Meeting & Agendas

GIS Department Chair Sean Moran welcomed Committee Members. Mr. Moran also introduced new Committee Members Sumant Mallavaram and Richard Wade. Mr. Moran went on to state the GIS Advisory Committee is an important part of ACC GIS and we value the Committee’s insight in shaping our program. Mr. Moran then asked that everyone introduce themselves. All of the meeting attendees introduced themselves, including Michael Ouimet who was participating from Washington, D.C. via conference call. Mr. Moran asked that everyone speak up so that Mr. Ouimet could participate in the meeting.

Committee Chair Strebel asked if Committee Member had any additional business. Hearing none… Committee Chair George Strebel adjourned the meeting by unanimous vote.

SEE AGENDA ITEM #6 ABOVE FOR RELATED AGENDA ITEM AND DISCUSSION Following-up on the GIS Advisory Committee’s vote to “have Mr. Moran research options for limiting the GIS AAS Degree to 60 hours and conduct an email vote in May”; Mr. Moran researched some of the questions discussed during Agenda Item #6 above and sent the following email to GIS Advisory Committee Members on April 30th:

Mr. Moran thanked former Chair Steve Schwelling for his service. Dr. Mary Beth Booth added that Mr. Schwelling was chair since 2007 and did a great job running the committee. Mr. Moran requested that Tracy Haywood serve as Interim Chair until the Committee elects a new chair and Ms. Haywood agreed. Interim Chair Haywood called for nominations to serve as ACC GIS Advisory Committee Chair. Committee Member DeVaughn nominated Committee Member Strebel and Committee Member Jensen seconded the nomination. Interim Chair Haywood invited Committee Member Strebel to respond to the nomination. Committee Member Strebel thanked the Committee for the nomination. He took his first class at ACC with Dr. Booth. He has served as a Committee Member for some time and knows how important the GIS Advisory Committee is to the ACC GIS program. Committee Member Strebel closed by saying he would be honored to serve as the Committee Chair. Interim Chair Haywood called for a vote. The motion made by Committee Member Claire DeVaughn to “elect Committee Member George Strebel as ACC GIS Advisory Committee Chair” was approved by unanimous vote. Newly elected Committee Chair Strebel thanked committee members for their support and then introduced Agenda Item 3.

Mr. Moran updated the Committee on growing enrollment and trends (see next page). In summary, Mr. Moran stated that enrollment continues to grow; and students are being hired as interns and GIS professionals. Mr. Moran provided a complimentary email from ACC GIS graduate Brandon McCoy’s supervisor at P2 Solutions and an interview of ACC GIS graduate Leslie Purgason. Both exemplify the value of ACC GIS in developing GIS professionals. Next, Mr. Moran displayed samples of student work from GEOG 2470 Introduction to GIS, GISC 2401 Data Acquisition and Analysis in GIS, and GISC 2459 Web-served GIS. Dr. Booth described how the ArcGIS Online Story Map: Austin Weekend Getaway developed by her GEOG 2470 students was highlighted on the ArcGIS Online home page. Mr. Moran then described the 211 Service Gap Analysis created by Tiffany Arzola for her GISC 2401 Service Learning Project; and demonstrated the Building Ages in Austin, Texas interactive map created by Robert Abbey for GISC 2459. Mr. Moran closed by asking Committee Members for feedback on the role of student portfolios in hiring. Richard Wade stated that portfolios are not only important, but candidates must be able to “speak to their work.” Kristi Teykl agreed that portfolios are a great way to demonstrate their work - printed or online. Devon Humphrey added that he interviewed web developers and appreciated when they had a live demo, but screenshots and slides also work. Dr. Booth suggests that her students take a thumb drive to interviews and leave them with their prospective employer. Tracy Haywood mentioned that TDSHS has a policy about plugging in thumb drives into their computers, so prospective candidates should bring a printed portfolio. A discussion followed regarding preferred portfolio formats. Committee Members Bilbro, Mallavaram, and Haywood all added that portfolios should include writing samples as well.

Committee Chair Strebel announced the agenda item and asked Mr. Moran to provide background on establishing GEOG 2470 as a prerequisite for GISC 1491. He stated that when the GIS Level I Certificate was originally created, the GIS Advisory Committee established GEOG 2470 and GISC 1491 as informal corequisites so that students could take both classes in their first semester and complete the GIS Level I Certificate in two semesters (i.e. Fall and Spring). Unfortunately, the ACC GIS Faculty are finding that students in GISC 1491 who have previously completed GEOG 2470 perform at a much higher level than students who have not completed GEOG 2470. Dr. Booth added that it also places a burden on GEOG 2470 instructors who find themselves answering questions and assisting student with work related to GISC 1491. Dr. Booth feels that GEOG 2470 should be established as a prerequisite for GISC 1491. Mr. Moran stated that currently GEOG 2470 is a prerequisite for all Level I and Level II GISC classes, except GISC 1491. Based on the GIS Advisory Committee’s discussion at the last meeting, he spoke with Dianne Olla and was told that completing the Level I Certificate in a year can be interpreted as a “calendar year” which includes the Fall, Spring, and Summer Semesters. Mr. Moran then spoke with ACC Financial Aid to determine if limiting the number of classes a student takes in their first semester will negatively impact students on financial aid. He reiterated that the staff at Financial Aid said that most student receiving financial assistance are seeking a GIS Level II Certificate or AAS Degree and would not be negatively affected by the proposed change, although it would create a conflict for students on financial aid seeking a GIS Level I Certificate. Dr. Booth ended the discussion by stating that some students enroll in GISC 1491 without enrolling in GEOG 2470 and without any GIS experience. Mr. Moran then requested that the GIS Advisory Committee recommend establishing GEOG 2470 as a prerequisite for GISC 1491. A brief discussion ensued followed by Committee Chair Stebel calling for a motion. Committee Member Thomas Brown made a motion to recommend establishing GEOG 2470 as a prerequisite for GISC 1491. Committee Member Humphrey seconded the motion. Committee Chair Stebel then called for a discussion of the motion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. The motion made by Committee Member Thomas Brown to “recommend establishing GEOG 2470 as a prerequisite for GISC 1491” was approved by unanimous vote.

Committee Chair Strebel announced the agenda item and asked Mr. Moran to provide background on removing GISC 2264 from the GIS Course Catalog. Mr. Moran stated that students completing an ACC GIS Capstone course can take GISC 1391 (an independent study), GISC 2164 or 2264 (a 7 hr/wk or 14 hr/wk internship), or GISC 2280 (a work study). Students select GISC 2280 if they are employed in a professional position in which they use GIS. Students select GISC 2164 or GISC 2264 if they are serving in a paid or unpaid internship. Lastly, students select GISC 1391 if they wish to complete an independent project. All three GIS Capstone experiences are designed for students to demonstrate the professional competencies they’ve acquired while enrolled in ACC GIS. Mr. Moran went on to say that the inclusion of both GISC 2164 and 2264 GIS Capstone internship courses in the course catalog confuses students and fragments the internship course. Removing GISC 2264 and retaining GISC 2164 in the course catalog will simplify the GIS internship option without negatively impacting students’ ability to graduate on schedule. Mr. Moran added that students are supposed to complete the GIS Capstone when they’ve completed approximately 80% of their GIS certificate or degree. In practice, students are completing their GIS Capstone when they’ve complete approximately 80% of their GIS Level I Certificate - even if they are planning on completing their GIS Level II Certificate or GIS AAS Degree. Mr. Moran ended his summary by adding that he was unsure why the GIS Capstone internship experience includes both GISC 2164 and 2264. Dr. Booth said that she believed Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board required that ACC includes both options. After this topic was discussed at the last GIS Advisory Committee, Mr. Moran said he visited with Dianne Olla and she said that we could recommend removing GISC 2264 to the GIS Advisory Committee and ACC Curriculum Committee. Committee Chair George Strebel asked if there were any questions. Dr. Booth asked what percentage of students enroll in the GIS Capstone internship over the work study and independent study. Mr. Moran responded that he estimates 50% are enrolled in the independent study, 30% are enrolled in the internship, and 20% are enrolled in the work study. Dr. Booth added that given the future requirement to limit Associate Degrees to 60 hours, this is an easy way to carve out an hour. Committee Chair Stebel called for a motion. Committee Member Teykl made a motion to remove GISC 2264 from the GIS Course Catalog. Committee Member Haywood seconded the motion. Committee Chair Stebel then called for a discussion of the motion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. The motion made by Committee Member Kristi Teykl to “recommend removing GISC 2264 from the GIS Course Catalog” was approved by unanimous vote.

SEE AGENDA ITEM #11 BELOW FOR RELATED AGENDA ITEM AND RECOMMENDATION Committee Chair Strebel announced the agenda item and asked Mr. Moran to provide background on limiting the GIS AAS Degree to 60 Hours. Mr. Moran stated that the Texas Legislature recently passed a bill that limits Associates Degrees to 60 total hours beginning in the Fall 2015 Semester. The ACC GIS Associate of Applied Science Degree currently requires 64-67 hours to complete. He explained that the purpose of the act to make it easier for students to graduate with an AAS Degree in two years. Mr. Moran said this rule is likely to affect the GISC courses, because most of the other courses are required. He suggested that the GIS Advisory Committee began addressing the maximum when they recommended the approval of the new GISC 2435 Programming in GIS course (i.e. Python). In order to add a new course without requiring additional hours, the GIS Advisory Committee created a restricted GIS elective by requiring students to complete two of three higher level GIS courses (i.e. GISC 2435, 2459 Web-served GIS, and 2479 Geospatial Data Management). Mr. Moran said the GIS Advisory Committee could take a similar approach by adding GISC 1401 GIS & GPS and GISC 1421 Introduction to Raster-based GIS to the pool of courses in the restricted elective. He said this approach would be consistent with our larger strategy to create individual tracks once we have enough GIS courses. Committee Chair Strebel asked if we have time to get back together to make a decision since the rule is not effective until Fall 2015. Mr. Moran said yes. Dr. Booth followed by reminding everyone that any recommendations the GIS Advisory Committee makes must be approved by the ACC Curriculum Committee before being included in the course catalog. This extended timeline requires the GIS Advisory Committee to make a recommendation sooner, rather than later, if they want to get the course catalog updated in a timely manner. Committee Member Brown asked if the GIS Advisory Committee should meet in the Fall. Committee Chair Strebel mentioned that historically, the Committee has met in January. Mr. Moran suggested that the Committee could vote by email. Mr. Moran stated that the GIS AAS Degree currently requires students to complete 64-67 hours. He mentioned that there is some discussion on whether the 60 hour maximum applies to the bottom or the top of that range. For example, would a range of 60-63 hours satisfy the rule? Mr. Moran went on to say that his understanding is that the GIS AAS award plan cannot exceed 60 hours, but could required less than 60. This means that the GISC AAS Degree must require that students complete 60 hours or less. Mr. Moran ended his summary by suggesting that the GIS Advisory Committee consider adding GISC 1401 and/or GISC 1421 to the pool of restricted GIS electives. Dr. Booth stated she felt every student should take GISC 1421 Raster-based analysis in GIS. It’s a basic data type and utilized by most of the GIS industry, including engineering firms. Committee Member Humphrey followed by saying that he felt was important for students to GISC 1401 GIS & GPS. A spirited discussion followed on the merits of requiring one course over another. Dr. Booth facilitated an informal vote asking Committee Members if they felt only one or both courses (i.e. GISC 1401 and GISC 1421) should be added to the pool of restricted GIS electives. Adding both courses would allow students to choose their own GIS technology emphasis. The majority of Committee Members felt that students should pick their courses from an expanded pool of restricted GIS electives. Committee Member Bilbro asked if the GIS AAS Degree Semester IV restricted elective (i.e. DFTG 1405 Technical Drafting, COSC 1315 Fundamentals of Programming, or SRVY 1301 Introduction to Surveying) could be eliminated to create more room for GISC courses. Mr. Moran responded that it could, but there are political implications associated with that strategy. He went on to say the A&E Civil CAD AAS Degree includes GEOG 2470 Introduction to GIS as a required course. If we eliminate DFTG 1405 from the GIS AAS Degree, the A&E CAD Advisory Committee might be inclined to remove GEOG 2470 from the A&E Civil CAD AAS Degree. Dr. Booth suggested that DFTG 1405 could be placed in the expanded pool of restricted GIS electives. Committee Chair Strebel asked if Mr. Moran had enough information to move forward. Mr. Moran suggested that he could research a number of options and present them to the Committee to vote on via email. Committee Member Brown asked if the Committee wanted to assign a timetable. Mr. Moran stated that he could send out the email after Spring Break. Committee Chair Strebel suggested that the Committee take a vote to put together some options and proceed by email sometime in May. Committee Member Brown made a motion to have Mr. Moran research options for limiting the GIS AAS Degree to 60 hours and conduct an email vote in May. Committee Member Haywood seconded the motion. The motion made by Committee Member Thomas Brown to “have Mr. Moran research options for limiting the GIS AAS Degree to 60 hours and conduct an email vote in May” was approved by unanimous vote.

Committee Chair Strebel announced the agenda item and requested that Dr. Booth lead the discussion. Dr. Booth said that when advising students, she is often asked what the job outlook is for the GIS profession. She requested feedback from Committee Members on the job outlook at their organization; how many applicants do they typically have when hiring a GIS professional; and what degrees they are looking for? Committee Chair Strebel - We haven't hired anybody in GIS in a couple of years, although we did just put in the budget to hire a web professional with specialized skills. Committee Member Bilbro - At the City, vacancies are created by retirees. We hired two new senior analyst recently. Committee Member Humphrey - The GIS market in Houston is great - they need the experience and they pay good money. Also, Oklahoma City. At Waypoint Mapping, I’ve had to hire with very high experience level. UAV support professional typically have an Associate level education and are often returning vets. I feel the UAV industry is going to explode in a couple of years. Committee Member Wade - We always hire our interns - especially in the entry-level mapping positions. For externally posted positions we typically get 20-30 applicants, but we try to promote from within. Rarely will we do a cold hire. Committee Member Jensen - At the City of Austin, we recently had 147 applicants for one GIS Technician position. Committee Member Brown - I’m at ESRI, but I’m not involved in hiring. ESRI is typically looking for experienced professionals with good GIS skills. Committee Member Sumant - I would second Thomas’ (i.e. Committee Member Brown) notion about staying in Austin. We don’t do of a lot of hires because we do a lot of work sharing. The federal grouping is growing by leaps and bounds. Huge mandates by the Army and the Navy. Looking for self starters...they can pick up skill sets. Committee Member Devereaux - We don’t have a lot of turnover - people are treated very well. We do have two or three open positions in Tulsa. In Austin, Oklahoma City, and Topeka we’ll probably be hiring three additional GIS Analyst positions that’ll require a BA or BS Degree. Committee Member Humphrey - Get out of Austin to get a job. Go to Oklahoma City or Houston. Committee Member DeVaughn - The USGS staffing situation has been bleak for many years. USGS has a long history of hiring people of term appointments. Can only serve 5 years. There are GIS professional in Austin - but they are typically USGS employees that have moved from somewhere else in the country.. Committee Member Teykl - At URS Corporation staffing is a moving target. There is a backlog that is constantly fluctuating. I hired one analyst in the last year and she came with several years of experience. We recently lost one our developers. By the end of this year we’ll probably be hiring another analyst. Committee Member Haywood - We did have one position with 30 applicants that ranged from no degree all the way to PhD. They chose a candidate with a BA. There will be another position soon. I’ve found that applicants that had the education didn’t necessarily measure up. I am more concerned with GIS skills.

Committee Chair Strebel announced the agenda item and requested that Dr. Booth lead the discussion. Dr. Booth discussed a number of cloud computing initiatives, including ESRI’s new Insights online analytical tool. She recognizes the benefits of cloud computing, but also worries about the impact on the GIS profession. She described a couple of examples where cloud computing is enabling professionals to perform spatial analysis that was previously performed by GIS professionals. She requested that Committee Members offer their impression of the impact of cloud computing on the GIS profession. Committee Member Wade - I think the cloud has strong merit and allows data to be offered in real time, I believe it is inevitable. Committee Member Brown - Outside of our industry, GIS is often a bad word. Non-GIS professionals I visit with say they don’t want to deal with their GIS people. Cloud computing provide better access to GIS. Committee Chair Strebel - We are building new ways to access our data everyday. Mr. Moran - When students talk to me, I try to advise them to pair their GIS skills with a passion. This approach provides them with more professional opportunities and helps mitigate their professional dependency on a specific technology. Committee Member Haywood - I commend all of you. I’m at an agency (i.e. DSHS) that does not trust the cloud. Committee Member Mallavaram - I believe that GIS is always tied to some other field, its never been on its own. Committee Member Teykl - Cloud computing is complimenting our industry...I see it as a more of a positive. Committee Member Humphrey - We couldn’t get by without the cloud. I can build virtual desktops and servers. I can also scale my processing needs up and down when required.

Mr. Moran announced the first annual GIS BBQ to be held at his house in South Austin in late May. The GIS BBQ is based on a suggestion from Committee Member Ouimet and is in the same spirit as the GIS Thanksgiving Lunch Charles Palmer used to host at his house. More details to come.