The hospitality and tourism management department is testing a new hybrid class format in order to accommodate more students during the budget crisis.

The new class supports the operation of the Vista Room, a little-known gourmet restaurant on campus.

The new format has made space for 35 additional students, implementing an online video lecture system using the CourseStream platform created by SF State's academic technology department.

The platform has given Hospitality and Management chair Prof. Janet Sim a rare opportunity in a time of budget cuts: to increase her capacity in a high-demand class from 115 students to 150.

"This has come in very handy this semester," she said. "Now we can see the real benefit of this."

Sim is now using CourseStream to teach her three-unit "Foods, Production and Service" course, which is part lecture and part lab work.

"I have turned the class into a hybrid-type class," Sim said. "I record and post a lecture ahead of time then they have to take a quiz."

The three hours a week required for lab time are completed in either the Vista Room kitchen and dining room, or the Miele cooking lab.

"This is the lab part," HTM major Jennifer Bowler, 20, said after finishing an afternoon of serving in the Vista Room.

"The lecture part is all online so she could fit more people into the class."

The Vista Room, located on the fourth floor of Burk Hall, serves three-course, gourmet California cuisine for $15, Monday through Friday. Tickets must be purchased in advance in Burk Hall 329 or Business 306. Weekly menus can be found on the HTM Web site.

Just down the hall from the Vista Room is the Miele cooking lab, which is equipped with all the necessities of a restaurant kitchen. Students in the lab class practice cooking techniques during independent study time.

In order to save and trade resources, the course has always been cross-listed between three departments: hospitality and tourism management, dietetics and food management, and consumer and family studies.

The three departments saw their share of overcrowded classrooms at the beginning of the semester, just like many other SF State departments.

"There were like, 80 people trying to get in on the first day," HTM student Shae Avilla, 20, said.

According to the academic technology Web site, "CourseStream is a class lecture capture service that enhances the online learning experience for students in participating courses."
University is currently using the CourseStream program in five other courses: principles of marketing, food, wine and culture in California, introduction to information systems and globalization.