Abstract

It Takes a Community (College). Building an Innovative GIS Program.
Track: Teaching with GIS in Higher Education
Author(s): Eileen Goff

The San Diego Mesa College GIS program began in 1999. With recent support from a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Mesa College updated all five existing GIS courses, based on regional employer needs and the goal of efficiently transitioning students to the workplace. Mesa has also created new GIS courses to address emerging applications and industry-specific GIS requirements. In addition to the existing GIS Certificate and Associate in Science degree, Mesa College developed new "Skills Certificates" that address student achievement in specific areas of interest to employers, such as cartographic skills, geodatabase management, and analog to digital data conversion. Additionally, the NSF grant supported building educational linkages with other regional education partners at the levels of K12 schools and four year institutions. These linkages have supported the development of high school GIS modules and courses and the articulation of GIS courses between Mesa College and San Diego State University.

Eileen Goff
San Diego Mesa College
1538 10th Avenue
San Diego , California 92101
United States
Phone: 619-269-2843
Fax: 619-702-6225
E-mail: egoff@geomorphis.com