In order to meet the increasing demand in Virginia for a workforce skilled in using geospatial technologies, three Virginia Community Colleges (Virginia Western Community College, Tidewater Community College, and John Tyler Community College), with the support of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) in partnership with the Virginia Geospatial Extension Program (VGEP) and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC), are creating model academic pathways at community colleges and providing faculty professional development to spread the use of geospatial technology across Virginia. The GTEVCC project team is building on a planning project that resulted in the formation of this partnership with each partner bringing resources and strengths to the project. The GTEVCC project is establishing sustainable academic pathways in geospatial technology at three VCCS colleges to provide Virginia employers with a larger pool of skilled geospatial technicians. These pathways serve as models for other community colleges. The GTEVCC project is taking an interdisciplinary approach to geospatial technology and applications of technology. Educational materials are being created and professional development and mentoring is being provided for faculty. The GTEVCC project team is partnering with the ATE National GeoTech Center (NGTC) to leverage exemplary geospatial educational materials and best practices in needs assessments, career awareness and professional development.
was led and administered by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) on behalf of three community colleges and the Virginia Community college System (VCCS). Chris Carter, VSGC Deputy Director, served as Principle Investigator (PI). Partners included Virginia Western Community College (VWCC), John Tyler Community College (JTCC), Tidewater Community College (TCC), and Virginia Tech. The period of performance for GTEVCC was May 2009 – April 2013 which included funding for three years plus a one-year no-cost extension. During the four year project, GTEVCC was successful in accomplishing the vision of establishing and growing multiple unique academic pathways in geospatial technologies (GST) at partnering VCCS colleges to provide employers in Virginia with a larger pool of skilled geospatial technicians. These pathways which included Career Studies Certificates in GST and Specializations in GST served as models for other VCCS colleges. The project team was also successful in achieving an overarching project goal of growing the use and instruction of GST across the Commonwealth and connecting Virginia to a national network of colleges, employers, and government agencies. GTEVCC provided an intensive faculty and teacher professional development institute in using GST to seventeen community college faculty and seven high school dual-enrollment teachers. Hosted by Virginia Tech, the project team provided hands-on training and resources through a one-week Institute in 2010 followed by a second one-week Institute in 2011 for the same cohort of educators. This cohort also received mentoring and support following the Institutes and were connected to the statewide and national efforts in expanding GST workforce development. Six Virginia community colleges, including TCC and JTCC, began a Career Studies Certificate in GST during the project. All project partners updated existing GST curriculum and course content and VWCC added a specialization in GST within their existing Information Technology associate’s degree program. TCC also began developing an associate’s degree (A.S.) in GIS during the project. JTCC began a Career Studies Certificate program in GIS. More than 20 newly-developed GIS-prefix college courses are now being offered by Virginia’s community colleges directly resulting from faculty participating in the GTEVCC Institutes. GST has also been integrated by cohort faculty, and their colleagues, into existing non GIS-prefix courses such as courses in civil engineering technology, forestry, fire science, nursing, geology, information technology, programming, business, and architectural engineering technology. These new pathways and courses have reached hundreds of students with direct instruction in GST. As of Fall 2012, 63 total GIS courses were being offered in Virginia. As the project work continues, the team will report data on employer impacts and student job placements. New dual enrollment courses between Fairfax County public schools and James Madison University were established resulting from a dual-enrollment teacher from Fairfax County attending the Institute. An estimated 70 high school students participate in this course each semester. VWCC also expanded their dual-enrollment GST offerings with Botetourt Technical Education Center to reach more students per year. VWCC received two GST laboratories for local high schools to support dual-enrollment through a grant from the Department of Labor (DOL) administered by Northern Virginia Community College. Forty-five high school teachers were trained through the VSGC’s GEOTREK-12 program. GEOTREK provides hands-on training, resources and support to high-school teachers in Virginia. Community colleges across Virginia in partnership with business and industry partners participated in GIS Day events in each year of the project. These events showcased GST pathways and careers and informed the public about the community colleges’ role in helping grow the workforce. Team members served as GST experts and guest speakers at many events in the Commonwealth and the nation. VWCC faculty lead and Co-I, David Webb, participated in the National GeoTech Center’s (GeoTech) development of the Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM). The GTCM is a framework of the knowledge and skills required for GST workers at all levels of expertise, as defined by industry experts. Using the GTCM, geospatial educators and curriculum designers have been able to realign their courses and degree programs to better match the needs of the GST industry. The GTCM project was funded by the NSF and the DOL. Webb also participated in the GeoTech-led effort to create GTCM-aligned model courses that are shared nationwide. The impact of the GTEVCC project, through model pathways, curriculum development, and faculty/teacher professional development, will continue to expand the use of GST instruction in Virginia’s community colleges and grow a prepared workforce. The project team was successful in submitting a proposal to NSF for additional funding to expand the project to include a six-state region (Va, Md, NC, WVa, Tn,Ky). The project name is now GeoTEd and funding began in October 2012. All future impacts and project related materials will be posted on the GeoTEd site which was developed during this project (http://geoted.org).
