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Track: Universities and Higher Education
Andrew Rowan
Rutgers University
ENR Building College Farm Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0231
Telephone: 908-932-1582
Fax: 908-932-2587
E-mail: rowan@ocean.rutgers.edu
Lyna Wiggins, Scott Madry
Education and the Public
In September 1996 the Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA) and the Center for Urban Policy Research (CUPR) of Rutgers University launched a professional certificate program in GIS. The certificate program is an expansion of CRSSA's long-running program in continuing professional education. In response to demand from working professionals, the program was established as a series of evening courses covering a variety of topics in GIS, GPS, and remote sensing. Initial course offerings have focused on hands-on training with specific software packages, while planned expansion of the program will add courses focused on application of the technology to various disciplines. In a general sense, course content in the certificate program largely parallels that of the undergraduate and graduate programs available in geomatics at Rutgers, but the focus is on the practical needs of working professionals with relatively limited time for training and education. The program has attracted students from a
wide variety of backgrounds. Some are already employed in GIS-related jobs and seek to improve their skills. Others are recent college graduates who want to acquire employable skills to launch a career. And still others are preparing for a career change. Initial response to the program from all of these groups of students has been enthusiastic. This paper will describe the initial curriculum design, profile the professional students enrolled during the first year, describe the parallels with the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, evaluate the first year of the program, and suggest future directions for development.
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