UCGIS Winter 2004 Newsletter

My three-year term as chair of the Education Committee commenced May 1, 2004. These are interesting times for education in general, and for geographic information systems and science education in particular. To follow are brief descriptions of just a few of the issues that the Education Committee will discuss at its upcoming meeting on October 20, 2004.

i. United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) invites UCGIS to address education needs

USGIF is a consortium of federal government agencies and private contractors that share core competencies in geospatial intelligence. USGIF member organizations worry that the workforce of qualified geospatial intelligence professionals is too small to meet the increasing demand. The Foundation invited members of the UCGIS Education Committee to discuss its plans to address this need. Karen Kemp, Ann Johnson, and I represented UCGIS at a planning workshop held September 8-9 in Washington. USGIF officers and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) staff hosted the workshop.

USGIF aims to stimulate the growth of the marketplace of formal educational opportunities that prepare individuals for careers in geospatial intelligence and contribute to their continuing professional development. It plans to develop and promote curriculum guidelines that it hopes will be adopted by colleges and universities that wish to offer certificate programs and courses in geospatial intelligence. USGIF also wishes to play a leading role in assuring the quality of the certificate programs and courses it endorses, and to maintain a Web-based catalog that enables geospatial professionals to identify endorsed programs and courses. I imagine that some, if not many, UCGIS member organizations would wish to be included in such a catalog.

UCGIF’s Board of Directors (whose membership includes Jack Dangermond and Michael Goodchild) will consider these potential roles at its upcoming annual conference, GEOINT 2004 (October 12-14 in New Orleans). I plan to attend this conference and will report to the UCGIS Board and Council during the Annual Assembly that coincides with GIScience 2004.

ii. Model Curricula for GIS&T

The most recent edition of the Model Curricula is the “Strawman” report that was published in June, 2003. Duane Marble has appointed Michael DeMers to lead the project into its next phase. Education Committee members are seeking external support for the intensive, face-to-face workshops that will be needed to complete the task.

iii. GIS Certification Institute

Originally URISA’s GIS Certification Committee, GISCI is now a separately incorporated entity (though it shares staff with URISA). It has certified approximately 400 “Geographic Information Systems Professionals” since launching its certification program in January 2004. GISCI has agreed to adopt the GIS&T Body of Knowledge – even in its current draft form – as a framework for determining the eligibility of higher education courses for educational achievement points. Karen Kemp is a GISCI board member and we both (along with several other UCGIS delegates) are members of the GISCI Oversight Committee that establishes certification guidelines. We all believe that although GISCI certification does little to assure the competence of GIS professionals, it is useful in promoting a professional development strategy that encourages ethical practice, continuing education, and contributions to the profession.

iv. UCGIS Virtual Seminar: Ethics in the Geographic Information Systems and Science Professions

Penn State University has offered to facilitate the Virtual Seminar in the Fall semester of 2005. The Education Committee accepted this offer at its Winter 2003/04 meeting. In cooperation with the GIS Certification Institute, which, under Will Craig’s leadership, has developed a Code of Ethics, the theme of the 2005 Seminar will be Ethics in the Geographic Information Systems and Science Professions. I hope to enlist faculty members, professionals, and students with interest and/or expertise in ethics to lead and participate in the seminar.

v. Thinking Spatially

A new National Academy report called Support for Thinking Spatially: The Incorporation of Geographic Information Science Across the K-12 Curriculum, which is due to be published this fall, promises to have a considerable impact on the profile of geography in primary and secondary schools.

vi. UCGIS 2004 Educator of the Year award

For her many and important contributions to the GIS education community, Karen Kemp has been selected as the 2004 UCGIS Educator of the Year.

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