COLLEGE PLANS AND PROGRAMS

The most significant economic component of activities linked to the tourism and transportation sector is that they contribute to developing countries' three high-priority goals: income generation, employment, and foreign exchange earnings. In this respect, tourism and transportation can play an essential role in economic development. The impact this industry can have at different stages of economic growth depends on each country's specific characteristics. Given the complexity of tourism consumption and transportation demand, its economic impact is felt widely in other production sectors, contributing to accelerated development in each case. As most countries rely on tourism as the fastest economic mover, they claim the travel and tourism industry to be the largest industry in the world. Consequently, the structure of the tourism industry is quite complex, involving many components. 

The Philippine President, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., considers the transportation industry as one of the 8-point agenda of the administration's blueprint and development framework. One of its aim is to reduce transport and logistics cost, P976.5 billion shall be allocated to infrastructure development through the “Build, Better, More” Program, with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Transportation (DOTr) receiving P894.2 billion and P82.3 billion, respectively. This effort is to improved the transportation sector. On this background, the role of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in knowledge creation is compelling in the dimensions of research, teaching and learning, linkages, community service, and a well-designed planning process. The College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Transportation Management, represents a powerhouse of administrators, faculty, and students to contribute productively to the institutional, national, and global agenda. The demand for qualified professionals grows as tourism, hospitality, and transportation increase. These three programs account for the services sector, which increased by 8.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023, maintaining its improved growth rates since the second quarter of 2022. 

Faculty members in the College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Transportation Management serve as central and critical stakeholders in the quality of higher education at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. They carry out the missions of the institutions where they work, conducting research, teaching students, applying their knowledge in service to address societal challenges, and fulfilling leadership and service roles within the university or college. Faculty members' experiences to fulfill their roles and responsibilities vary across career stages. In their early careers, they navigate multiple expectations, manage personal and professional responsibilities, and establish collegial relationships. As they move into the mid-and late-career stages, issues arise, such as maintaining professional vitality over time, handling more institutional roles, and supporting newer colleagues. Essential institutional responsibilities include providing opportunities for faculty members to continue their professional development, growth, and learning, establishing institutional policies that support faculty efforts to manage work and life responsibilities, and ensuring that appropriate evaluation and reward systems are in place. Specifically, the following role matrix describes the faculty member’s contribution to implementing the institutional and college development plans. 

First row (solo): Dean Lizbette Vergara; 2nd Row (left-right): Ervin del Mundo; Daryl Ace Cornell; Ma. Cristina Trinidad; Luzviminda Tugade; Yolanda Montances; Rock Bryan Matias; Octavio Pagalilawan; 3rd Row (left-right): Rochelle Mae Garcia; Emily Banzel; Haydn Calabig; Ma. Sheila Ganchero; Jovid Maricar Maranan; Arleen Peralta, Joana Bacaser; Janette Ramos; Georgia Sangalang; Ma. Gay Teopengco; Regina Zuñiga; Julie Jane Lara; 4th Row (left-right): Edgar Allan Mendoza; Adonis Olarve; David John Apigo; Bryan Joseph Oriondo; Manolito Tangan; Ezekiel Janssen Pernia; Jojo Villamin 

The faculty members of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines commit to perform a trilogy of functions, including instruction, research, and extension services. Instruction is considered its primary role to deliver knowledge and skills to the students. Further, the faculty members must produce research that deals with developing new theories and practices to be used by the university and the community. The role of higher education in research has been highlighted in CMO No. 46, s. 2012 is "to provide focused support to the research required for technological innovation, economic growth, and global competitiveness, on the one hand, and for crafting the country's strategic directions and policies, on the other." CMO No. 46, s. 2012 stipulates that one of the missions of the Philippine Higher Education System is to help improve Filipinos' quality of human life, respond effectively to changing societal needs and conditions, and provide solutions to problems at the local community, regional, and national levels. With extension service as a core function of universities and colleges, measures or indicators on the extent and efficiency of the delivery of extension services have been included in the various assessments for state universities and colleges, such as in SUC Leveling, the Annual Major Final Outputs of SUCs, the Institutional Sustainability Assessment of CHED, and the Institutional and Program Accreditation of the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Universities and Colleges (AACCUP).

The various forces in the institutional, national, and global arenas direct the instructional emphasis of faculty members in the BS Tourism Program. The Polytechnic University of the Philippines, with the driven efforts of President Manuel Muhi to position the institution as a National Polytechnic, is empowering its faculty to become knowledge-driven, not only to develop internationally recognized and competent graduates but also to gain international recognition for the quality of its programs, leading to global university rankings. At the institutional level, emphasis is placed on the institutional learning outcomes (ILO), in which the program aligns its program learning outcomes (PLO) to produce graduates equipped with the global 21st-century competencies of creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. The academic instruction of faculty members considers building the skills needed in 21st-century workplaces, the changing nature of work, and the different ways that economic security can be provisioned.

In the CTHTM, faculty members facilitate knowledge, skills, and values to enable students to harness their maximum potential in consideration of their innate and learned talents and abilities to produce graduates not as mere service workers but as responsible entrepreneurs, innovative game changers, recognized industry experts, and excellent service professionals. Teachers continue to be empowered facilitators and motivators for learning, thus empowering their students. Faculty members consider strategies to promote students' independent yet collaborative learning in their instructional strategies. In the process, students explore their creativity, aided by digital literacy, community networks, an entrepreneurial mindset, environmental values, and social responsibility. The following functions demonstrate the emphasis on instructions in the BSTrM program: 

1. Faculty members put emphasis on knowledge creation and utilization through research enabling the students to become critical thinkers and demonstrate language proficiency to engage with people of diverse culture and disciplines.

2. As the BSTrM program prepares the students to become responsible entrepreneurs, managers, operators, and service providers, they are trained toward cross-cultural consciousness of service culture and ethics when dealing with local and foreign tourists, and other industry stakeholders.

3. Students learn to become responsible users of digital data and technology reflecting their acquired knowledge, skills, and values in the subject.

4. Faculty members’ instruction led students to gain advance competencies leading to national assessment and certification.

5. Provide experiential learning environment in the classroom and industry settings as opportunities for students to validate their learning and demonstrate their skills.

6. Students learn to be involved in the decision-making process of teaching and learning.

7. Faculty members create adaptable learning environments suited to different sorts of collaboration and group work.

8. Encourage students to take ownership of community service programs.

9. Find ways to connect students to industry mentors in their chosen field.

In the BS Transportation Management Program, emphasis of instructions includes but not limited to the program

learning outcomes in congruence to the institutional learning outcomes.

The students taking a BS in Tourism Management must complete two internship courses. The first internship

requires 300 hours in tour and travel agency establishments during the summer term of their second year. The

final training takes place during their last year's semester, comprising 600 internship hours in airlines, hotels,

recreation, amusement and recreation, other government regulatory bodies and trade organizations. An

internship is a period of work experience that a host training establishment (HTE) offers for a limited time. It is an

industry-based endeavor typically undertaken by students and graduates seeking suitable skills and expertise in

a particular profession. Employers benefit from these placements because they often select potential employees

from their best interns, who have demonstrated capabilities, thus saving time and money in the long run. The

benefit of obtaining an intern's full-time employment is that they are already knowledgeable about the company

and their position; they generally require little or no training. Internships permit college students to experience a

field of their choice and acquire hands-on learning concerning a future career, equipping them for full-time work

after graduation. An internship is a chance to incorporate career-related experience into an undergraduate

education by participating in planned, supervised work.

Initially, the College OJT Coordinator facilitates an internship orientation with all students, and OJT advisers

must provide an overview of the university guidelines on internships and the course requirements. Early on, when

the OJT Adviser receives his/her OJT assignment, the faculty member starts seeking HTE (host training

establishment) to place the students. Initially, an MOA is introduced by the College OJT Coordinator, who then

facilitates its approval process. Once approved, the OJT adviser will recommend the students to the host training

establishment. Students must comply with the pre-internship requirements submitted to the OJT Adviser and the

HTE internship personnel. An essential need to protect the welfare of students is the notarized MOA, training

agreement, notarized waiver, and accident insurance. Once completed, the students start their internship.

Students in the internship are monitored through weekly meetings (face-to-face or virtual), arranged site visits,

and a group chat through Messenger. The internship program is a joint undertaking of the university and the host

training establishment. Both parties agree to provide a suitable internship experience for the students.