The curriculum focuses on the issues of implementing a GIS faced by upper and middle management. Emphasis is placed on understanding project management concepts, data and systems integration, exploring public policy and legal issues, data base design, spatial relationships and other interdisciplinary aspects of GIS.
This paper discusses the value of GIS education for adult learners. Topics to be covered include a year in review, challenges and successes, surprise outcomes, and trends in GIS education across the country.
Introduction Whether the project is finding the optimal location of a new sales office, or developing a community emergency plan, or analyzing market share, or countless other data analysis activities, GIS and desktop mapping are fast becoming tools as commonplace as spreadsheets, databases or word processing. The interest in GIS is reflected in today�s organizations, public and private sector alike, who have become aware of the benefits of using GIS to meet their goals and the critical role it plays in today�s marketplace. The skill to use GIS software is only a part of the formula for effective implementation of a GIS. A successful GIS also requires the knowledge, abilities, and skills necessary to effectively manage a GIS program. The University of California, Riverside, Extension is the continuing education brand of the University. UCR Extension developed an innovative course of study, the Certificate in GIS, designed for GIS administrators, managers, technical professionals, decision makers, and others involved in building and implementing information systems. The program emphasizes GIS management principles as opposed to software use skills. The certificate program in its entirety is designed to give students a comprehensive understanding of the concepts and applications of GIS. However, individual courses within the series are available to anyone who may benefit. Most courses do not require prior GIS knowledge. Continuing Education for Adult Learners The courses are specifically developed and scheduled for the working professional. Many who use GIS at their workplace cannot and, often do not want to go back to school to get another degree. A degree is the ideal choice for a student oriented toward research or advanced study of a fundamental discipline; a certificate is the ideal choice for a student seeking interdisciplinary or applied study within a career-oriented subject area. Many students and employers find that certificates are an ideal educational option, offering them many advantages: practical information immediately applicable to the job; instructors who are real-world practitioners in GIS; for specialty development within the student�s current profession; to update skills; and for networking opportunities with other practicing professionals. Degree programs offered through higher education institutions have limited accessibility in that they are often only available to full-time students, usually during the day, and they frequently require degree objectives. Extension courses do not require an application or admission requirements. Individual courses are available to students who are not declared candidates in the certificate program. Although GIS technology has been used for the last couple of decades, GIS within many higher education institutions has been limited to geography, engineering, and other natural resource majors. Students with other majors are often graduated with GIS training and the majority of the existing workforce lacks GIS skills. Continuing education is the optimum choice for each of these sectors of the workforce. Continuing education programs are designed specifically for the non-traditional student, especially those who are working in the field. UC Extension is flexible and responsive to comments regarding content, instructor delivery and scheduling. Within the continuing education environment, the students are invited to comment on the individual courses they take or the program in general. Since the student base is from throughout California, alternative course delivery methods may be required and can be accomplished through innovative delivery techniques. For example, if a client contacts us who has access to two-way interactive videoconferencing technology, we can extend our delivery to their site. Also, if there are sufficient students at a particular worksite, we can take the course to their location under a simple contract. The Certificate in GIS In the spring of 1994, UCR Extension assembled a group of leading GIS professionals in the greater southern California region to develop a GIS curriculum. The curriculum development focused primarily on management issues, a unique emphasis compared with other GIS education programs. Due to the rapidly expanding use of GIS in all economic sectors, the advisory committee emphasized GIS management fundamentals, by creating courses focusing on GIS project management, database management, funding challenges, systems compatibility and integration, and public policy issues. The interdisciplinary elements of GIS including cartography, topology, database design, and spatial analysis are fundamental to implementing a GIS and are critical components of the curriculum, also. Emphasis is not placed on keyboard training, but rather chalkboard education. In the three required courses, students review the fundamentals and techniques of GIS, the basic implementation issues and applications, learn spatial analysis concepts and topological relationships, and gain hands-on experience of GIS technology that is applicable to the issues and concerns facing communities and industry. Elective courses provide the student options so they can focus their course of study to meet their individual needs and professional goals. Initially, the committee did not include applications training. However, due to a larger than anticipated group of students lacking any GIS exposure�largely comprised of career changers� applications training was offered in addition to the other courses. Consequently, limited units obtained through application training courses on different vendor software programs were made applicable to the certificate. Realizing that the GIS audience is comprised of public and private organizations, agencies and businesses, all with individual needs in specific disciplines, electives were developed to focus on the applications of GIS to particular subjects or disciplines. New courses of this type have been developed every quarter. Thus far, these courses have included : � GIS in Transportation Planning � GIS in Air Quality � GIS in Crime Analysis � GIS in Natural Resources � GIS in Emergency Management � GIS in Water and Wastewater Distribution Systems Planning � GIS in Land Use Planning � GIS in Public Utilities � GIS in Business. The hands-on application training courses are offered using UCR Extension�s microcomputer lab complex located within the Extension Center. The average computer lab course enrollment is 20 with each student using their own computer for each class session. The curriculum consists of three required courses totaling nine units and a minimum of 15 units of electives. The courses are rigorous, meeting the academic standards of the University of California. Students are evaluated and issued letter grades based on exams, projects, and other course assignments. The courses are scheduled in such a way that all required courses and most of the electives are offered within one year, thereby, enabling students to complete the certificate in a reasonable period of time. Some are evening courses, some are offered on the weekends, and a few are offered in a two-consecutive-day format. The Students and Instructors The students come from all facets of the community: Local government and other public entities (55% of the students), private businesses or organizations (40%), and because of the large numbers of laid-off aerospace workers within this area, career changers (5%). (These figures are estimates because UCR Extension�s enrollment process does not always identify employment.) The majority of the students are from the local area, however, there are a dozen students that drive in from Bakersfield, San Diego, Barstow and Twentynine Palms. Courses that are scheduled in a two-day format often draws students from throughout California and Arizona. A dedicated group of instructors work tirelessly to ensure a quality experience for their students. Despite their full-time career responsibilities, they make the time to carry out these important educational activities. A distinct advantage in the development and implementation of this program is that Riverside-San Bernardino is home to many of the leading GIS experts in the nation. Extension, therefore, has been able to enlist program advisors and instructors having the highest levels of expertise and experience�truly the pioneers of GIS. They are current practitioners in the field of GIS and bring a great deal of experience to the classroom. They are technical specialists, administrators and managers, system coordinators, lawyers, and consultants with public and private entity experience. Challenges and Successes On-going evaluation of the program is critical. UCR Extension accomplishes this by conducting mid-term and end-of-term course evaluations from the students and with continual communication with the instructors. Many changes have been made to the program as it has developed. The GIS field is dynamic and we program courses to keep up with industry changes and student demand. We seriously consider the comments from the instructors and students and make changes accordingly. After the initial cycle of courses, the instructors and advisors met to refine the curriculum based on their observations as well as student input. Effective January 1, 1996, the Certificate in GIS was revised as a result. It was determined that the students would be best served by amending the curriculum to three core courses instead of the original five. The two that were core courses became electives. These changes will allow students the benefit of specializing more in their areas of interest. A GIS Application Lab course has been quite popular with the students. The course is a hands-on course in a directed independent study format. Students are assigned a project to complete within the 30 hours of class time with an instructor on hand to answer questions. The course is available for different applications (for example: GIS Application Lab Using ArcView). UCR Extension operates independently and without state funding, as a nonprofit division of UCR. All costs associated with courses, including instructors� and staff salaries, meeting rooms, courses materials, building costs, parking and security, are supported solely by student enrollment fees. All program development and software acquisition have taken place without additional funding sources. The courses� tuition fees must offset the software purchases and subsequent upgrade requirements. Esri and Intergraph have extended a substantial discount to UCR Extension GIS students who wish to purchase ArcView and MGE PC. After they complete an applications training course, they are able to begin using it immediately. As of March 26, 1996, a total of 893 students have enrolled in 49 courses that have been offered since summer 1994. The core courses are offered each quarter while the electives are offered on an annual or biannual schedule. The total curriculum is comprised of 23 different courses at this time with about three courses being added each quarter. Nineteen students have graduated and currently and 34 more have applied for candidacy. Several students have gained new employment as a result of being enrolled in the certificate program. One woman moved from northern California to the Inland Empire area to take the certificate program. Midway through her studies, she obtained a job as GIS coordinator for a local planning department. We encourage the students to stay in�touch with us after they finish the program. Their successes reflect the quality of the program. A graduate is the GIS coordinator with the Metropolitan Water District and another is now working in Colorado. Seven graduates were already working in the GIS field, one is pursuing advanced studies, four are furthering their GIS education through GIS internships, and five are seeking employment. One graduate in the medical profession has applied the knowledge he gained by mapping the brain. His work has been recognized by the University of San Diego and Esri. We have received many phone calls from other educational institutions inquiring about the program and the potential to duplicate it at their institutions. As of this writing, Extension and the advisory committee are not aware of any program with the focus and scope of the Certificate in GIS offered through UCR Extension. In 1995, UCR Extension was awarded an �Innovative Programming Award� for the Certificate in GIS by the National University Continuing Education Association, Region 6 (NUCEA: CA, NM, UT, AZ, NV).Jon W. Kindschy, Director, Natural Sciences Department, UCR Extension, 1200 University Ave., Riverside, CA, 92507, (909) 787- 5804, (909) 787-2456, jonk@ucx.ucr.edu Jennifer R. Campbell, Program Development, Natural Sciences Department, UCR Extension, 1200 University Ave., Riverside, CA, 92507, (909) 787-5804, (909) 787-2456, jcampbell@ucx.ucr.edu