GIS Certificate and Program Emphasis at South Central College

South Central College, North Mankato MN

Investigators

Abstract

This project is creating a GIS Certificate Program that is related to an existing Civil Engineering Technology (CET) program by creating two new courses, providing new necessary instrumentation relevant to the project, creating a 2+2+2 articulation agreement with area schools and regional universities, conducting faculty development activities, and implementing outreach activities. Various state, county and city government employees as well as numerous independent consulting engineers increasingly use GIS as a tool for planning, design, data management, and utility location. The GIS Certificate Program is providing current CET students with GIS skills that they are using in conjunction with their CET degree upon entering the workforce. The project is also providing regional CET employees with additional learning opportunities that are expanding and enhancing their existing GIS skills. The GIS Certificate Program design is being guided by an advisory board composed of local industry employers, many of whom are also participating in the new Practicum course developed through this project, and the ATE GeoTech Center. The resultant hands-on Certificate Program is providing students with opportunities to apply their GIS skills to various civil engineering applications, including infrastructure management (storm, sanitary, water), corridor studies, environmental studies, traffic analysis, and land management activities. Students enrolled in newly developed courses of the Certificate Program are expected to demonstrate proficiency with GIS hardware and software, and also demonstrate spatial data communication, spatial analysis, and data delivery skills. Student learning is being assessed through the use of rubrics, testing and performance evaluations, and peer review. Formative evaluation is guiding ongoing improvements in the program. The project is also developing articulation agreements with regional universities that are allowing CET students who earn the GIS certificate to continue their studies towards 4-year GIS degrees. In addition, a GIS training camp is providing training on the use of GIS to faculty and staff from CET, agriculture, marketing, and geography who have demonstrated interest towards incorporating GIS into their existing courses and curricula. Finally, the project is providing GIS-based summer camps for K-12 students in order to enhance their interest in pursuing STEM careers.