National Extension Tourism (NET): 2021 Conf. Proceedings

100 certifications have been issued to people that completed the full set of 4 courses (Global, United State, Oregon, Coastal Oregon) with a score of 100%. Other participants may have obtained just the Global certification or multiple certifications but not all four. Oregon Coast class cohorts are usually about 12 guides, 21 guides enrolled in the Fall 2021 cohort. Multiple companies and resorts now have all their guides get GORP Certification. 11 Certifications (Global) have been issued for Kyrgyzstan guides through a US-AID sponsored project. In 2021, course content and format was updated based on guide input. In addition, a grant from the National Sea Grant Program supported the creation of six new courses offering local content for Hawaii & Island of Oahu, Wisconsin and the Northwest Wisconsin Region, and South Carolina and Coastal South Carolina. Currently the GORP program is available to use across the U.S. and Internationally. A Spanish language global course has been developed but not yet fully implemented as this is primarily for destinations with clients whose primary language is Spanish. We also offer supplemental webinars and graduation ceremonies. Ten of these webinar recordings are available for free online at http://gorpguide.org GORP 4-H Youth Entrepreneurship Program. A 4-H pilot program was started in North Bend, Oregon prior to COVID-19 with eight students participating and multiple guides volunteering time with the students.

Evaluation:

Evaluation of the courses was and is conducted through the use of questionnaires built into the course so participants can provide immediate feedback, suggestions and testimonials as the complete a course. In addition, completion times are recorded and quizzes document the knowledge obtained. Webinars were conducted with participants that allowed for verbal feedback and suggestions along with explanations of how they expect to utilize what they learned. Participant Comments… "I found that being able to retake the quiz immediately cut down on time which is highly valuable to me in a busy life running my business.” “I would recommend this course to others, for their own development and for strengthening the [guiding] industry.”

2021 NET Conference Proceedings

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