Shannon College of Hotel Management, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, has received NUI accreditation and "free fees" and higher education grants accreditation from the Minister for Education.
A private college, it has built up an international reputation after being established in Shannon, Co Clare, by Aer Rianta in 1951, and compares itself to international schools at Lausanne in Switzerland, and Cornell in the US.
Mr Phillip Smyth, the college director, said free fees would open up the college to people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. It has been charging almost £4,000 per year to students from the EU and £6,000 to international students for the courses.
"It was always our contention that our students should be in receipt of free fees.
"It is an indication of our long-held belief that although we were categorised as a private college, we were a non-profit-making, mission-driven institution owned by a semi-state body."
The college has joined other NUI-recognised colleges, including the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, the National College of Art and Design, the Institute of Public Administration and St Angela's, Sligo.
Established by Mr Brendan O'Regan, who is now the patron of the college, it had an initial intake of 12 students. The enrolment this year was 70 students and it is aiming to be able to take up to 100 students every year.
The new college building was completed last year, at a cost of £2 million, raised through voluntary subscriptions. Most of its first-year class come from abroad. It has had about 1,300 graduates, a reflection of the relatively small class sizes it has had until recently. On Monday, the anniversary will be celebrated with a ball at Dromoland Castle, at which the President, Mrs McAleese, will be a guest.
Among the graduates are the general managers of the Dorchester and the Grosvenor, London, Sandy Lane in Barbados and the Regency Hotel, in Beverley Hills, California.
Prospective students apply for four-year Bachelor of business studies or Bachelor of commerce degree courses. Mr Smyth said he hoped to establish a Masters in hotel management course by 2003.
Students wear a uniform and there is a strict emphasis on personal presentation. "They get a very good grounding in products and systems in college, backed up by the industry experience," Mr Smyth said.