1- Academic Program Mission, Vision, Department Quality Board Duties, Functioning, and Criteria
Department Mission
To become a globally recognized training and research center by training guides and guide candidates equipped with a pioneering and innovative educational approach in the field of tourism guidance.
Department's Vision
To contribute to the individual development of our students and to train tourist guides who can best convey the historical, natural and cultural values of our country to local and foreign visitors.
Tourism Guidance Department Quality Board Members
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fazıl KAYA (Head of Department)
Asst. Prof. Emine ŞİMŞEK EVREN
Res. Asst. Zekiye Nur AKYÜREKLİ
Duties and Functioning of the Department Quality Board
During the first week of each semester, the Department Quality Board
a) Improving quality in education and training,
b) Submitting written recommendations to the department board for improving quality in research and development activities.
These recommendations are placed on the department board's agenda and discussed. At the beginning of each semester, the department quality board reviews past quality-related practices and submits written recommendations to the department board for any deviations from quality practices. Accepted recommendations are implemented by the department.
Department's External Stakeholder Selection Criteria
Tourism education is compared with good examples of tourism guiding training. Opinions are also sought from active tourism guides and academics on educational processes and curricula.
Department's Performance Evaluation Criteria
1) Scientific Publications: Number of qualified national and international publications by department faculty, and the number of citations these publications have received.
Click here to access information on scientific publications and citations.
2- Academic Personnel Planning, Development Opportunities and Management Standards
Tourism Guidance Department Academic Personnel Planning
Tourism Guidance Department Academic Personnel Planning is carried out within the framework of the "Regulation on the Determination and Use of Academic Staff Norm Staff in State Higher Education Institutions" dated 2 November 2018 and numbered 30583.
Faculty Member Appointment Criteria
Click for information.
Number of Academic Staff (7)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fazıl KAYA (Head of Department)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail ÇALIK
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uğur AKDU
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serap AKDU
Asst. Prof. Emine ŞİMSEK EVREN
Res. Asst. Zekiye Nur AKYÜREKLİ
Res. Asst. Burak İNANÇ
Development Opportunities for Academic Staff
Academic staff may be assigned to develop their skills and train domestically or internationally, provided they complete the legal procedures.
Academic staff are encouraged to attend scientific conferences both domestically and internationally.
Management Standards
Our unit fulfills the duties regulated by Article 12 of the Higher Education Law No. 2547 and continues its operations in its management and administrative structure in line with the aims and objectives in its strategic plan.
3- Teaching and Learning Processes
Department Student Admission Requirements
Success on the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS) administered by the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) is sufficient for enrollment in the department. Our department accepts students based on their Foreign Language Test (DİL) scores. The scores deemed sufficient for admission are included in ÖSYM's YKS preference guides and are updated annually. Admission requirements for international students are announced on the university website at the beginning of each academic year.
Student Qualification Requirements
To earn a bachelor's degree in the Tourism Guidance Department, students must meet the following minimum requirements:
a) Pass all courses (equivalent to 240 ECTS credits) to successfully complete the program.
b) Have a minimum GPA of 2.0 out of 4.0.
c) Successfully complete the required internships in accordance with the Internship Directive.
Graduation Requirements
To successfully complete the program, students must pass all courses (equivalent to 240 ECTS credits) and achieve a minimum GPA of 2.00 out of 4.00. All students enrolled in the Faculty of Tourism are required to complete an internship. To graduate, all students must successfully complete the internships required by the Internship Directive.
Employment Opportunities for Graduates
The tourism sector, with its significant economic contribution and employment impact, is considered a sector that provides numerous job opportunities and is growing rapidly. The tourism sector, a crucial sector for our country, requires a qualified, educated workforce with strong foreign language skills, general knowledge, and a strong technological infrastructure. The primary objective of the tourism guidance department is to provide a workforce that meets the tourism sector's need for qualified personnel. These professionals possess a strong theoretical knowledge of the field, the knowledge and skills required for the profession, a very good command of a foreign language, management skills, decision-making and implementation skills, closely monitor current developments and needs in global tourism, prioritize human relations, are committed to continuous self-improvement, and possess a vision.
Throughout their studies, tourism guiding students receive theoretical and practical training in areas that will enhance their professional knowledge in the field of tourism guiding. Equipped with the theoretical foundation required for the profession, students also develop their foreign language, management, and communication skills.
Graduates of our tourist guide program are eligible to become licensed tour guides by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism if they participate in 36-day practice trips organized by professional chambers and/or the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey and pass a foreign language proficiency exam. Additionally, students have the opportunity to work in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, travel agencies, airlines, provincial tourism directorates, hotel establishments, and other tourism establishments.
Education Process in the Department
The department's curriculum is reviewed at the end of each semester, and proposed changes are discussed by departmental committees, and necessary changes are made. In this context, various assignments and presentations are assigned by the course instructor, particularly in courses with professional content. The aim is to enable students to conduct research, understand how to access information, and acquire the public speaking, public speaking, and communication skills essential for their profession. Practical courses are conducted through fieldwork and internships to provide students with a deeper understanding of the profession and to help them experience and adapt to the field.
Click here to see the current education curriculum of the department.
Program Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:
1) Gain advanced knowledge of concepts, principles, and facts related to management, marketing, business, and economics, as well as history, geography, and culture in the field of tourism and tour guiding.
2) Know and apply research methods in the field of tourism and tour guiding.
3) Have knowledge of the legal regulations, professional standards, rights, and obligations related to the tourism guiding profession.
4) Know current problems related to tourism and tourism guiding; can analyze these issues, engage in discussions, and develop scientific solutions to problems with an analytical approach.
5) Apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in tour organization, tour planning, and management within the guiding field in the workplace.
6) Analyze changes in tourism, monitor new trends, new approaches, new marketing, business, and management approaches, and service processes, and make adequate contributions.
7) Can convey information acquired about tourism and tourism guiding to interested or unrelated parties, both verbally and in writing.
8) Take responsibility and work effectively, independently or in collaboration with others, on projects related to tourism and tourism guiding.
9) Develops a positive attitude towards lifelong learning. In this context, they enhance the professional knowledge and skills of those they work with in guidance services, and they also develop themselves personally and professionally.
10) Communicate in written and oral form in a foreign language at least at the European Language Portfolio B1 General Level. They also possess sufficient knowledge of a second foreign language to facilitate communication.
11) Guidance professionals adhere to professional ethics and perform their duties within the framework of the laws required by their profession.
12) Act with awareness of the protection of the social, natural, and cultural environment, social rights, and occupational health and safety.
13) Pay attention to human health and hygiene, and physical appearance.
Counseling Services Offered to Students
Consulting services offered to tourism guidance students fall under four main headings
: a) Course selection
b) Participation in exchange programs (Erasmus, Farabi, etc.)
c) Employment
d) Internships
Opportunities to Participate in Exchange Programs
Students wishing to participate in exchange programs can apply for Erasmus, Mevlana, and Farabi programs through the International Relations Office. The Unit Erasmus Coordinator is Dr. Emine ŞİMŞEK EVREN.
Click here for the final results of the 2023 Erasmus+ Student Mobility Program.
Click here for the final results of the 2023 Erasmus+ Internship Mobility Program.
4- Physical Facilities, Student Evaluations and Standards
Physical Facilities
Our faculty conducts its administrative and educational activities at the Faculty of Tourism, located on the Gümüşhane University Campus in the Bağlarbaşı neighborhood of Gümüşhane. Our faculty has a reading room with resources to meet the basic and supplementary course resource needs of students in our current programs. Additionally, our campus has a central library with the capacity to directly serve this purpose. The library provides online databases accessible through the university's ULAKBİM website. Our university is a member of the TÜBİTAK Electronic Resources National Academic License (EKUAL) Consortium and is a member of many important national and international databases. All academic and administrative units of our university benefit from these resources.
Student Assessments and Standards
Students are given a midterm and final exam for each course. The midterm exam contributes 40% to the final grade, and the final exam contributes 60%. All exams are graded out of 100. A minimum score of 50 on the final exam is required. Students who receive a letter grade of AA, BA, BB, CB, or CC in a course are considered to have passed that course. Additionally, students with a semester grade point average of at least 2.00 are also considered to have passed courses in which they received a letter grade of DC. At the end of each semester, students may take make-up exams for all courses they failed in that semester. Students must have passed all courses in the program and not have a grade of FF, DZ, or YZ. In this program, students must have completed a minimum of 240 ECTS credits and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 out of 4.00.
Tourism Guidance Department Unit Activity Reports
5- Research and Development Opportunities
As a department, we have taken local, regional, and national development goals into account when determining our institutional research strategy. Considering that tourism is among the priority areas identified in the regional development strategic plan, it can be argued that the specialization processes underlying our research strategy also encompass the region.
There are various opportunities available to our academic staff in research and development activities. It should be reminded that the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Office within the university provides financial support in this regard. Our faculty members prepare the conceptual background for current and emerging research topics in their fields of study, develop research models, and apply to the BAP Coordination Office to receive financial support for their projects. These projects are evaluated by referees and committees, and support is provided to projects deemed to make a scientific contribution. A similar process applies to projects supported by TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey). In this context, the individual efforts of faculty members are even more prominent.
Project-focused educational activities are also available to help students develop research competencies. Graduation projects, included in the curriculum, contribute to students' research competencies. It should also be noted that the scientific research project unit also supports undergraduate graduation projects.
To support their development, professional practice courses are offered to Tourism Guidance students in their fourth year, providing them with practical experience in their field through practical field trips to locations with tourism-related features.
6- Learning Environment and Interaction with the Environment
The Tourism Guidance department offers both theoretical and practical courses. Both practical courses and internships provide students with hands-on learning, creating an on-the-job learning environment. In addition, instructors occasionally organize practical field trips to reinforce some of the theoretical knowledge.
7- Quality Assurance System and Continuous Improvement
In order to implement quality assurance policies in the Tourism Guidance department, the implementation, monitoring, and improvement of identified strategies are planned within the framework of strategic management. Internal auditing of the education provided, student and faculty feedback, and evaluation of academic performance are important data sources.
The Tourism Guidance department adopts a participatory management approach. The opinions of academic staff and students are consulted to ensure optimal performance in theoretical and practical courses offered and to ensure that students graduate with the necessary skills to meet the needs of the sector. Furthermore, strategic management practices planned within this framework include SWOT analysis and mission and vision statements.
To measure, evaluate, and continuously improve the performance of the Tourism Guidance Department, "Student and Staff Satisfaction Surveys" will be conducted to measure and evaluate both the teaching and academic performance of the academic staff.
The department's achievement of its mission, vision, and goals and its academic success will be evaluated in terms of the department's preference rate, the academic performance of the staff, and the retention of graduates in the industry. An alumni information system is planned for this purpose.
To ensure higher quality and more efficient education, greater emphasis will be placed on events such as congresses, conferences, symposiums, and panels that will connect students with the industry. On-the-job training and practical field trips will provide opportunities to apply and learn departmental courses. These field trips will be conducted under the supervision of the course instructor within the tourism and gastronomy clubs.