With rapid transformations in information technology, professionals are finding that they must return to school in order to keep up with both their professional field and also with changes in the technologies they use in their work. Others in the work force decide to change jobs at mid-career and must learn new skills. Education is becoming something a professional does continually, rather than one time as an undergraduate or graduate student. These professional students often have different needs in their educational programs from the traditional student body. They already have degrees, and they also now have jobs and family responsibilties. How do we provide quality GIS education to this group?
Over the past fifteen years, growth in the development, acquisition, and implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GISs) has exponentially risen. From its roots in digital mapping technology, GIS is now a billion dollar industry in the United States, used in both the private and public sectors, and in academia. There is a high level of demand for well educated professionals in this field, both for people who are knowledgeable about using GIS within their own discipline, and for those who will devote their professional lives more completely to this new field. GIS allows efficient and flexible storage, display, and exchange of spatial data, as well as use in models of all kinds. More recently, the term Geographic Information Science has emerged as representing the science of spatial data processing--including conceptual problems in spatial data acquisition, storage, analysis, and display--while geographic information systems is reserved for the actual hardware/software component of the technology. Most universities/ colleges / and many two-year and technical schools now offer a range of programs, minors, specializations, undergraduate and graduate degrees, and certificates in GI Science. There has been a proliferation of degree programs and workshops related to GI Science, and all, in some way, contribute to GI Science education. However, access to these programs is more limited for the employed professional.
It is timely for UCGIS to address the national situation of professional GI Science education. UCGIS should take a proactive role in both enhancing the spatial literacy of the professionals in a wide range of disciplines, and in ensuring a high level of quality in GI Science education for the employed professional.
Specific objectives for UCGIS include:
The field of GIS is already large and is growing at a rapid rate. Indicators of the growth include the large increases in the dollar value of sales of GIS software and related services, estimated at 19 percent per year. A number of studies on the use and diffusion of GIS point out the rapid expansion of GIS in state and local governments. In recent years there has been an even more rapid increase in GIS diffusion in business. Anecdotal evidence from potential employers and vendors indicates a gap between the demand and supply of well educated professionals to fill new jobs in this industry. The educational community currently faces constraints in meeting these unfilled needs. These constraints include alternative demands on faculty time, limited resources (facilities, funding, etc.), and a lack of the flexibility that is necessary to provide an up-to-date curriculum in a rapidly changing field. The time and effort required in meeting the requirements of the university approval process is also constraining. However, the gap between supply and demand for educated professionals also provides a great opportunity for the GI Science educational community.
There are several keys issues that tie professional GI Science education to national needs. This is a field where the U.S. has led the world in software design. Continuing support of research and education is required in order for the U.S. to remain a leader in the creative delivery of GIS products and education. In addition to public sector funding of this work, it is important to demonstrate to hardware/software vendors the tremendous resource needs for professional education.
The educational community needs to be proactive in the standardization of the knowledge base among the different areas of GI Science. For instance, although professionals from disparate disciplines may be using GIS in quite different ways, there is still a need for consensus on a set of core knowledge essential for the application-oriented GIS user. More specialized GI Science professionals require a larger set of core knowledge. To educate professionals to fill a variety of specialized GIS jobs, the educational community must be prepared to offer a breadth of core, technical and application courses. In fulfilling these breadth requirements, the educational community may be a key player in facilitating a greater breadth in the various platforms and software packages used in GIS.
On a national scale, there is a need to provide continuing professional education to ensure that this powerful technology is used effectively and correctly in both the government and the private sector. There is also a need in the science community to improve scientists' knowledge of spatial data and its analysis. For progress in national-level science, an educated GI Science workforce is needed.
There are a variety of benefits of a national effort in addressing professional GIS education. First, the expansion of professional education in GI Science at universities would allow it to obtain a level of exposure and prestige similar to other professional programs, such as engineering, planning, and business. Such programs often have great visibility, and thus strong support in terms of resources, from university administrations.
Second, established professional GIS programs would assist government agencies, at the federal, state and local levels, in maintaining a qualified and up-to-date work force in GI Science. Although such agencies can often hire GIS specialists with a new undergraduate degree, specialists with a more in-depth background in GIS are difficult to find.
Third, such programs would provide the necessary professional education for individuals to advance their careers, and transition from more technical positions to managerial positions. Many agencies employ individuals who, despite backgrounds in related areas, have little or no formal education in GI Science. Society needs programs that, through alternative models of course delivery (e.g., night and weekend classes), allow such individuals to retool into GI Science.
Fourth, it is anticipated that such programs would enable a stronger linkage between universities, which are normally resource poor, and the private sector, which have a vested interest in an educated workforce beyond the undergraduate level. It is likely that focused professional programs are more likely to obtain resources from the private sector than those GIS programs that are part of general liberal arts programs.
Fifth, the establishment of such programs would allow courses to be taught by others-- not directly affiliated with a department or university--but who have great expertise in the practical use of GISs. At each site, especially for those universities situated in large urban areas, there exists a tremendous pool of GIS experts who can be used effectively for instruction, but who are not normally brought into the curriculum.
Sixth, by their very nature, such programs must be interdisciplinary to accommodate the breadth demanded from professional students. As such, professional GI Science curricula will provide an overall better integration of pedagogical effort at colleges and universities.
Objective 1. Document the national demand for professional GI Science education to assist institutions of higher learning in evaluating the market for these types of programs.
Objective 2. Collect models of the different strategies being taken by institutions of higher learning in structuring these programs (e.g., degree granting programs at the BA/BS level, MA/MS level, non-degree certificate programs, continuing education courses, short courses, etc.), and establish a UCGIS clearinghouse for curricular and course syllabi related to professional education.
Objective 3. Determine the different needs between traditional GI Science education and those of the employed professional student.
Objective 4. Establish a model core curriculum of necessary coursework for the professional student. Suggest strategies for meeting these needs of professionals from specific disciplines, including those desiring education for application-oriented GIS use. Provide guidelines detailing the expected differences among the varying levels of GIS education.
Objective 5. Identify different types of innovative delivery mechanisms for GI Science education for professionals, including web-based methods.
Objective 6. Develop a UCGIS position statement on certification. Develop a UCGIS position statement on accreditation.
From the UCGIS perspective, specific objectives for a professional GI Science education might include providing a comprehensive GI Science program that balances work in the theoretical/conceptual aspects of GIS (core classes); the technical side of the discipline (software/hardware), and in the potential applications of GIS (applied courses and projects).
Within each program, develop core classes that are designed to educate students in the conceptual issues of GIS, including;
From such coursework, students should gain a firm understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of geographic information science. Within each program, develop a set of technology classes that focus on specific GIS software and spatial data acquisition methods. For example, one new technology course might explore spatial information on the Internet and another might be offered in GPS--how to acquire exact location susing the governmentally-developed global positioning systems.
Within each program, develop a set of applied courses that focus on applications of GIS within a range of discplines. An additional project based course might rely on "studio" like experiences or on internships with local organizations.
The objective of a professional program, therefore, might be to provide education/training in these three areas of geographic information science: theory, technology, and applications.