These connections have resulted in the building of a new field of academic research into tribal gaming . The SITG research agenda is always driven by tribal government and industry needs , input and collaboration . For example , tribal compact negotiations and legislative efforts require indepth analysis and description of the economic , social and cultural impacts of tribal gaming including investments in language revitalization , educational gains , repatriation and self representation in tribal museums , best practices in tribal responsible gaming , and employee engagement and retention , as well as tribal philanthropy and nation ( re ) building efforts generally .
The SITG has also created a new field of tribal casino operations research with deep dives into topics ranging from the return on free play investments , the impact of slot hold percentages and the effects of non-smoking constraints on tribal gaming revenues . This research supports the industry but also supplements the course work in the academic program .
The five courses developed by the SITG cover a range of topics unique to tribal gaming , such as :
AMIND / HTM 370 Tribal Gaming : Cultural and Political Contexts HTM 371 Tribal Gaming : Casino Operations Management HTM 372 Tribal Gaming : Legal and Regulatory Issues HTM 373 Tribal Gaming : Casino Marketing and Tribal
Public Relations HTM 381 Cross-Cultural Interpretations of Gambling Addiction
Certificate In Tribal Casino Operations Management Moves Online
After more than a decade of development and growth on our campus in San Diego , the SITG began offering fully online classes in tribal gaming during the pandemic shift to remote learning . This expansion of the program ’ s geography has resulted in creation of a separate SITG Certificate in Tribal Casino Operations Management , in addition to the bachelor of science degree program completed on campus .
The certificate program was developed in direct response to tribal gaming industry requests for access to higher education training in casino operations , marketing and regulation .
Partnership with the Online AIS Degree Completion Program
The pandemic move to remote learning revealed academic gaps across disciplines and geographies . At SDSU , the SITG has addressed these gaps by
Sycuan Tribal Chairman Cody Martinez ( l .) and Red Lake Nation College President and Hereditary Chief Dan King in the Sycuan Council Chambers where King presented the Martinez with a beaded medallion to symbolize their partnership
partnering with the American Indian Studies Department and Global Studies to embed the Tribal Casino Operations Management Certificate into the new American Indian Studies Degree completion program offered fully online .
This new bachelor of arts in SDSU ’ s American Indian Studies major is a self-paced degree-completion program designed to be completed within 24 months . The use of an online modality facilitates program completion in two years or less and the number of units required will vary based on each students ’ total units transferred into the program .
The program was designed specifically with tribal nations in mind since many tribal students have access to community and tribal college-level education but are unable to attend a university in a face-to-face capacity due to location and distance . In many parts of Indian Country , geographic isolation inhibits student ’ s ability to earn a bachelor ’ s degree and earn a respective bachelor ’ s level income .
Extending Tribal Education Partnerships into Indian Country
In order to extend the reach of the certificate program developed by the SITG into Indian Country , the Sycuan Band and the SITG created our first memorandum of understanding ( MOU ) with the Red Lake Nation College ( RLNC )
www . tribalgovernmentgaming . com 23