The National Geospatial Technology Center of Excellence

A website and technology center that I found a year ago or so through VerySpatial is the GeoTech Center.  This is a great resource for those wanting to learn more about geospatial technology.  There are some valuable resources for educators, students, and industries.  The center (main location at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX) is focused on geospatial technology awareness.  They are represented across the county by several community colleges which all focus on this awareness.

The GeoTech Center’s purpose:

In 2008, the National Science Foundation funded the National Geospatial Technology Center of Excellence to support two-year college geospatial technology programs.  The GeoTech Center is a collaborative effort between colleges, universities, and industry to expand the geospatial workforce.  The partners of the Center work together to provide professional development, teaching and curriculum resources, career pathways and model core competencies for geospatial technicians.

The website has a variety of information.  The website is broken down into three areas: Educators, Students and Industry.  You can see the additional areas of focus below.

• Educators
  • Development
  • Curriculum Materials
  • Teaching Resources
  • Latest Research
  • GIS in Administration
  • GIS in Classroom
• Students
  • Career Pathway
  • Certification
  • Locate Programs
  • Internships
  • Jobs
  • Social Networking
• Industry
  • Training Opportunities
  • Internship Information

The website also has a really awesome interactive  map of two-year college geospatial education programs.

The GeoTech Center is a valuable resource for anyone looking to find more about geospatial technology and the available education programs.  Take some time and check it out!

American River College GIS Program

The American River College is a two-year community college located in Sacramento, CA.  They are classified in the top ten community colleges within California based on their enrollment of almost 32,000 students with the average class size at 22. The college offers over 30 certificate programs and over 40 degree programs.

American River College has provided a GIS program since 1997 with the approval of certificate and degree programs beginning in 2001.  They offer an Interdisciplinary Applications Certificate and an A.S. Degree in GIS.  These programs are comprised of 15 different GIS courses.  Although none of these GIS courses are offered online, they do hope to be using the online format in the near future.

Students who enroll into the program have access to a state of the art computer facility with the latest GIS software.  ArcView (with extensions) is also provided as a take home solution with a one year student license.  In addition to ArcGIS, students are able to have hands-on experience with other GIS software such as GPS software and Erdas Imagine.

The GIS program faculty is made up of both full time and adjunct professors.  Each full time faculty member brings a wealth of experience to the classroom.  From coauthoring GIS books to establishing GIS curriculum this faculty helps support a quality program.  The adjunct faculty also brings experience from governmental GIS divisions that include California Fish and Game and the City of Sacramento.

Those students wishing to transfer to a four-year college may do so, but must be cautioned because GIS courses at American River College are lower division and universities classify their GIS course as upper division.  There are some universities that may allow certain courses to transfer, but you will need to contact the university directly to see what will transfer.  Universities like Humboldt and Berkeley would be a place to start.

Students who choose not to pursuer a four year degree have the option to go out directly into the workplace.  Although students are not provided directly with internships, they are kept up to date on local job availability.  An interesting fact to note is that the typical GIS student at American River College is a working professional with the average age at 28.

The American River College GIS program has been recognized by the California Geographic Information Association with the “Excellence in Education” award.  In addition, the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) has presented the program with the “Special Achievement in GIS” award.

For more information visit: http://web.arc.losrios.edu/~earthsci/gis.htm

Thank you to Dr. Hugh Howard for providing some great information.

Note: The information within this article has been thoroughly researched but should be verified with the college.  Publication of this article was not initiated by the college but is the sole work of GIS Pathway.