New Undergraduate Certificate Proposals
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
OUTLINE FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS FOR NEW UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATES
Proposals for undergraduate certificates should be submitted in narrative form, using the following outline.
Directions for preparing certificate proposals are on the following page.
PROPOSED CERTIFICATE NAME:
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND MODELING
DEPARTMENT(S)/SCHOOL(S) GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY
COLLEGE(S):
CONTACT PERSON
CONTACT PHONE:
487-8656
CONTACT EMAIL:
NTYLER@EMICH.EDU
NORMAN TYLER
REQUESTED START DATE: TERM FALL
YEAR
ARTS AND SCIENCES
2012
I. Rationale
Planning for transportation is now, and will be in the future, a critical component in the revitalization of the nation's
economy. Transportation is integral to many facets of its economic system. It includes major industries (automobile,
trucking and shipping, construction, oil, travel and tourism). It is also central to social and environmental issues of great
consequence—climate change, social equity, urban sustainability. Few topics directly touch as many lives of Americans
as its transportation systems.
EMU has a unique opportunity to offer a timely program to help students position themselves for careers in the
growing field of transportation planning. The Department of Geography and Geology has offered for many years a
popular introductory course, GEOG 441 Transportation Geography and Planning. Graduates of its Urban and Regional
Planning Program have established careers in transportation planning in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Chicago, Louisiana, San
Francisco, and elsewhere. These positions have included highway planning, transit planning, and aviation planning.
The department's curriculum could readily be expanded to provide a very strong certificate program. The
introductory planning course (GPLN 215 Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning) provides an understanding of
urban planning in its larger context. The department's GIS curriculum (GPLN 276 Introduction to Geographic
Information Systems) would provide a techniques course for needed technical skills, with a special focus on
transportation modeling (a new course). New courses in transportation policy and finance (GPLN 452 Infrastructure
Policy and Planning) and transportation modeling (GPLN 460 Transportation Modeling) are being developed by
department faculty. The curriculum would include relevant elective courses from other EMU programs, including Public
Administration, Construction Management, and Economics.
A certificate program in Transportation Planning could attract not only EMU students, but also interest non-degree
students with an interest in transportation issues and planning and desiring additional credentials in this area of
expertise. This is an opportune time for a number of other reasons. Rodney Slater, former Secretary of Transportation in
the Clinton administration, is an EMU graduate and has expressed a special interest in supporting transportation studies
at EMU. He recently convened a conference on campus to encourage ways to support transportation careers, especially
for minority students. In addition, EMU's Institute for Geospatial Research and Education (IGRE) is hosting Professor
Itzhak Benenson, a transportation expert from Tel Aviv University, and will encourage him to consider a guest
lectureship to initiate this certificate program. The Washtenaw Area Transportation Study agency has long had contacts
with our program and has hired a number of our Planning Program students and graduates for staff and internship
positions. The University of Michigan Planning Program has a sequence of transportation courses, but the coordinator of
that curriculum has indicated theywould like to have their students come to EMU to take a course in Transportation
Modeling, a class they do not offer. Another potential resource for our program is the UofM's Transportation Research
Institute, based in the Engineering School.
Miller, New Undergrad Certificate
Sept. 09
New Undergraduate Certificate Proposals
II. Description
A. Goals and Objectives
The goal of the Certificate in Transportation Planning is to offer courses in a topic that is very
relevant to today's mobile society and prepare students for a career with many possibilities for
employment.
Objectives include:
- Provide knowledge and expertise in both the issues and techniques of transportation systems
and their planning;
- Coordinate coursework with regional transportation agencies;
- Promote the program to minority students.
B. Program
The program's courses will be as shown below:
Required courses:
GEOG 441 Transportation Geography and Planning (3)
GPLN 215 Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning (3 credits)
GPLN 276 Introduction to GIS (3)
GPLN 452 Infrastructure Policy and Planning (new lecture course) (3)
GPLN 460 Transportation Modeling (new lecture/lab course) (3)
TOTAL REQUIRED: 15
Electives: (Select 1)
CNST 304 Estimating and Bidding (3)
ECON 310 Economics Statistics (3)
ESSC 470 Quantitative Methods, Geography and Geology (3)
GEOG 376 Geographic Information Systems Analysis (3)
GPLN 415 Methods of Planning Analysis (3)
PLSC 216 Municipal Government (3)
PLSC 381 Public Policy Analysis (3)
Minimum Total Credits: 18
C. Admission
Admission will be available for EMU undergraduate students from any discipline and practitioners
with an acceptable undergraduate degree who wish to enhance their credentials in this field.
D. Projections
The field of transportation planning will continue to be a strong career with a continuing focus
by federal, state, and local governments. Transportation planning in the United States is in the
midst of a shift away from the singular goal of moving vehicular traffic and towards an approach
that takes into consideration the communities and lands which streets, roads, and highways pass
through ("the context"). Planners are increasingly expected to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach,
especially due to the rising importance of environmentalism. More so, it places a greater emphasis
on passenger rail networks that had been neglected until recently. This new approach, known as
Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS), seeks to balance the need to move people efficiently and safely
with other desirable outcomes, including historic preservation, environmental sustainability, and
the creation of vital public spaces.
An interest in such a program has been shown for many years by EMU planning students.
There many jobs available in this field. The following web sites, viewed in January 2012, listed
numerous positions currently available under the Transportation Planning heading.
Miller, New Undergrad Certificate
Sept. 09
New Undergraduate Certificate Proposals
simplyhired.com:
glassdoor.com
indeed.com
60 positions
24
21
III. Assessment
Assessment of the success of this curriculum will be based primarily on data collected regarding the
placement of its graduates in positions relating to transportation planning, policies, and engineering.
Contacts will be kept with program graduates to assess their success and also to solicit feedback on
recommendations for improving the program.
IV. Budget
Proposed budget for this Certificate in Transportation Planning Program:
Purchase of education software (one-time cost): $
Software updates and licensing (annual cost): $
$3,000
$300
Note: These costs are shared between the undergraduate and graduate certificate programs.
V. Action of the Department/School and College
1. Department/School (Include the faculty votes/signatures from all submitting departments/schools.)
Vote of faculty:
For
18
Against
0
(Enter the number of votes cast in each category.)
I support this proposal. The certificate program can
University resources.
cannot
Richard Sambrook
Department Head/School Director Signature
X
Abstentions
0
be implemented without additional College or
2/10/2012
Date
2. College (Include signatures from the deans of all submitting colleges.)
I support this proposal. This certificate program can
without additional University resources.
cannot
College Dean Signature
be implemented within the affected College
Date
VI. Approval
Associate Vice-President for Academic Programming Signature
Miller, New Undergrad Certificate
Sept. 09
Date
New Undergraduate Certificate Proposals
VII. Appendices:
A. Market Analysis/Needs Assessment (if appropriate)
B. New/Revised Course Forms: See Appendix)
GPLN 460, Transportation Modeling (3 credits)
GPLN 452 Infrastructure Policy and Planning (3 credits)
C. Cost Analysis. (Complete only if the certificate cannot be implemented without additional University resources. Fill in
Estimated Resources for the sponsoring department(s)/school(s). Attach separate estimates for other affected departments/schools.)
This certificate can be implemented with current resources within the department.
Estimated Resources:
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Faculty / Staff
$_________
$_________
$_________
SS&M
$_3,000___
$__300____
$___300____
Equipment
$_________
$_________
$_________
Total
$_________
$ _________
$_________
$3,000 cost in Year One is for purchase of new software for Transportation Modeling course; $300 in subsequent
years is for software maintenance and license cost.
These costs are shared with the Graduate Certificate in Transportation Planning and Modeling program.
Miller, New Undergrad Certificate
Sept. 09
New Undergraduate Certificate Proposals
From: Jonathan Levine <jnthnlvn@umich.edu>
Subject: Re: Transportation Modeling course
Date: January 22, 2012 6:01:24 PM EST
To:
Norm Tyler <ntyler@emich.edu>
Norm , this looks great to me. I'm definitely going to encourage our students to take the modeling course.
Please send me details as they become available. Jonathan
On 1/18/2012 11:43 AM, Norm Tyler wrote:
Jonathan,
I have continued to develop a new Certificate in Transportation Planning
graduate program to be offered through the Department of Geography and Geology
at EMU. Attached is the proposal for the Certificate program. It includes a
new course in Transportation Modeling Systems. You had indicated this course
might attract UofM students. It should be an excellent course that we intend
to first offer in January 2013.
Any comments or questions would be welcome. I would like to encourage this
link between our programs.
Norm...
--
Miller, New Undergrad Certificate
Sept. 09