x

Graduate profile:

Knowledge

The graduate masters appropriate scientific methods of basic and applied tourism research. He/she has cross-sectional knowledge of tourism with an interdisciplinary nature, which allows him/her to analyze the tourism sector, to conduct research, to formulate solutions of economic and managerial problems with an emphasis on sustainable, responsible, and smart tourism development, to apply innovative tools and business models in tourism within international management of tourism and to generate new scientific knowledge.

Skills

The  graduate  of  the  study  program  tourism  is  an  independent responsible individual able to find solutions innovatively and sustainably thus contributing to the solution of social challenges of the 21st century. His/her profile thus corresponds to the long-term development plan of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica. Based on a targeted search of domestic and foreign scientific literature and its critical evaluation, he/she can identify scientific problems of tourism, formulate research questions and compile research design. He/she masters the procedures of scientific work, is able to identify the research gap, and appropriately apply innovative procedures. He/she can formulate and verify research hypotheses and apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods in solving scientific problems of tourism. Based on his/her findings, the graduate is able to design, verify and implement appropriate research procedures in an international environment.

Competencies

He/she is endowed with independent, critical, analytical and conceptual thinking, which he/she is able to apply to the tourism research subject depending on changing conditions. He/she is able to present the results of the research to the professional community at home and abroad. Thanks to his language competence, he/she publishes in respected journals and proceedings registered in the international databases CCC, WOS, Scopus, and others. In his/her scientific work, he/she respects social, scienific ,and ethical contexts. He/she reacts to current issues of tourism development, determines research focus, and coordinates the research team. He/she can apply the acquired knowledge in the educational process and in pracice, and thus contribute to tourism development in the national and international context.

Learning objectives:

The educational goals of SP are:

The main outcomes of education accoding to individual types of outcomes are:

Knowledge

The graduate of the study program tourism has a systematic, comprehensive and complex set of knowledge from tourism of an interdisciplinary nature. The graduate:

• has a systematic, comprehensive and complex set of knowledge of the sustainable tourism development, its pillars, principles, measurement methods, examples of good practice and its integration into strategies in the national and international context,
• has a deep knowledge of theories, sophisticated methods and procedures for assessing the demand, supply and benefits of tourism at a level that meets international criteria,
• has a systematic, comprehensive and complex set of knowledge of information technology, big and open data in tourism, artificial intelligence, smart tourism businesses, smart visitors, smart tourism destinations, national smart tourism development policies, including knowledge of the context and impact of the smart concept on sustainability, competitiveness and resilience of tourism,
• has comprehensive, in-depth and cross-sectional knowledge of the international tourism market, tourism policy in an international context, the specificities of tourism management in an international context, partnership creation and networking, tourism promotion from public and EU structural funds, quality management, change management and crisis management, including knowledge of current trends in international tourism management, contexts and relations with related fields,
• possess systematic and in-depth understanding of the importance and nature of innovation in tourism at the macro, regional and business levels, co-creation of tourism experience, innovation process, innovation networks, as well as promising business models applicable in tourism.

Skills

The graduate of the study program tourism has at the same time a wide range of skills:

• can actively acquire new knowledge and information related to tourism economics and management with emphasis on its sustainable responsible and smart development; analyze, re-evaluate and use them in theory and practical applications for development of tourism destinations,
• is able to apply and creatively improve and develop methods of quantification of tourism, theories of tourism management, research and innovation practices at the macro, regional and business levels, using knowledge from the latest scientific research,
• can contribute to the development of the field of study by acquiring new knowledge in solving specific tasks.

Competencies

The graduate of the study program tourism has a rich acquired and transferable competencies. Graduate:

• has a proactive approach, can make independent decisions in a dynamically changing environment and be responsible for implemented decisions,
• is characterized by independent, flexible, critical, analytical, conceptual and innovative thinking,
• is able to plan and initiate the solution of complex problems/projects of tourism development, including the formulation of goals, means, and methods in the field of economics and tourism management at a level corresponding to international criteria,
• is able to assess and modify proposed objectives, procedures, and solutions in a broader context in terms of social, ethical, environmental, and other criteria,
• is ready to manage research tasks and teams,
• thanks to his/her language competence, he/she is able to communicate the area of his/her expertise in writing and orally to the professional community at home and abroad,
• is able to apply the acquired knowledge, skills, and competencies in the educational process and in the practice of multinational companies and tourism destinations, and thus contribute to the development of tourism in national and international contexts.

The graduate of the tourism study program is, thanks to his acquired knowledge, skills and competences, or strengthened during studies, ready to perform the following professions:

• Concepts and tourism promotion specialist - Qualification code: C2422007-00760; SK ISCO-08: 2422007,
• Project specialist - Qualification code: U2421003-01032; SK ISCO-08: 4415003,
• Specialist in self-government strategies and development - Qualification code: C2422999-01535; SK ISCO-08: 2422999,
• Marketing manager - Qualification code: C1221002-00711; SK ISCO-08: 1221002,
• Brand manager - Qualification code: C2431006-00741; SK ISCO-08: 2431006,
• Specialist in marketing analysis and market research - Qualification code: C2431002-00759 SK; ISCO-08: 2431002,
• University teacher - assistant professor - Qualification code: U2310003-00429; SK ISCO-08: 2310003,

Written submissions from exteranal stakeholders on the indicated Occupations are included in l_Attachment_4_Stakeholder:Report, Indicated_occupations

There are no regulated professions, so there was no need to ask for approval.

The evaluation of the employability of graduates at MBU is part of the international project Horizon 2020 docEnhance. Among its other activities, a career tracking report for doctoral graduates was carried out. Besides MBU in Banská Bystrica, 8 other EU Universities were involved: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), UiT Arctic University of Norway Tromso (Norway), Maastricht University (Netherlands) ), Technical University of Munich (Germany), University of Alcala (Spain), University of Chemistry and Industry Prague (Czech Republic), MNOVA University of Lisbon (Portugal) and University of Sassari (Italy). The answers of more than 2,200 respondents revealed many interesting findings.

Project webpage: https://docenhance.eu/career-tracking/.

The employability of graduates is also evaluated on relevant feedback from graduates following guideline no. 2/2022 of MBU. A questionnaire survey was conducted from January, 24th to January, 31^st 2022 based on the evaluation of the quality of education of graduates. The sample consisted of 6 graduates, while the results in relation to employability are as followed:

• the graduate performs work related to the completed study program: 83 %,
• completion of the study program should also be recommended to other applicants: 100 %.

Successful graduates of the study program Tourism include, for example:

• Ing. Jaroslav Kubaľa, PhD., position: executive director Premium Star Hotels,
• Ing. Miroslav Knižka, PhD., position: executive director Horeca Group, s. r. o.,
• Mgr. Ing. Daniela Chrančoková PhD., position: Chair of the Regional Tourism Organization Banskobystrický kraj Turizmus,
• Ing. Jiří Pěč, PhD., position: executive director of the destination management organization Central Slovakia,
• Ing. Zuzana Jobová, PhD., position: destination marketing specialist, Dobrý kraj BBSK,
• Ing. Juraj Buranovský, PhD., position: executive director Tourism Innovation Centre,
• Mag. (FH) Radúz Dula, PhD., position: Country Manager Slovakia, Amazing Places & Kouzelná místa v ČR s. r. o. Praha, ČR,
• Ing. Petr Studnička, PhD. position: Head of department, Vysoká škola hotelová a ekonomická (Institute of Hospitality Management and Economics), Praha 8, ČR,
• Ing. Ivana Magátová, PhD., position: Consul General, Slovak Consulate General in Shanghai, China.

The aforementioned graduates agreed to the publication of their personal data by signing the consent form.

The evaluation of the study programme quality is carried out at three levels with different sets of employers being defined for each level of evaluation:

1. Evaluation of the study programme quality in the process of its creation. The following employers participated in the process of creating the study programme:

• Rozvojová agentúra BBSK, n. o. (Development Agency of the Banská Bystrica Self-governing Region, npo), Námestie SNP 1, 97401 Banská Bystrica - Mgr. Ing. Daniela Chrančoková, PhD. - Chair of the Regional Tourism Organization Banskobystrický kraj Turizmus,
• Institute of Hospitality Management and Economics (VŠHE) 8, spol. s r. o. Svídnická 506, 181 00 Praha 8, Česká republika, doc. Ing. Jan Hán, Ph.D - Vice-Rector for Research and Cooperation with Practice.

Employers' representatives prepared the stakeholder report, where they formulated comments and provided feedback on selected characteristics of the study programme. The person responsible for the study programme prepared a separate report on the scope of processing the comments, which is part of the accreditation file.

2. Evaluation of the study programme quality in the process of its approval. In the approval process of the study programme, the following stakeholders may make comments on the quality of the programme:

• employer's representative in the Council for Internal Quality System Faculty of Economics MBU in Banská Bystrica,
• employer's representative in the temporary working group of the Council for the Internal Quality System of the MBU,
• employer's representative in the Council for the Internal Quality Assurance System of the MBU.

3. Evaluation of the study programme quality by employers' assessment report. Assessment received from any other employers is provided in accrodance with MBU guideline no. 2/2022, where it is possible to request assessment report from other representatives of employers. When preparing the Description of the study programme, no such evaluation had been carried out.

The rules for the design of study plans within the study programme in terms of their definition defined in the MBU Directive no. 1/2021 Creation, modification and approval of study programmes and submission of applications to the Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education in accordance with the ECTS Users' Guide 2015 and Act no. 131/2002 Coll. On Higher Education Institutions.

The rules for study plan design in the study programmes are also defined in the Study Rules of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica (https://bit.ly/3p2hFdm) and in the Study Rules of the Faculty of Economics, MBU https://bit.ly/34wDkCB:

• credit evaluation of courses depends on the time required of the student's work, usually in the range of 1800 hours per academic year in full-time study and usually 1440 hours per academic year in part-time form of study, including independent study and independent creative activity, which represents an average of 30 hours / 1 credit,
• the allocated credit grant reflects the time burden of the student needed to obtain the prescribed learning outcomes,
• time and content sequence of courses in the recommended study plan is determined so that by completing it the student achieves the required knowledge, skills, and competencies,
• profile courses are defined only from the group Compulsory Courses (PP), Compulsory elective courses (PVP),
• credits for profile courses are usually higher than for other courses,
• share of credits for profile courses at least ½ the total number of credits for Compulsory Courses (PP).

The recommended study plan is a part of the internal accreditation file of the study programme as Annex no. 12 of the MBU guideline no. 1/2021. The recommended study plans are also part of the Study Guide, which is published on the faculty's website https://bit.ly/3Hp0IQN. The recommended study plan contains the names of compulsory courses, compulsory elective courses, credit subsidy of the course, basic educational activities and their area in classes, recommended semester, student workload in classes, and teachers. All information sheets contain learning objectives and outcomes of the course, identification data on the course, course completion conditions, study literature, division of the student workload. Information sheets are available in the academic information system AiS2. The recommended study plan is attached to the

internal accreditation file.

There are no prerequisites or co-requisites in the study plan of the Tourism study programme. For each course within the recommended study plan, the educational activities used are determined, including their hourly allowance. Educational activities in all courses are carried out by a combined method, which is also stated in the information sheets of individual courses of the recommended study plan. The syllabus is a mandatory part of the information sheets of all courses of the recommended study plan. The individual worksheets of the courses state the student's workload and the share of individual activities (eg participation in direct teaching activities, work on seminar work, self- study, etc.) in the total student workload. The credit subsidy of the courses reflects their complexity and the intensity/degree of the student's workload. It is listed for each course in the recommended study plan. Each course information sheet identifies the university teachers who are involved in providing the course. Information about individual persons, including their contact details, is published on the website of the Faculty of Economics, MBU. The place of delivery of the study programme in the Faculty of Economics of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica.

number of credits for compulsory courses required for proper completion of studies / completion of part of studies: 86 (of which study part 36 credits, dissertation exam 20 credits, contribution of top international quality (JCR, SJR) 30 credits),

number of credits for compulsory elective courses required for the proper completion of the study / completion of part of the study: 48 (study part 18 credits, scientific part 30 credits),

number of credits for elective courses required for proper completion of studies / completion of part of studies: 6 (study part),

number of credits for the final thesis and defense of the final thesis required for proper completion of studies: 40,

number of credits for professional practice required for proper completion of the study / completion of a part of the study: 0.

The study programme Tourism has established and previously published rules, criteria, and methods for evaluating study results. The rules of learning outcomes verification and student assessment and the possibilities of corrective procedures are defined in Art. 18 of the Study Rules of EF MBU https://bit.ly/34wDkCB.

The verification methods of learning outcomes achievement, criteria and the conditions for course completion are listed in the information sheets of the SP courses and communicated to the student at the beginning of the semester. Students are evaluated in continuous and final assessment, with monitoring the knowledge acquired through all forms of teaching and through self-study, as well as the level of elaboration of the assigned works, if such works are part of their study obligations. The achieved level of knowledge and skills is assessed based on predetermined criteria. The results of the continuous assessment are an important part of the course assessment if this type of evaluation is defined in the conditions of course completion. The final evaluation takes place during the period of completion of study obligations. Regular and corrective dates are published well in advance in the academic information system AiS2.

The results of student verification and evaluation are published for the student in the academic information system. At the student's request, the teacher is obliged to provide the student with feedback on the evaluation result. The possibilities of corrective procedures against the evaluation are defined

• in the study regulations of EF MBU, Art. 18 https://bit.ly/34wDkCB,
• in Directive no. 2/2017 on handling complaints at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica https://bit.ly/3shoA2J.

In addition, students can contact the chairman of the field subcommittee of the relevant study programme, the head of the department (training place) and the Vice-dean for Science and Research, who are obliged to deal with each student complaint.

The conditions for the recognition of education or part of education are defined:

• in the EF MBU Study Rules in Art. 11 and Art. 27,
• in Guideline no. 7/2021 on doctoral study in Art. 6, 7, 11, 13 https://www.ef.umb.sk/index.asp?uid=1872.

In accordance with the quality culture at EF MBU, the life cycle of SP as an educational service is limited by the standard length of study and therefore this section lists the topics of final theses for the last three academic years, which represent the length of study. The list of dissertation theses topics is attached to the accreditation file.

Rules for the assignment, processing, opposition, defense and evaluation of final theses in the study programme

The rules concerning the final theses are defined in Directive no. 2/21 Formatting seminar papers, final theses and habilitation theses https://bit.ly/31wKllO, in the Study Rules of the EF MBU Art. 21 and Art. 22 https://bit.ly/34wDkCB. Directive no. 7/2021 on doctoral study in Art. 16 point 8.

Opportunities and procedures for participation in student mobility

Support for individual student mobility is one of MBU's strategic priorities in the field of internationalization. This priority is elaborated in detail in the document called "Internationalization Strategy" available at https://bit.ly/3dyvR7l and in Directive no. 4/2019 on Erasmus + mobility on MBU https://bit.ly/3L4aF8B. Information on mobility abroad is currently published on the EF MBU website https://bit.ly/3rUE266 in Slovak and English. The 3rd degree of study offers a compulsory elective course in both WS and SS International mobility 1 and International mobility 2.

Rules of adherence to academic ethics and inference

Emphasis is placed on adherence to academic ethics throughout the studies. Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica has developed and published a Student Code of Ethics and the Faculty of Economics also has its own EF MBU Student Code of Ethics. Both documents are publicly available in full version on the websites umb.sk and ef.umb.sk. Students are continuously acquainted with the principles and rules of adherence to academic ethics in the first year of study in the courses Research Methodology and Ethics 1 and Research Methodology and Ethics 2. Teachers and supervisors thoroughly check the originality of the submitted seminar paper, prepared scientific articles and published scientific papers or projects. In the Study Rules of the EF MBU Art. 18, par. 9, fraud in the performance of a study obligation is considered a disciplinary offense. Disciplinary offenses are dealt with by the EF MBU Disciplinary Committee https://bit.ly/3gkrH4d, its position and activities are regulated by the Disciplinary Rules of the MBU in Banská Bystrica for students and the Rules of Procedure of the MBU in Banská Bystrica for students https://bit.ly/31E2UEv. The Ethics Committee is established at MBU, which addresses issues and problems related to the observance of academic ethics by both employees and students. Relevant information related to the Ethics Committee and its scope is published on the university's website https://bit.ly/3oBITr0. The Student Code of Ethics at MBU is a binding document for students https://bit.ly/3EBcZ3t. At the same time, each student can complete online training in ethical decision-making in accordance with the rules at MBU https://bit.ly/31KQ9Yg. Documents are published on the web site of the faculty and university.

Procedures applicable to students with special needs

The university and its components provide applicants and students with special needs with appropriate adaptation and support services and create an environment for balancing opportunities to study at MBU. Procedures for applicants and students with special needs are given in the Study Guide for Students with Special Needs at MBU and other published instructions on the university website https://bit.ly/3dxWlFW. The faculty has established a position of coordinator for students with special needs, who provides support to these students in adapting to the university environment as well as in solving various situations related to their studieshttps://bit.ly/3yk15Zv.

Procedures for submitting complaints and appeals by the student

The procedures for filling complaints and appeals by students are defined in Directive no. 2/2017 on handling complaints at Matej Bel University in

Banská Bystrica https://bit.ly/32VheJn.

The list of courses and information sheets (IL) are attached to the internal accreditation file. Course information sheets are available in the academic information system AiS2.

The AR timetable is available on the Faculty's website: https://www.ef.umb.sk/student/doktorandske-studium/dokumenty/harmonogram-akademickeho-roka-doktorandskeho-studia.html

The current timetable is available on the Faculty's website: https://www.ef.umb.sk/student/doktorandske-studium/informacie-o-studiu/rozvrh-doktorandskeho-studia.html

prof. Ing. Vanda Maráková, PhD.

professor

vanda.marakova@umb.sk

048/446 2216

EF UMB | Maráková Vanda, prof., Ing., PhD.

prof. Ing. Kristína Pompurová, PhD.

Department of Tourism

kristina.pompurova@umb.sk

048/446 2211

https://www.portalvs.sk/regzam/detail/11599

subject: Tourism Sector Analysis

prof. Ing. Vanda Maráková, PhD.

Department of Tourism

vanda.marakova@umb.sk

048/446 2216

https://www.portalvs.sk/regzam/detail/11230

subject: International Tourism Management, Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Development

doc. Ing. Jana Marasová, PhD.

Department of Economy

jana.marasova@umb.sk

048/446 2617

https://www.portalvs.sk/regzam/detail/11215

subject: Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Development

doc. Ing. Tomáš Gajdošík, PhD.

Department of Tourism

tomas.gajdosik@umb.sk

048/446 2215

https://www.portalvs.sk/regzam/detail/25053

subject: Smart Tourism Development

doc. Ing. Andrej Malachovský, PhD.

Department of Tourism

andrej.malachovsky@umb.sk

048/446 2218

https://www.portalvs.sk/regzam/detail/11214

subject: Innovative Tools and Business Models in Tourism

prof. Ing. Vanda Maráková, PhD. EF UMB | Maráková Vanda, prof., Ing., PhD.

prof. Ing. Kristína Pompurová, PhD. EF UMB | Pompurová Kristína, prof. Ing., PhD.

doc. Ing. Andrej Malachovský, PhD. EF UMB | Malachovsky, doc., Ing., PhD.

doc. Ing. Jana Marasová, PhD. EF UMB | Marasová Jana, doc. Ing.,PhD.

doc. Ing. Tomáš Gajdošík, PhD. EF UMB | Gajdošík Tomáš, doc. Ing., PhD.

The list of teachers of the study programme contains all those who participate in the teaching of compulsory and elective courses in accordance with the recommended study plan and information sheets of courses. The list of teachers with a link to the Central register of university employees and contacts is a part of the accreditation file.

The schedule of teachers' workload in accordance with the number of hours and seminars of the study programme, isolated view of spreading the teacher's workload in the given study programme is given in Annex 3 of Directive no. 1/2021.

The list of supervisors of the dissertation theses is attached to the application for accreditation of the study programme.

The scientific and pedagogical characteristics are available in the academic information system AiS2. The scientific and pedagogical characteristics of supervisors of the final theses are attached to the application for accreditation of the study programme.

Ing. Izabela Lazúrová - 1st year student, full-time form (AR 2021/2022) izabela.lazurova@umb.sk

prof. Ing. Zdenka Musová, PhD.,

Vice-Dean for Scientific Research Activities;

zdenka.musova@umb.sk 048 446 2140

Administration Officer for Research and Doctoral Study:

• PhDr. Ingrid Balážová, Ingrid.balazova@umb.sk, 048 446 2141,

Accommodation officer:

• Mgr. Ján Gréner, Director of the Administration of Special Purpose Establishments of MBU; jan.grener@umb.sk 048/446 6914

Social affairs officer:

• Jana Lobbová, jana.lobbova@umb.sk, 048 446 1152,

Coordinator for applicants and students with special needs:

• doc. Ing. Radoslav Kožiak, PhD., radoslav.koziak@umb.sk, 048 446 2014,

International Relations Officer:

• Mgr. Viera Pavlovičová viera.pavlovicova@umb.sk, 048/446 6727,

Other administrative staff:

• Ing. Denisa Voskárová, denisa.voskarova@umb.sk, 048/446 2179,
• Mgr. Miroslav Murin - Clerk of the Department of Automation and Communication (MBU ID office, helpdesk), miroslav.murin@umb.sk; preukazy@umb.sk, +421-48 4466812, 6758,
• Ivana Kapustíková - Chief, AIS Report Officer, helpdesk ivana.kapustikova@umb.sk, +421-48 4466213,
• Ing. Pavol Lupták - Department of Comunication and Didactic Technology (e-mail accounts, LMS Moodle, helpdesk), pavol.luptak@umb.sk, +421-48 4462165,
• Milan Lichý - ICT administrator, helpdesk, milan.lichy@umb.sk, +421-48 4462169,
• Michal Kindl - ICT administrator, helpdesk, michal.kindl@umb.sk, +421-48 4462166,
• Mgr. Jana Štefániková - International Cooperation and Lifelong Learning Officer, jana.stefanikova@umb.sk, +421-48 4466412,
• PhDr. Zuzana Osvaldová, PhD. - Career guidance officer, zuzana.osvaldova@umb.sk, +421-48 4466227,
• Ing. Marta Húšťava Šipulová - Center for development and research, marta.sipulova@umb.sk 048/446 7177

At EF MBU we are constantly trying to innovate and modernize the technical equipment in classrooms and lecture halls, as well as the equipment available to the staff. Doctoral students at EF MBU attend the teaching part in a special seminar room, which is called "Center for Doctoral Student Development" (abbreviated CRD in Slovak). This room is equipped with 25 seats, an interactive 65" touch screen with PC, video conferencing equipment, a projector and audio equipment, which is also used for workshops or other scientific and educational events for doctoral students, or implemented directly by doctoral students. In total, the faculty currently has 410 desktop computers at its disposal. Classrooms, lecture or seminar rooms and meeting rooms used by 16 teachers for teaching are equipped with 50 desktop computers. Students use 92 thin client PCs in the classrooms, through which they connect to the school servers, and 87 computers are used by students in the computer labs. The remaining number of desktop computers are used by staff in their offices.

The Faculty also has approximately 200 laptops, which are primarily used by staff for work at home or on business trips, or some meeting rooms are equipped with laptops.

All lecture theatres, classrooms and meeting rooms are equipped with video projection equipment in the form of projectors (45 pcs.), TVs (12 pcs.), 55" and 65" touchscreens (3 pcs.), interactive whiteboards (3 pcs.), touchscreen monitors for PCs in classrooms and lecture theatres (15 pcs.).

Classrooms, lecture halls, meeting rooms and special seminar rooms also include video and audio equipment that enable seamless online or hybrid teaching - videoconferencing sets (7 pcs. in total), webcams (50 pcs.), omnidirectional microphones (50 pcs.).

At the same time, staff also have webcams, omnidirectional microphones or headset and microphone sets in their offices, graphic tablets with stylus or pen tablets.

The Faculty has 8 computer rooms (7 in Banská Bystrica and 1 at the IMS in Poprad), 3 of which are equipped with RDS clients (92 in total), through which students connect to the RDP Server, and 5 computer rooms equipped with desktop computers (87 computers in total).

All our students and staff can also use the possibility of remote access to the MBU servers from their private desktops or laptops using an encrypted VPN (via the RDP client on their PC they connect to our RDS server) and thus have the possibility to use the necessary software also during distance learning without restrictions.

The faculty has 10 large multifunctional centrally managed printers with scanner and copier at the disposal of all staff - in addition, staff have a total of 106 other printers and multifunctional devices (printer, scanner and copier) at their disposal.

All computers and laptops are connected to the Internet via cable. We have a total of 77 Wi-Fi AP devices deployed in the faculty, of which 32 are CISCO and 45 are Ubiquiti, which serve the needs of the educational process for both staff and students.

In the premises of our faculty, students have at their disposal a Copy Center, Self-education center for foreign language studies, a branch of the university library with a study room, which is complemented by 2 other study rooms.

All information about the study programme, including information sheets for individual courses, is available in the Academic Information System (AiS2). Basic information and the recommended study plan for each study programme is available on the faculty's website and in the study guide of our faculty. Course syllabi, credit eligibility criteria and qualitative assessments are included in the courses created for each course within the LMS Moodle e-learning portal (LMS). The LMS is on the Moodle platform, and is intended as the primary tool for managing distance learning (materials, lectures, scripts, assignments, tests, deadlines, assessments, etc.) Within the courses in the LMS, students have access to all study materials needed to successfully complete and master the course.

Access to study literature, information databases and other information sources:

In addition to the traditional printed study materials available in the University Library, students can also access electronic book resources, scholarly articles and other publications through the University Library. Each campus PC can connect to 20 paid publication databases to which 17

we have licensed university access (e.g., ProQuest eBook Central, Emerald, Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, and HST, among others). Students can also access the above mentioned online databases from the comfort of their home via a VPN connection. Scientific monographs, textbooks and scripts from the work of our teachers are being gradually digitized and made available to students through the Virtual Reading Room (https://digitalnakniznica.cvtisr.sk/page/umb-digitalna-kniznica) and the MBU Repository (https://repo.umb.sk/) in accordance with the Open Access Policy of the University of Matej Bel in Banská Bystrica.

The MBU University Library has 5 reading rooms, one self-education centre, an absent borrowing office and the Matej Bel Education Center. In the Faculty of Economics of MBU in Banská Bystrica, students have the Self-Education Center (https://www.library.umb.sk/studovne/samovzdelavacie- stredisko/) at their disposal, where they have access to language and professional databases, 317 printed professional publications, encyclopedias and dictionaries, 8 computers with standard software with web camera, headset with microphone with internet connection, TV, data projector, 1 multifunctional device and Wi-Fi. The economics study room provides students with absentee and full-time loans, user registration, counseling and bibliographic information, reprographic services, the possibility of returning books via bibliobox, they have 32,292 book documents and 37 titles of periodicals in the form of scientific and professional journals, daily newspapers, weeklies, and monthly magazines.

Access to information technologies:

Students of EF MBU have rich and very flexible access to information technologies. In case of technical problems with information systems, students and staff can turn to the technical support website helpdesk.umb.sk (https://helpdesk.umb.sk/), where they can find general information, guides and procedures for user accounts, Office 365 accounts, AiS2, LMS Moodle, internet and Wi-Fi connection in the faculty and dormitories, and student ID cards.

Students have access to timetables in AiS2, through which they register for final and midterm exams, receive midterm and final assessments. Teachers communicate with students through their student mailboxes or the possibility of sending mass mailings via AiS2 or the respective course in LMS Moodle.

Each student and instructor has access to five Office 365 licenses (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, OneDrive, PowerBI, Teams, Whiteboard, and others) based on their student or staff university account.

Each department operates departmental sections on the college website to inform students of important information, news, etc.

Part of the software equipment available to students for the needs of the educational process is, in addition to applications available in Office 365 or MS Office 2016/2019, R and R-Studio, statistical software IBM SPSS 28, SAP, Power BI, SQL, Inkscape, CorelDRAW, 7Zip, WinRAR, JAVA, Adobe Reader (in some cases Adobe Acrobat Pro), QGIS, Notepad++, web browsers Windows Explorer or Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Irfan View, VLC player, Total Commander, PC Translator, Abbyy Fine Reader or video recording software (in some classrooms it is Camtasia, in most cases Open Broadcaster Software) and others.

Distance education is mainly implemented through regular videoconferencing online meetings according to the schedule for the semester through the MS Team application, which also allows the use of audio lectures, document sharing, chatting, and the creation of independent study groups.

Each course taught in a given semester has a separate team, whose members are teachers and students of the relevant course. In parallel with MS Teams, LMS Moodle is used as a tool for providing study materials in the form of teaching texts, lectures, assignments, data files, solutions and video presentations. LMS Moodle is also used for continuous and final submission of student assignments and providing control in the form of tests and providing feedback to students. In addition to MS Teams, educators use Zoom or Google Meet or Cisco Webex in some cases. Our educators have the option to use the education license from Slido for increased student interaction when teaching online or getting feedback.

If special software is required and installed in the computer labs, students have secure remote access to these computers via an encrypted VPN (they connect to our RDS server via the RDP client on their PC) and thus can use the required software even when teaching remotely without restriction.

Access, manuals of e-learning portals:

In the case of distance (and hybrid) learning, online learning is delivered via MS Teams. All students are gradually added to the courseteam, with whom the teacher then conducts online lectures, exercises, seminars, consultations, etc.

Instructions for face-to-face teaching, including tutorials, are available to students and teachers at Helpdesk.umb.sk (both Slovak and English versions of the support are available) (https://helpdesk.umb.sk/sk/23/zakladne-informacie-ms-teams.html) - the tutorials also include videos (which are also available for teachers and students partly in the IT Services course in the LMS https://lms.umb.sk/course/index.php?categoryid=182 or also on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxzjGZonsfzV7RTjvqlUizBMq8WeORF_N). Students and staff can also contact the ICT administrators at EF MBU (https://helpdesk.umb.sk/user/local_admins), who can also help them via remote access.

Procedures for the transition from contact teaching to distance learning:

The transition from face-to-face to distance learning can be implemented de facto immediately, since, as mentioned in the sections above, all the classrooms and lecture halls in which the teaching takes place are equipped with the necessary technology that allows the transmission of audio and video via the Internet.

Courses are created in LMS Moodle for the subjects of the study programme. The use of the portal by students and staff is governed by Directive No.3/2016 on the use of e-learning at UMB, which is available at the beginning of the environment (https://lms.umb.sk/). Each student is instructed in detail at the beginning of their studies (1st year of study) in terms of the use of e-learning support and other necessary tools and systems at the induction meeting (https://youtu.be/Po6youDiKj4). In case of problems and questions, he/she benefits from further tutor consultation sessions. Each lecturer updates the course at the beginning of the semester and sends students access information (passwords).

In addition to the syllabus and course prerequisites, the courses also contain links to online classes via MS Teams or ZOOM, videos of lectures with explanations, various assignments, support forums and discussions, polls, study materials, and other activities.

Student assessment can also be conducted through the courses. In case of need (e.g., current pandemic situation), we also switch seamlessly to distance learning in all courses of the study programme in the case of full-time teaching.

The study programme Tourism contributes to the fulfillment of the long- term goal of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica fand focuses on cooperation with public and private sector partners, primarily through cooperation with individual tourism organizations (eg Destination Management Organization Central Slovakia, Regional Destination Management Organization Banská Bystrica, Development Agency of the Banská Bystrica Self-governing Region, npo, Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic – Section of Tourism, Snow Park Donovaly). The most significant is the cooperation with the Development Agency of the Banská Bystrica Self-governing Region and Institute of Hospitality Management and Economics, Praha, ČR which employs several graduates of the Tourism doctoral study, while the condition for employment in the second organization is a PhD degree in tourism. The Faculty of Economics MBU is the only institution in the Czech Republic and Slovakia that offers a doctoral programme in tourism. Our partners cooperate with the Department of Tourism through lectures: https://www.ef.umb.sk/index.asp?uid=342, praxis and professional internships for students, joined preparation of study materials, support of student´s participation in problem solving of scientific-research and projects for practice, as well as through their active participation in dissertation defense. The key partners of the Department of Tourism, which guarantees the the Torism study programme, are published on the Faculty of Economics MBU´s website EF UMB | Partneri katedry. The department cooperates in a long-term view with important international partners from Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. Cooperation with the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany is particularly important. The internationally recognized scientific and pedagogical personality of prof. Harald Pechlaner, our decisive partner in providing educational activities at the Faculty of Economics MBU EF UMB | Doctor honoris causa. Last but not least, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as well as International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism (AIEST), based in St. Gallene, Switzerland, ensure the worldwide exchange of knowledge and experience for doctoral students and young researchers and allow personal contacts with tourism industry experts. Scientific seminars and workshops for doctoral students have been provided by experts from Slovakia and abroad such as (prof. Harald Pechlaner and prof. Roman Vaubel from Germany, prof. Peter Nijkamp from the Netherlands, prof. Terry Stevens, prof. Colin Lawson and prof. Emmanuel Thanassoulis from the United Kingdom, prof. Barolomé Deyá Tortella and prof. Lluis Mundet i Cerdan from Spain) and many others.

UMB offers students a wide range of social sports, cultural, spiritual and social activities (https://www.umb.sk/studium/student/volny-cas/). In the field of sports activities, it offers the opportunity to join several sports clubs (athletics, women's basketball team, gymnastics, university hockey team, horo-club, karate, judo). The Sport for All Club offers the following physical activities to the student body: swimming pool, sports activities -floorball, football, volleyball, fitness - gym, Power Zumba, country dancing, jumping, classic and sports massage.

In the field of artistic activities, three art ensembles operate directly at MBU: the University Choir Mladost' (https://youtu.be/aIUOyNNf24s), the University Folklore Ensemble Mladost' (https://youtu.be/fRZ9GYAj84k) and the Youth Chamber Orchestra Mladost' (https://youtu.be/75FPEJynxSk). Students also have the opportunity to participate in the activities of the UNIS student theatre ensemble; the ensemble is open to students who have a relationship with theatre and want to be part of it themselves. The University Dance Center offers a variety of dance classes for the student body (https://www.unidc.sk/mesto/banska-bystrica/).

MBU students can become participants in the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award programme (https://youtu.be/BSy4TKWuD1I). This is a comprehensive development programme that gives young people aged 14 to 24 the chance to develop their skills and character qualities for real life, to fulfil their potential and help them succeed in life. Students from our university can not only become DofE participants, they can also train in the methodology of the programme and become programme leaders.

For leisure time, EF MBU offers several suitable opportunities for students in its outdoor area (space for sitting on benches, in case of good weather directly on the grass). There are 2 cafes, a chill out and relaxation zone and 2 respiratory areas in the EF MBU buildings where students have access to PCs and Internet and use them for project meetings, studying, etc. There is also an Economics Study Room and a Selfeducation Center. Students and staff have a canteen and a cafeteria on the faculty premises, in addition we have several drink vending machines around the faculty.

Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, students regularly organized fun quizzes for students or Beanies (faculty student ball). In addition to the activities offered directly by the faculty and the university, the city of Banská Bystrica, with which MBU actively cooperates, also provides a wealth of activities and regularly informs students about the opportunities through social networks, the faculty's website, e-mails and information boards in the faculty premises.

Participation in mobilities and internships are governed by the Directive no. 4/2019 on Erasmus+ mobilities at UMB https://bit.ly/3L4aF8B and are published in a separate section of the EF UMB website https://bit.ly/3rUE266. Specifically, this concerns mobility within the Erasmus+ programme, as well as mobility under other schemes (e.g., through SAIA). The call for mobility applications is published every year in the first half of the winter semester. Interested mobility applicants submit an application form, a motivation letter, a CV and proof of foreign language level. Participants are then pre-selected, consisting of an evaluation of the submitted documents and a personal interview (faceto- face or online). The results of the pre-selection are communicated to the students once the grant has been awarded by the Erasmus+ National Agency. Upon completion of the mobility, the Vice-Dean for Educational Activities will confirm the recognition of the ECTS credits obtained during the mobility on the basis of a certified Transcript of Records. In addition to the possibility of studying, students of the Public Sector Economics study programme are also offered the opportunity to participate in an internship in Slovakia or abroad. Within the framework of the Erasmus+ internship programme, in which Matej Bel University is involved, the student has the opportunity to choose from a wide range of organizations on the website of the Faculty of Economics or to approach a selected company or organization within the EU countries. The current offer of internships is published on the Faculty's website: https://bit.ly/3J38HDs.

Required abilities and necessary admission requirements Admission conditions are the same for all third-degree study programs at the Faculty of Economics, MBU in Banská Bystrica, and are based on Directive no. 7/2021 on doctoral studies, Article 4. Admission procedure. Applicants for the study program tourism, 3 rd degree must meet the basic personal and knowledge requirements according to the Slovak Qualifications Framework - SQF (SKKR) at level 7, according to which the 2nd-degree graduates have extensive professional and methodological knowledge in the field of economic and managerial theory and practice, can use this knowledge to identify and solve problems in this area. Detailed conditions for admission to the 3rd degree of study and information for applicants can be found at:

https://www.ef.umb.sk/index_e.asp?uid=685

https://www.ef.umb.sk/index.asp?uid=1332.

The basic condition for admission to doctoral studies is the completion of the second cycle of higher education.

Applicants for studies who have completed a previous degree abroad are obliged under Act No.422/2015 on the recognition of evidence of education and on the recognition of professional qualifications and on the amendment and supplementation of certain acts, as amended, to submit the recognition of evidence of education obtained outside the Slovak Republic. The decision on the recognition of educational qualifications is part of the documentation. Another condition is successful completion of the entrance examination. The admission procedure and the conditions for admission to doctoral studies are set out in the document Admission possibilities and conditions and planned admission numbers for the academic year 2022/2023 https://www.ef.umb.sk/index.asp?uid=1332. Before the start of the admission procedure for doctoral studies, the faculty announces the topics of the dissertations for which the applicant may apply during the admission procedure. A supervisor is appointed for each of the topics. The PhD candidate must apply for one of the topics listed: https://www.ef.umb.sk/index.asp?uid=1333.

The admission examination for full-time applicants is combined and comprises three components: presentation of a written dissertation project by the candidate in English, assessment of the candidate's previous activity in scientific research (publications and research activities), and the average grade achieved during the second cycle of higher education. The maximum number of points that can be obtained by a full-time applicant is 100. The admission examination of a candidate for a part-time form of study comprises two components: presentation of a written dissertation project in English, assessment of the candidate's previous activity in scientific activity (publications and research activities). The maximum number of points that can be achieved by an applicant for the external form of study is 90.

Parts of the admission examination for full-time and part-time applicants shall be held before the examination board in person or by distance learning. The composition of the examination board for all study programmes shall be determined by the dean of the faculty on the basis of the proposals of the chairpersons of the departmental subcommittees of the individual doctoral study programmes. The examination committee consists of at least three members. The supervisor whose topic the candidate has applied for may be invited to join the committee with the consent of the chair of the committee.

The results are published on the faculty's website on the day of the entrance examination. The admission of the candidate is decided by the Faculty Admissions Committee. The composition of the Faculty Admissions Committee shall consist of at least two members of the faculty management, the faculty secretary and at least two members of the examination committee. A record of the result of the admission examination shall be drawn up. The Faculty Admissions Committee shall determine the threshold for admission and submit a proposal for admission of successful candidates to the Dean.

Candidates will be admitted to the study in the order of their total score achieved in the admission procedure within the planned capacity of the study programmes in the individual forms of study. The results of the admission procedure are recorded in the academic information system. Applicants who have fulfilled the conditions for admission are sent an admission decision with other relevant documents.

In the academic years 2021/2022, 2020/2021 and 2019/2020, no students have expressed interest in studying the programme. Výročné správy UMB | O univerzite | Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici.

Procedures for monitoring and evaluation of students' opinions on the quality of the study programme are defined in Directive 2/2022 Rules for Evaluation of the Quality of Education at UMB in Banská Bystrica https://bit.ly/3opb0ZR.

In effort to continuously improve the quality of study programmes in doctoral studies at the Faculty of Economics of MBU in Banská Bystrica an anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted in August 2021, which was attended by 17 students, including 10 full-time students and 7 part-time students of doctoral studies.

Out of the total number of 28 PhD students, 60.71% students participated in the questionnaire survey. The aim of this survey was to find out the students' motivation towards doctoral studies, evaluation of the elements of doctoral studies, evaluation of the development of transversal skills, evaluation of supervision, evaluation of the academic and research environment and also a space was created for students to express their own opinion through 21 questions. Students' evaluation of doctoral studies in the above areas was favorable, but areas for improvement include the need for international mobility and improving the quality of doctoral students' publication outputs. The results of the survey were provided to the supervisors of the Economics and Management field of study.

Another survey conducted at the University is a survey on the evaluation of lecturers. The aim of the survey is to get feedback from students on the quality of teaching by the selected lecturer, the way it is provided by the lecturer, his/her approach to teaching and to the evaluation of students. Within the survey, students also have the possibility of an open response, where they can express their opinion about the lecturer, his/her work or indicate their dissatisfaction. The survey is anonymous and is conducted through the academic information system AiS2. Each lecturer has access to the results of the survey concerning him/her, the head of the department has access to the results of the survey of all the staff of the department.

During the transition to distance learning, a survey was carried out after the end of the examination period in the winter and summer semesters via the SLIDO application, the aim of which was to find out students' opinions on the course of distance learning and to identify problems related to the implementation of distance learning.

The results of the student feedback are published on the Faculty's website https://bit.ly/3B99TCV.

The results of the survey related to the evaluation of the quality of the study programme are available to the chairperson of the departmental committee and the persons providing the study programme and are communicated in detail at the Dean's College, where critical areas are identified and subsequently measures for improvement are taken at the level of the faculty and at the level of the department providing the study programme.

The results of the student teacher evaluation survey, students' suggestions and comments are discussed at the level of the Board and the Dean's College after the evaluation of the survey.

The results of the evaluation of individual lecturers are communicated to the heads of the relevant departments and to the staff members being evaluated. The results of the survey monitoring student satisfaction with the distance learning method were communicated to the lecturers through the persons responsible for the study programme.

The results of the feedback are discussed at two levels:

1. Discussion of the results and taking action at departmental level. Each senior staff member is required to communicate the results of the quality assessment to the university teachers concerned by the assessment. If action is to be taken to improve quality, the action must be included in the minutes of the departmental meeting. The minutes are archived in the LMS.
2. Discussion of results and action by the Faculty Internal Quality System Body. The results of the quality assessment are discussed at a meeting of the Council for Internal Quality Assurance Body of Faculty of Economics MBU in Banská Bystrica. If poor quality is identified, the Council obliges the dean to take adequate measures. The minutes of the EF MBU Council for Internal Quality Assurance Body are published on the EF MBU Internal Quality System Board website.

Quality feedback is also provided as a continuous improvement process within the quality policy at MBU, where any stakeholder can make suggestions for quality improvement. Contact points for quality improvement are listed on the VSK UMB website (https://www.umb.sk/univerzita/univerzita/vnutorny-system-kvality/zlepsovanie-vsk-umb-16322/).

According to the procedures in Directive 2/2022, the quality of the study programme is also assessed through the following statements evaluated by the graduates (rating from 1 to 5):

• the graduate performs work related to the study programme completed,
• it is appropriate to recommend the completion of the study programme to other candidates,
• the teachers of the study programme are interested in cooperation with the graduate.
• the faculty also provides follow-up educational activities expanding knowledge in the given study programme.

In addition to the following areas, other areas related to the study programme are evaluated for graduates of the study programme:

• the suitability (composition) of the courses constituting the study programme in relation to the declared profile of the graduate
• the logical sequence and continuity of the courses
• the content of the study programme is rreflects current knowledge.

The results of the most recent graduate feedback evaluation are published on the faculty's website https://bit.ly/35FV5zH.

Study regulations: https://bit.ly/34wDkCB

Scholarship regulations: https://bit.ly/3uDHFyX

Disciplinary rules and rules of procedure of the Disciplinary Board: https://www.umb.sk/univerzita/univerzita/o-univerzite/vnutrouniverzitne-predpisy/poriadky.html

Study guide: EF UMB | Sprievodca štúdiom

Doctoral studies - legislation: EF UMB | Študijné predpisy doktorandského štúdia

Accessible academic environment for students with special needs: EF UMB | Študenti so špecifickými potrebami

Tuition and tuition fees: https://bit.ly/3us0THs

Student loans: https://bit.ly/3shp60o

Job offers: https://bit.ly/3giRpGr

Boarding: EF UMB | Stravovanie

Accommodation: Správa účelových zariadení UMB | Študent | Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici

Sport activities: Voľný čas | Študent | Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici (umb.sk)

Drug and counseling services: https://poradenstvo.umb.sk/

Student organizations - Center for Development and Research: EF UMB | Centrum rozvoja doktorandov, https://bit.ly/34vzf1w

Student card: Študentské preukazy | Preukazy UMB | Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici

Information for applicants: EF UMB | Podaj si prihlášku

Alumni Club: EF UMB | Alumni klub UMB

Ethical management and code of ethics: https://bit.ly/32Y5A0s, https://bit.ly/3J1EWD4

Quality policy: Vnútorný systém zabezpečovania kvality | Základné vnútorné predpisy VSK | Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici (umb.sk)

Student scientific and professional activity - Scientia Iuventa: EF UMB | Scientia Iuventa - si.umb.sk

Career centre: https://bit.ly/3ooQ2KJ

Scientific journals: EF UMB | Vedecké časopisy

References to other relevant regulations and information are given in the Internal Assessment Report.