When one of the leaders of Mississippi's Choctaw Tribe enrolled more than a year ago in an online casino marketing course offered by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he developed a rapport with his professor that is now helping Tulane University expand its casino-industry curriculum.

Tulane this fall will begin teaching casino management courses at the Pearl River Resort, a giant casino complex developed by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians at the edge of Philadelphia.

Tulane launched the plan as a result of ties between Tim Ben, education manager for the Mississippi Choctaws, and Alan Silver, a New York native hired to direct Tulane's casino and resort management program.

Tulane's partnership with the tribe mimics its efforts elsewhere. The university has offered as many as eight casino management classes since late 2003 at a branch in Edgewater Mall in Biloxi and holds several such courses in the New Orleans Shopping Centre mall next to the Superdome or in the Elmwood office park in Jefferson Parish.