Mar 27, 2014 06:06 PM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

University of Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management is partnering with St. Phillip's College to raise the level of hospitality education in the tourism capital of Texas, school officials announced Thursday.

Conrad N. Hilton College - San Antonio is giving students the opportunity to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from the University of Houston without ever leaving the Alamo City. Classes are set to begin in the fall of 2014, according to a press release.

"With the impact the hospitality and tourism industry currently has in the San Antonio area, this new campus will benefit students greatly," Dr. John Bowen, dean of the University of Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College, said in statement. "We have received tremendous local industry support and are proud to be San Antonio's only provider of a bachelor's- level hospitality education."

St. Philip's currently offers a two-year associate's degree in hospitality management, which fulfills the prerequisites for successful transfer to the Conrad N. Hilton College - San Antonio. Students who transfer in from other four-year colleges can also pick up the hospitality and general education prerequisites they might need at St. Philip's, and then continue with their upper-division courses in the Hilton College program. Initially, all classes will be held on the St. Philip's campus while the new campus is being built.

Dr. Graham Bowcher, assistant dean of the University of Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College - San Antonio, said the school is actively recruiting students.

"I'm delighted at the opportunity to advance hospitality education in San Antonio through this program," Bowcher said in a statement. "This is a people industry, and it's a huge part of the American workforce. With so many people employed in hospitality, you need leadership. The Conrad N. Hilton College - San Antonio is all about developing those leaders."

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