a two-semester ski area operations certificate in 2025. That same year, Salt Lake Community College also added a more niche 10-week lift mainte- nance certificate program in partnership with Ski Utah and the state’s ski areas. Hands-On Approach The programs vary in scale and structure, but all share the same foundation: hands- on, industry-connected education. Internships remain a key part of the curriculum in most of the programs. For example, Gogebic’s calls for 880 employ- ment hours—basically a ski season. CMC students visit nearby resorts and also intern at a host of resorts across the globe. “In their second year, students are only on campus until about Octo- ber when the leaves turn brown,” says Ben Cairns, vice president and dean of CMC’s Leadville and Salida campuses. “Then any classes are online, and they are onsite doing internships at any num- ber of partner resorts.” At VSU, students benefit from part-
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