Abstract

Modifying a California DACUM to Assess Industry Needs in Virginia
Track: Teaching with GIS in Higher Education
Author(s): John McGee, David Webb, George McLeod, Rodney Clayton

In 2005, San Diego Mesa College established a DACUM (http://ispt.sdccd.edu/techprep/ccti/GIS_Tech_DACUM.pdf ) based on regional geospatial industry needs. Through the support of an NSF ATE planning grant, the Virginia Community College System, in partnership with the Virginia Geospatial Extension Program, the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, and other partners, initiated an assessment of the San Diego DACUM to determine whether the GIS technician level workforce needs in Virginia mirrored identified demands from San Diego.

Interviews were conducted with geospatial employers across Virginia. These employers included local, state, and federal geospatial employees, as well as representatives from Virginia's private sector. The objective of the interviews is to help Virginia's Community College System better target existing technician-level geospatial employment demands across The Commonwealth of Virginia. This presentation will provide a summary of the findings from Virginia's DACUM process. This process can easily be adopted by other states and geographic regions as well.

John McGee
Virginia Tech
319 Cheatham Hall
Mailcode 0324
Blacksburg , Virginia 24061
United States
Phone: 540-231-2428
Fax: 540-231-3698
E-mail: jmcg@vt.edu

David Webb
Virginia Western Community College
Business Science Building 124
P.O. Box 14007
Roanoke , Virginia 24038-4007
United States
Phone: (540) 857-7379
E-mail: dwebb@vw.vccs.edu

George McLeod
Old Dominion University
Office of Computing & Communications Services
Old Dominion University
Norfolk , Virginia 23529
United States
Phone: (757) 683-5977
E-mail: gmcLeod@odu.edu

Rodney Clayton
Tidewater Community College
1700 College Crescent
Virginia Beach , Virginia 23453
United States
Phone: (757) 822-7089
E-mail: rclayton@tcc.edu