PROGRAM PROFILE

The aim of the program is to equip students aspiring to become professional tourist guides with the necessary vocational knowledge and to provide them with a comprehensive foundation in the tourism sector. This foundation is designed to help them transition into professional life after completing their education. Foreign language education, which is a fundamental element of the tourism industry, is heavily emphasized throughout the program. Additionally, students gain theoretical and practical knowledge on various subjects required in their professional lives, delivered by experienced and expert educators during their time at the vocational school.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND RULES

To graduate from the program, students must successfully complete all courses without receiving an "FF" or "DZ" grade. They are required to accumulate a minimum of 120 ECTS credits and maintain a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of at least 2.00 out of 4.00. Additionally, a 30-day internship is mandatory as part of this program.

RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Students wishing to transfer to our vocational school from higher education institutions in Turkey or abroad must comply with the relevant university regulations and horizontal transfer evaluation criteria. Transfer quotas are announced by the university, and evaluations are carried out by committees established within the vocational school. Decisions are finalized and announced by the relevant boards.

ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE FOR TRANSFER

Horizontal transfer opportunities are available between vocational schools.

TRANSFER TO HIGHER DEGREE PROGRAMS

Graduates of the Tourist Guidance Program may apply for undergraduate programs through the central Vertical Transfer Exam (DGS).

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

To graduate, students must successfully complete all courses without receiving an "FF" or "DZ" grade. They must also meet the minimum requirement of 120 ECTS credits and achieve a CGPA of at least 2.00 out of 4.00. Additionally, the program includes a compulsory 30-day internship.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Graduates of this program can find employment opportunities across Turkey, either working for travel agencies or as freelance professionals.

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Various assessment methods are applied in this program, including midterm exams, assignments, projects, practical applications, and final exams. Evaluation methods may include traditional exams, multiple-choice tests, assignments, performance assessments, and product evaluations. To graduate, students must adhere to the relevant provisions of MTÜ's Associate and Undergraduate Education-Teaching and Examination Regulations regarding exams and course success grades.

Examinations

ARTICLE 22 –
(1) Examinations include exemption exams, midterms, make-up midterms, semester/end-of-year exams, resit exams, single-course exams, and additional exams. The relevant department board may decide that these exams be conducted in written, written-oral, or practical formats, depending on the nature of the course.

(2) Exemption exams are held for courses determined by the Senate. Students can take these exams at the beginning of the semester or academic year when they first enroll in the course. These exams are held on the dates specified in the academic calendar.

(3) A midterm is an exam held during the semester. The main principles regarding midterm exams are as follows:

a) A midterm exam is held at least once every semester for each course.

b) The number of midterm exams for a course is decided within fifteen days after the start of the semester, based on the opinion of the instructor responsible for the course and is announced by the relevant unit board.

c) Midterm exam dates must be announced to students at least one week in advance.

ç) For courses that span two semesters, at least one midterm exam must be conducted.

d) For separate courses such as projects, assignments, laboratories, thesis work, workshops, etc., midterm evaluations will count as the midterm exam.

e) Midterm exam results must be announced at least two weeks before the semester/end-of-year exam.

f) The midterm exam average is calculated by dividing the total of the student’s grades by the number of exams taken. If the fractional part of the result is 0.5 or higher, it is rounded up to the nearest whole number.

g) Students who do not meet the attendance requirement of 70% for theoretical courses (or 80% for practical courses) cannot take the midterm exam.

(4) The make-up midterm exam is held for students who cannot attend the midterm exams due to valid and justifiable reasons. The acceptance of valid reasons is governed by Article 32.

(5) The semester/end-of-year exam is held after the completion of the semester/academic year. The main principles for the semester/end-of-year exam are as follows:

a) To be eligible for the semester/end-of-year exam, a student must be enrolled in the course and must have attended at least 70% of theoretical or theoretical and practical courses, or at least 80% of purely practical courses.

b) Semester/end-of-year exams are held on the dates specified in the academic calendar, in the announced locations, days, and times. These exams are conducted once per course in each semester/year and no make-up exams are held.

(6) Resit exams are held at the end of each semester/year, on dates specified in the academic calendar approved by the Senate. The main principles for resit exams are as follows:

a) Students must be enrolled in the relevant courses and meet the requirements for the semester/end-of-year exam in the respective semester to be eligible for the resit exams.

b) Students who cannot attend resit exams are not granted a make-up exam opportunity.

c) Students can voluntarily take resit exams for courses they received D1, D2, or D3 grades in, and are required to take resit exams for courses they received F1 or F2 grades in. Students who do not meet the attendance requirements (70% for theoretical courses, 80% for practical courses) cannot take the resit exam.

ç) The grade obtained in the resit exam replaces the semester/end-of-year exam grade for the course.

(7) Single-course exams are held for students who are about to graduate, with a minimum GPA of 2.00, and have successfully completed all courses in their program except for one course. The main principles for the single-course exam are as follows:

a) The single-course exam is held after the semester/end-of-year resit exams.

b) Students must meet the requirements to take the semester-end exam for the respective course in order to be eligible for the single-course exam.

c) Students who are eligible to take the single-course exam may retake it as many times as necessary, regardless of the academic term, until they pass the course. Students who have not completed the registration renewal process for the semester in which they will take the exam must pay the required student contribution fee or tuition before the exam.

ç) For students who take a course during the summer school and end up with a single course or have completed their mandatory summer internship but have only one course remaining, a single-course exam will be held after the summer school ends.

d) The grade obtained in the single-course exam becomes the final grade for the course. To be considered successful, students must achieve one of the passing grades specified in the first paragraph of Article 24.

(8) Additional exams are held for students who have completed their maximum study period and are in their final year. These exams are for students who have failed five or fewer courses required for graduation or who were unable to meet the attendance requirements for those courses. The dates for additional exams are specified in the academic calendar.

Success Grade

ARTICLE 23 –
(1) The calculation of the course success grade is done according to the following principles:

a) The principles regarding the application of the relative grading system are determined by the Senate.

b) The raw success grade is calculated by adding 40% of the average of the midterm exam scores and 60% of the semester/end-of-year exam score.

c) (Amendment: RG- 08/03/2020 – 31062) "In the relative grading system, the following limits apply:

1. The lower limit of the raw success grade is the threshold score that a student must achieve on a scale of 100. This score is at least 35 points for associate degree programs and at least 40 points for undergraduate programs. This limit can be increased by the Senate.

2. Regardless of the semester/term grades, the minimum score required on the semester/end-of-year exam for students to pass conditionally or directly is at least 40 points for associate degree programs and at least 50 points for undergraduate programs. This limit can be increased by the Senate. Students who do not attend the semester/end-of-year exams or who score below this limit will be considered unsuccessful with an F2 grade."

Grades and Their Correspondences

ARTICLE 24 –
(1) (Amendment: RG- 08/03/2020 – 31062) "The grade intervals and corresponding letter grades used in faculties and schools are as follows:

(2) F1, F2, F3, YZ, and GR grades are considered unsuccessful.

(3) The upper limit of the F1 grade is the raw success grade limit determined by the Senate for the respective unit.

(4) The GR, YT, and YZ letter grades are defined as follows:

a) The "Exam Absent" grade (GR) is given to students who did not attend the semester/end-of-year exam, regardless of their midterm scores and semester/term work. A student who receives a GR grade is considered unsuccessful in that course, and the GR grade is included in the GPA calculation.

b) The "Satisfactory" grade (YT) is given as the success grade for non-credit courses.

c) The "Unsatisfactory" grade (YZ) is given as the failure grade for non-credit courses.

(5) Grades from universities that apply the 100-point grading system are converted to this system according to the principles determined by the Senate.

(6) A student who is caught cheating receives a zero in the course in which they cheated.

Course Points and Academic Average

ARTICLE 25 –
(1) In faculties, schools, conservatories, and vocational schools, the academic status of students is determined by the YNO/YSNO and AGNO at the end of each semester/year. To calculate this, the total of each course's grade points (calculated by multiplying the course's ECTS credit value by the success grade coefficient) is divided by the total ECTS credits of the courses taken. This process results in a GPA for the semester (YNO/YSNO) or for all courses taken until that point (AGNO). GPA calculations are done to two decimal places. Courses graded with YT (Satisfactory) are not included in the GPA calculation.

(2) The principles related to success grades are as follows:

a) For a student to receive an associate's or bachelor's degree, they must pass the required courses in the relevant department's curriculum with a minimum number of ECTS credits, and their AGNO must be at least 2.00, with no grade of F1, F2, F3, YZ, or GR.

b) A student whose AGNO is below 2.00 is considered unsuccessful. Such students are not eligible for leadership or membership in student associations, clubs, or sports teams, and they are not nominated for exchange programs or scholarships.

c) A student with an AGNO of at least 2.00 must retake courses for which they received F1, F2, or F3 grades. Additionally, they may retake courses offered in the current semester. A student may also retake courses in which they received D1, D2, or D3 grades to improve their GPA. For courses retaken for grade improvement, the most recent grade will count.

Success Assessment of Mandatory Courses

ARTICLE 26 –
(1) The courses on Atatürk's Principles and the History of the Revolution, Turkish language, and foreign language are credit-based and mandatory. The relative grading system is applied in these courses.

Success Assessment of Practical Courses

ARTICLE 27 –
(1) If decided by the relevant administrative boards, at least four midterm exams will be held for practical courses that last one semester, and at least eight midterm exams will be held for practical courses that last two semesters. For these courses, students whose midterm exam average exceeds 70% of the full grade may choose not to attend the semester/end-of-year exam. These students will not be subject to the relative grading system. The average of the midterm exam grades will be considered as the success grade.

(2) Students whose midterm exam average does not exceed 70% of the full grade must attend the semester/end-of-year exam, and their success grade will be calculated as specified in Article 23.

Internships

ARTICLE 28 –
(1) Internships and practical training in faculties, conservatories, schools, and vocational schools affiliated with the university are carried out according to the relevant legislation, the decisions of the Higher Education Council, and the principles determined by the Senate.

(2) Students may carry out practical courses, applied courses, and internships in relevant public institutions, organizations, or equivalent private institutions.

(3) During the internship period, students are subject to the provisions of the Higher Education Institutions Student Disciplinary Regulations, published in the Official Gazette dated 18/8/2012 and numbered 28388, regarding disciplinary actions.

Relative Grading System (RGS)

ARTICLE 8 –
(1) RGS is a statistical approach that aims to measure a student's success not by absolute standards, but by comparing it to the general success of the group to which the student belongs. In this system, a grade that deviates positively from the group's average HBN indicates increased success, while a grade that deviates negatively indicates decreased success.

Raw Success Grade (HBN)

ARTICLE 9 –
(1) HBN is the weighted arithmetic average of students' semester/term activities and semester/end-of-year exam grades. HBN is calculated by adding 40% of the midterm exam grade and 60% of the semester/end-of-year exam grade. In courses conducted under distance education, these ratios are determined by the Senate.

Raw Success Grade Lower Limit (HBNAL)

ARTICLE 10 –
(1) HBNAL is the minimum value of HBN that a student must achieve out of a total of 100 points. This score is at least 35 points for associate degree programs and at least 40 points for undergraduate programs. This limit can be increased by the Senate.

Semester/End-of-Year Exam Passing Grade Lower Limit (GNAL)

ARTICLE 11 –
(1) In the RGS, regardless of semester/term (midterm, activities, etc.) grades, the minimum score a student must obtain in the semester/end-of-year exam to pass conditionally or directly is as follows: for associate degree programs, at least 40 points, and for undergraduate programs, at least 50 points. This limit can be increased by the Senate. Students who do not attend the semester/end-of-year exam or who score below this limit will receive an F2 grade and will be considered unsuccessful.

Relative Success Grade (BBN)

ARTICLE 12 –
(1) BBN is the relative grade used to determine the letter grade of students included in the relative grading system. To calculate BBN, students' HBN scores are first converted to standard T-scores with an average of 50 and a standard deviation of 10, and then to the 100-point system. The following formulas are used in this calculation:

T = [(X - µ) / σ] * 10 + 50

BBN = 70 + 30 * [2(T - 50) - 10] / [2(A - 50) - 10]

Where:

• T = Standard score calculated based on the relationship between the student's HBN and the group's average and standard deviation.

• x = The student's HBN.

• A = The arithmetic average of the HBNs of the student's group.

• σ = The standard deviation of the HBNs in the student's group.

BBN = The T-score converted into the 100-point system that is used to determine the letter grade for HBN.

The following students are excluded from the RGS and have their letter grades calculated as specified below:

• Students who fail to meet the HBNAL and have a standard T-score of 20 or below. These students will directly receive an F2 grade and be considered unsuccessful.

• Students who meet the HBNAL and have a standard T-score of 80 or above. These students will directly receive an A1 grade and be considered successful.

• Students who are eligible to take the semester/end-of-year exam but do not attend. These students will directly receive an F2 grade and be considered unsuccessful.

• Students who fail due to absenteeism. These students will directly receive an F3 grade and be considered unsuccessful.

Determining Letter Grades

ARTICLE 13 –
(1) The letter grade equivalents and the coefficient values in the 4.0 system for the calculated grades (HBN or BBN) are determined based on the grade intervals in Table 1.

For determining the letter grade, first, the standard deviation of the HBNs of all students taking the course (except those excluded from the RGS as per paragraph 2 of Article 12) is calculated.
If the calculated standard deviation is 8 or less, the letter grade corresponding to the student's HBN in Table 1 is considered valid.
If the calculated standard deviation is above 8, the student's HBN and BBN will be compared to the intervals in Table 1, and the letter grade corresponding to the higher score will be considered valid.

The letter grades resulting from the resit exam are calculated by considering the grade intervals formed by the semester/end-of-year exam results. If all students in the class/group fail the semester/end-of-year exam, the letter grade corresponding to the student's HBN in Table 1 will be given based on the resit exam result.

Table 1: HBN or BBN Grade Ranges and Letter Grade Equivalents with 4.0 System Coefficients
(Note: In Faculties, the "raw success grade lower limit" is 40, so the F1 range should be 35-39. The D3 grade will not appear in faculties.)

Evaluation of Other Exams

ARTICLE 14 –
(1) The grade obtained from the resit and exemption exams is considered the student's HBN. The success criterion in these exams is the GNAL determined by the relevant department. Students who score below this limit will receive an F2 grade and be considered unsuccessful. Students who score above this limit will have their letter grades determined based on the ranges in Table 1.

Graduation Requirements

ARTICLE 30 –
(1) To graduate, a student must complete the required number of ECTS credits, including mandatory courses: 120 ECTS for associate degree programs, 240 ECTS for four-year bachelor’s programs, 300 ECTS for five-year bachelor’s programs, and 360 ECTS for six-year bachelor’s programs.

(2) In order for a student to graduate, they must have successfully completed all courses, applications, projects, laboratories, seminars, capstone projects, and mandatory internships specified in their program. Additionally, their Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) must be at least 2.00. Students with a CGPA of 2.00 or above will be considered successful in the courses where they receive D1, D2, or D3 grades.

(3) Students with a CGPA below 2.00 must retake any courses where they received D1, D2, or D3 grades until their CGPA reaches 2.00 or higher. The final grade obtained in repeated courses will be the valid grade.

Admission and Enrollment Conditions

Students are placed through the Student Selection and Placement Examination (ÖSYM) administered by the Measurement, Selection, and Placement Center.

Program Outcomes (Competencies)

• Conveys basic knowledge about theories, phenomena, concepts, and principles related to the field of Tour Guiding.

• Explains legal regulations, professional standards, and practices related to the field of Tour Guiding.

• Uses knowledge gained in the field of Tour Guiding in the workplace and profession.

• Recognizes and uses the physical environment, tools, and technologies related to the field of Tour Guiding.

• Communicates in a foreign language.

• Continuously updates and develops knowledge, skills, and competencies related to the field of Tour Guiding with a lifelong learning perspective.

• Establishes effective interpersonal and intercultural communication.

• Develops entrepreneurship skills.

• Adheres to ethical values related to the field of Tour Guiding and protects the natural environment.

• Pays attention to personal care, hygiene, attire, and appearance as required by the profession.

• Understands and applies social responsibilities.

• Regularly conducts health, safety, and risk assessments related to the field of Tour Guiding.

• Works as a team member and takes responsibility.