Plans to end hospitality and catering courses at Dumfries and Galloway College's main Heathhall campus have been condemned as short-sighted.
Dumfries and Galloway College is cutting hospitality courses
Lecturers' representatives said courses were vital to the region's many food and tourist-related businesses.
A union spokesman said it recognised student numbers had dipped in recent years but believed they would recover.
The college principal insisted that the flexibility would be there to bring courses back if demand returns.
Further Education Lecturers' Association branch secretary Steve James said the finality of the proposals was worrying.
"Our job as we see it is to provide a range of provision in the region," he said.
"The idea of cutting hospitality in an area such as this is one has caused a great deal of shock throughout the region.
"Our great concern is that once you stop hospitality provision how on earth can you ever get it started again?
"It is something that we think people in the region - employers and any interested parties - should be contacting the college to ask them what they are playing at."
College principal Tony Jakimciw defended the move after repeated attempts to stimulate demand in hospitality and catering courses failed.
He has offered assurances that attempts were being made to preserve facilities when the college moves to a new site in two years' time.
"We are building into the new building a facility which will have all the connections which will enable it to be turned back on again as a training kitchen should the need justify it," he said.
"We see that as the kind of flexibility that we need to maintain to meet the changing needs of Dumfries and Galloway.
"As with anything of change we regret having to take this decision.
"We believe we have taken a decision which will preserve some flexibility for the future and will enable us to keep on offering this provision into the future."