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Over the past three decades there has been a proliferation of courses in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIS&T), and this makes it challenging to have a sense of the size and diversity of the discipline. Therefore, there is strong support for a national assessment of the current scope and major trends in the teaching of GIS&T. This assessment should be a valuable resource for every segment of our discipline including those that impact workforce issues. The results will provide a basis for evaluating some of the assumptions about the growth of the discipline. With the new digital production of the GIS&T Body of Knowledge, we are interested in understanding how well our coverage of topics is consistent with what is taught in GIS&T classes.

In addition to measuring the scope of the field, this project also aims to chronicle the diverse ways GIS&T education has expanded across disciplines; how instructional methods and content have changed; and how well graduates are prepared for the workplace.

We would also like to capture the impact of technological and societal changes on the faculty teaching GIS&T courses. For example, how are instructors dealing with changing technology and do they find it rewarding and enjoyable.

Thus our goal is to conduct a nationwide assessment of all higher education courses that provide instruction in the use of GIS&T procedures; those that deal with the design, implementation and impact of the technology; and those that cover new frontiers of GI Science. We aim to include every course from two-year certificate programs to Ph.D. level seminars.

This survey is endorsed by Esri, the University Consortium on Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), the American Association of Geographers (AAG), and the Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS).

The survey will remain open through Friday, March 24, 2017. Once completed, the summary results will be openly available in several formats but individual responses will be not be released.

The effort is directed by David Cowen, professor emeritus, University of South Carolina.

Instructions: Please complete this survey once for each GIS&T course that you teach. If you teach multiple GIS&T courses, please complete the survey multiple times. The survey takes < 10 minutes to complete. Please share this with any of your colleagues who teach GIS&T courses. This survey is intended primarily for courses being taught at institutions in the United States, but others can submit data as well.

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* 1. Instructor's Name (for internal purposes - will not be shared)

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* 2. Email Address (for internal purposes - will not be shared)

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* 3. What is your position at your primary institution?

Adjunct or Visiting Professsor

Graduate Assistant

Instructor or Lecturer (non-Tenure Track)

Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)

Assistant Professor (non-Tenure Track)

Associate Professor (Tenure Track)

Associate Professor (non-Tenure Track)

Full Professor (Tenure Track)

Full Professor (non-Tenure Track)

Other (please specify)

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* 4. What is the University or College where this course is taught?

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* 5. What department is this GIS&T course offered within?

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* 6. What is the title of this GIS&T course? (please complete this survey multiple times for each GIS&T class you teach)

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* 7. If your course has a public online website, what is its URL?

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* 8. What is the estimated enrollment of this GIS&T class for each time it is taught during the 2016-17 academic year?

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* 9. How frequently is this GIS&T class usually offered?

Once a year

Twice a year

More than twice a year

Other (please specify)

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* 10. How long ago was this GIS&T class first offered at this institution?

It has been a new offering within the last year

Two to five years ago

Six to ten years ago

More than ten years ago

Other (please specify)

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* 11. What level is this course considered?

Introductory - no prerequisites

Advanced - core part of a degree program leading to a specialization in GIS&T

Specialized - follow-up to previous course work; builds on fundamentals; application domain course

Research oriented - specialized course within an original research project

Other (please specify)

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* 12. Which of the following best represents the academic setting for this course? (select all that apply)

Two-year institution (community college, technical college, or junior college)

Undergraduate Degree Program (residential)

Undergraduate Degree Program (online)

Traditional research-oriented Graduate Degree Program (residential)

Traditional research-oriented Graduate degree program (online)

Professional Graduate Degree Program (residential)

Professional Graduate Degree Program (online)

Ph.D. Degree Program

Professional, non-degree Certificate Program

Part of a new specialized focus (i.e., GIS applied to homeland security, or disaster response, etc.).

Other (please specify)

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* 13. What best represents the majority of students enrolled in the course?

A major in the department

A non-major who is fulfilling a requirement of another department

A non-major who seeks an elective course that provides GIS&T training

Other (please specify)

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* 14. Please identify the areas of content that your course covers. (select all that apply)

Modeling (site selection, multi-criteria evaluation, etc.)

Cartography & Visualization (analytical, design, cognition, symbolization, web mapping, 3D, temporal, etc.)

Geocomputation (cellular automata, heuristics, machine learning, agent-based models, etc.)

Surveying principles

Societal Impacts of GIS (privacy, VGI, social media, etc.)

Data Models (ontologies, semantics, grids, rasters, TIN, hierarchies, topologies, vectors, networks, etc.)

Computing Platforms (web, cloud, parallel, etc.)

Foundational cartographic concepts (projections, datums, coordinate systems, scale, etc.)

Data Management (relational databases, object oriented database, data compression, metadata)

Analytics (geometric measures, overlay analyses, viewshed analyses, generalization, network analyses)

Programming & Development (scripting languages, APIs, etc.)

Design & Implementation of Applications and Systems (Human-computer interface, performance, etc.)

Data Capture (digitizing, geocoding, VGI, sensor systems, etc.)

Domain Applications (GIS in hydrology, forestry, public health, criminology, anthropology, environmental science, civil engineering, planning, etc.)

Ethical and legal aspects (liability, privacy, etc.)

Other (please specify)

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* 15. Does this course expect students to complete exercises using GIS software during or outside of class time?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 16. What software environment(s) do students use during this class? (select all that apply)

Desktop GIS

Web map servers (serve map layers)

Web GIS (GIS analysis available via the web)

Spatial database management systems

Software development frameworks and libraries (for web applications, e.g. APIs)

Software development frameworks and libraries (non-web, e.g., Python)

Cataloging application for spatially referenced resources (e.g. open data portals)

Local Server supporting virtual machines

GIS as a Service (SaaS, PaaS, and/or DaaS)

Geospatial sensor networks

Other (please specify)

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* 17. Which of the following best describes the typical format and requirements of your class? (select all that apply)

Students complete a set of prescribed exercises with GIS software

Students perform some original analyses with GIS software

Students create original applications with GIS software

Students submit written assignments about GIS topics

Other (please specify)

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* 18. What type of supporting materials to you use in the course? (select all that apply)

Printed textbooks

Online textbooks

Journal articles

Videos

Other online instructional materials

Other (please specify)

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* 19. How many years have you been teaching this GIS&T class at this institution?

Less than one year

One to three years

Four to six years

Six to ten years

More than ten years

Other (please specify)

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* 20. How many years have you been teaching a GIS&T class like this at any institution?

Less than one year

One to three years

Four to six years

Six to ten years

More than ten years

Other (please specify)

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* 21. Over the time that you have been teaching, what changes have you made in the ways that you teach GIS?

Very few

Made modest changes with new software and hardware

Frequently make major changes

Other (please specify)

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* 22. If you have made changes to the ways that you have been teaching, what types of changes have you made? (select all that apply)

Flipped the course to make better use of class time

Make greater use of social media to interact with students

Have students post projects online to share with other students

Other (please specify)

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* 23. How would you assess the demand for this GIS&T course?

Has declined

Has leveled off

Has continued to grow

Other (please specify)

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* 24. Which of the following best represents your experience with technology? Select all that apply.

I keep up with a full range of changes because I feel I have to.

I enjoy adapting my class to keep up with changes.

I make changes that are necessary or appropriate when I have to.

My class is not nearly as current with technology as it could or should be.

Other (please specify)

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* 25. Which of the following best represents your overall experience in teaching this course? (select all that apply)

I enjoy teaching the class.

I find it challenging.

It is unduly time consuming.

I find it challenging to recruit non-majors to the class

Other (please specify)

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* 26. What is your sense of student experiences in your class? (select all that apply)

They find the course exciting and valuable

They find it challenging but valuable

They are frustrated by the complexity of the technology

Other (please specify)

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* 27. What is your sense of how this course prepares students to join the workforce in their chosen discipline?

The training provides entry-level job skills.

The training provides solid analytical skills.

The training provides cutting-edge skills, i.e. advanced geospatial data science.

Other (please specify)

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* 1. Instructor's Name (for internal purposes - will not be shared)

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* 2. Email Address (for internal purposes - will not be shared)

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* 3. What is your position at your primary institution?

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* 4. What is the University or College where this course is taught?

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* 5. What department is this GIS&T course offered within?

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* 6. What is the title of this GIS&T course? (please complete this survey multiple times for each GIS&T class you teach)

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* 7. If your course has a public online website, what is its URL?

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* 8. What is the estimated enrollment of this GIS&T class for each time it is taught during the 2016-17 academic year?

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* 9. How frequently is this GIS&T class usually offered?

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* 10. How long ago was this GIS&T class first offered at this institution?

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* 11. What level is this course considered?

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* 12. Which of the following best represents the academic setting for this course? (select all that apply)

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* 13. What best represents the majority of students enrolled in the course?

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* 14. Please identify the areas of content that your course covers. (select all that apply)

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* 15. Does this course expect students to complete exercises using GIS software during or outside of class time?

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* 16. What software environment(s) do students use during this class? (select all that apply)

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* 17. Which of the following best describes the typical format and requirements of your class? (select all that apply)

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* 18. What type of supporting materials to you use in the course? (select all that apply)

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* 19. How many years have you been teaching this GIS&T class at this institution?

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* 20. How many years have you been teaching a GIS&T class like this at any institution?

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* 21. Over the time that you have been teaching, what changes have you made in the ways that you teach GIS?

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* 22. If you have made changes to the ways that you have been teaching, what types of changes have you made? (select all that apply)

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* 23. How would you assess the demand for this GIS&T course?

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* 24. Which of the following best represents your experience with technology? Select all that apply.

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* 25. Which of the following best represents your overall experience in teaching this course? (select all that apply)

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* 26. What is your sense of student experiences in your class? (select all that apply)

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* 27. What is your sense of how this course prepares students to join the workforce in their chosen discipline?

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* 28. Feel free to provide other comments about your experiences teaching GIS&T.