Meeting & Agendas

Committee Chair Bill O’Hara welcomed attendees to the meeting and asked everyone to introduce themselves. Each attendee introduced him or herself, summarized their professional background, and described any affiliations with ACC.

Land Surveying Technology/Geomatics Department Chair Sean Moran discussed how the 2017-2018 enrollment has decreased slightly. Mr. Moran explained that his belief for the decrease is due to the good economy and that most students already have full time jobs in the field. Mr. Moran then discussed how the number of awards have increased over time. He mentioned that the department was contacted by Provost Dr. Charles Cook with inquiries about how to improve the program. He discussed his idea to make changes in the program including offering a stackable certificate. ACC Faculty Adam Long noted that award numbers are affected because although some students complete enough classes to earn a certificate, the student declared the AAS as their major. ACC only reports a student’s completion of his or her declared major. Adam discussed the first ever program review for Land Surveying. He mentioned introducing a SWOT analysis and that the SWOT, program background and mission statement are the three items needed to complete the program review. He requested from the committee to fill in any missing information. He also mentioned that Dr. Cook has seed money to provide to the department if great ideas are presented. Committee Chair Bill O’Hara assigned homework to the committee to review ACC’s land surveying website and submit suggested changes.

GIS and Land Surveying Technology/Geomatics Administrative Assistant Jennifer Black presented the committee with a list of Land Surveying department names used by other universities in the country. Meeting guest Miguel Escobar noted that A&M Corpus Christi recently changed their name to Geospatial Systems Engineering. Bill O’Hara opened the topic for discussion. The board discussed retaining the use of “Land surveying” but realized the growing interest of the word “Geomatics” and “Engineering”. After an extended discussion, committee members agreed on “Geospatial Engineering”. Committee Chair Bill O’Hara called for motion to change the name to Geospatial Engineering. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Joe Breaux. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Moran referred to the program update and the need to increase the number of Land Surveying Technology/Geomatics certificates and degrees being awarded. Mr. Moran recommended adding a 32-hour Level II Certificate to the program. He suggested moving the current 32-hour Level I Certificate to an identical 32-hour Level II Certificate, and then creating a new 20-hour Level I Certificate. This would help capture students who are only seeking the 32-hours in SRVY courses required to sit for the Surveyor-In-Training exam. Sean asked the committee about possibly switching Survey Legal principles II in semester 2 with Texas and State Government in Semester 3 & 4. Committee Chair Bill O’Hara called for a motion for the stackable certificate program and Committee Member Carey Johnson seconded the motion The motion passed unanimously.

Adam Long explained the importance of a need for a calibration facility in Austin area. He suggested Hays County campus is a good example for how you might layout the proposed facility. Adam explained the various aspects of the proposed site as well as some of the processes that would be involved in creating the facility. Mr. Moran suggested finalizing the idea and the budget/funding before choosing a site. A general discussion followed which centered on the benefits of the proposed facility, including: testing and calibrating survey and remote sensing equipment; and training new employees or teams on equipment and procedures. Mr. Moran asked the committee to review the supporting memo and submit any comments or suggestions.

Bill O’Hara suggested the next meeting take place in April 2019 and the committee agreed on April 12th, 2019.