HOST 156: Travel Geography
All Sections (Online, Hybrid)
Instructor: Cody Michelle Herrington MS MEd cherrington@highline.edu
Office: Cody’s Office is Virtual (Click Here)
Student Hours: My office hours are by appointment.
Please use this link to book a time that works best for you to connect with me.
I-BEST Instructor: Tetyana Matsyuk (tmatsyuk@highline.edu)
Office Hours: Wednesdays 2:00 pm-4:00 pm, Thursdays 9:00 am-10:30 am
Book appointments: https://bit.ly/40K18v0
Class Schedule: Online Learners have no required scheduled course meetings.
Hybrid Learners: Tuesdays 1:30pm – 2:45pm, Room 23-210
Text required: HOST courses do not rely on textbooks.
All materials for this course will be provided to you electronically on Canvas
Highline College: 2400 South 240th Street
Des Moines, WA 98198
P: (206) 878-3710
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course offers students an introduction to world travel destinations from the traveler’s and travel counselor’s perspectives. Topics include travel planning, sales & marketing, travel destination planning, unique cultural and societal attributes, visitor activities, and use of the Internet for research.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Being aware of the course learning outcomes is paramount to success in all of your coursework. The learning outcomes guide the material each of your courses covers and the manner in which the material is covered. Please make yourself aware of the elements of this course and all other pertinent courses. The course learning outcomes for all HOST classes can be viewed at this web address: http://catalog.highline.edu/
The Student Learning Outcomes for this course are as follows:
Learners will perform effectively in situations whereby societal norms are different from their own.
Learners will identify selling points for destination marketers and management organizations.
Learners will formulate on-site tourist activities at destinations.
Learners will accurately interpret travel itineraries from industry-standard codes.
Learners will classify components of tourism infrastructure.
Learners will interpret world health information from industry standard locations for tourist market segments.
Learners will identify major destinations within spatial geography contexts on maps
PARTICIPATION
To ensure that we are maximizing our learning potential, I expect the following behaviors from my students at all times:
Be engaged with your coursework, in any and all capacities.
Come to class every session, on time, prepared, and ready to learn.
Complete all assignments by the scheduled due date and time.
Communicate with me, please. Any issues, all issues, before they become issues.
I want us to be partners in your success; I cannot partner with you if you don’t communicate with me.
Speak without judgment.
Listen without judgment.
At all times remember you are here to learn.
When we have guest speakers in class and virtually, including your classmates, treat them with genuine care, respect, and kindness. This includes but is not limited to:
NOT being on your phone, laptop, and/or tablet.
Being engaged in their presentation and taking notes (I DO include presentation information in exams.)
Asking good, relevant, appropriate, questions.
Give yourself, and each other, grace.
Be kind. To everyone. Always.
A note on Netiquette (expectations for online learning):
Check the discussion frequently and respond appropriately, and on the subject.
Capitalize words only to highlight a point or for titles.
Capitalizing otherwise is considered SHOUTING!
Be professional and careful with your online interactions, including your instructors!
Wait 24 hours before responding to something that angers you.
All postings should be free of language that would constitute harassment, discrimination, or be considered profane.
Technology Issues:
Technology glitches can, and are likely to, occur; do not wait until the last minute when doing assignments.
When it comes to taking your quizzes on Canvas, it is my policy to allow students only one attempt at each exam.
If you get “kicked out” of the system, for whatever reasons, you will not be allowed back into the quiz.
Active participation in the classroom (regardless of the modality) is necessary for learning “customer service” as an entity. Therefore, you are expected to participate in the course. If you fail to participate in class, I will assume you are not prepared. If you are consistently not prepared for class, I may request a meeting with you.
Class participation is an umbrella term for the way you conduct yourself before, during, and after class. Are you prepared? Did you complete your assignments? Have you posted on the Canvas discussions? I will check to see how actively you participate in our class Canvas Discussions, and where your thoughts are during in-class assignments. You are expected to be present in our learning environment.
No matter the size of the class, it is likely that I will be able to identify certain individuals who have made a concerted effort to participate actively and positively during the quarter. These individuals may receive participation points at the end of the quarter. It is also likely that some students will have a negative impact on the class and/or not participate during the quarter.
ASSIGNMENT PROTOCOLS
All final exams take place face-to-face in courses that are scheduled face-to-face. Hybrid and online courses have final exams that take place online. The time and location of your final exam will be dictated by the College. Instructors cannot move final exam locations or times. You are responsible for knowing the time and location of your final exam. This can be located on Highline.edu.
If you miss the final exam but completed the rest of the course then you may be assigned an Incomplete depending on the situation. Incompletes can be made up at a later date in agreement with the instructor. You will not be given an Incomplete if you choose to depart campus early. Flight dates are not a reasonable excuse for missing a final exam.
Assignment Grading:
All assignments are graded on a rubric, which will be made available in Canvas before an assignment’s due date.
Please read assignment grading requirements carefully, before submitting your assignments.
The grading rubrics I create often have specific details for how assignments are graded, if you are curious why you received a certain grade, please first review the rubric. You are always welcomed/encouraged to discuss your grades with me.
Please note, I grade “blind.”
All assignments submitted through Canvas I grade with your names hidden.
Please do not include your name on your papers (unless specifically asked for) or in the file name of the assignment when uploaded.
All paper assignments (exams, etc) I grade backward, beginning with the last page of the assignment and ending on the first.
Detailed explanations of specific assignments are on Canvas.
All on-time submissions will be returned within 10 business days.
Policy on Late Work:
All assignments have a scheduled due date and time. Please carefully review those prior to submitting your work. Any work not submitted by the due date and time will be considered late. It is my policy to accept late work, but to decrease the maximum point value once it is late. Please review the grading rubrics.
No late work will be accepted after 11:59pm Sunday, December 03. Any missing assignments that are graded 0 at that time will stay 0.
Late quizzes will not be accepted. Please see the “Technology Issues” section of the syllabus.
Assignment Explanations
Assignment Category
Qty
Percentage of Final Grade
Assignments
At Least 10
30%
Discussions
At Least 4
20%
Learning Checks
At Least 3
15%
Culminating Project
1
25%
Final Exam
1
10%
Assignment Details:
All assignments will have a detailed explanation on Canvas.
Assignments
You will have weekly assignments
These vary in length, complexity, point value, and detail; number~ tbd
Some assignments may be graded on a rubric (please see assignment for specific grading criteria) or Complete/Incomplete.
Discussions
There are at least four discussions this quarter that ask you to reflect on specific course concepts and apply them to your life outside of the classroom.
Please see each discussion for specific details/grading criteria.
Learning Checks
You have at least 3 Learning Checks throughout the quarter.
Learning Checks are timed assignments that cover specific modules.
Learning Checks are also referred to as quizzes.
Culminating Project
This course has ONE culminating project.
This project will ask you to synthesize your learning over the entire course and apply it to one project
This single assignment is worth more than any other assignment/exam in the course.
Details for this assignment will be announced mid quarter.
Please see Canvas for complete details and grading criteria.
Final Exam
You will have one, cumulative, timed, final exam
GRADING
The grading policies for this course mirror those of Highline College. For example, Canvas is the official grade book. The policy can be examined in full at this link: https://academicaffairs.highline.edu/handbook/gradingguidelines.php.
Most important to the grading policy for this course is the percent to GPA conversions (see table below) and the meaning of each grade:
0 Highest achievement
0 Satisfactory achievement (minimum necessary for state-required courses)
7 Minimum achievement for any credit
< 0.7 No credit
All of your submissions for grades this quarter will receive points. At the end of the quarter, all of your grades will be tallied. Information that is most important to you regarding grading in this course is as follows:
A-Grades
B-Grades
C-Grades
D-Grades
F-Grades
>95%
4.0
89%
3.4
79%
2.4
69%
1.8
59%
0.9
94%
3.9
88%
3.3
78%
2.3
68%
1.7
58%
0.9
93%
3.8
87%
3.2
77%
2.2
67%
1.6
57%
0.8
92%
3.7
86%
3.1
76%
2.1
66%
1.5
56%
0.8
91%
3.6
85%
3.0
75%
2.1
65%
1.4
55%
0.7
90%
3.5
84%
2.9
74%
2.0
64%
1.3
<55%
0.0
83%
2.8
73%
2.0
63%
1.2
82%
2.7
72%
1.9
62%
1.1
81%
2.6
71%
1.9
61%
1.0
80%
2.5
70%
1.8
60%
1.0