Geospatial Online (and GE)
Hi!
Ken Yanow
Professor of Geographical Sciences
co-PI, Associate Director, GeoTech Center
Southwestern College
900 Otay Lakes Road
Chula Vista, CA 91910
(619) 421-6700, ext. 5720
kyanow@swccd.edu
http://www.swccd.edu/~gis
The National GeoTech Center is Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF): DUE # 0801893. The Southwestern College
GIS&T Program is funded, in part, by two NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grants (DUE #0501247 and #802408).
Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Science Foundation.
Top Problems Generally Associated with
Geospatial Courses/Programs
Faculty often run into
the following problems
with their Geospatial
courses/programs:
1) Low enrollment;
2) Poor retention;
Solution?
3
Accessibility
• Southwestern College offers our geospatial
courses 100% online via BlackBoard.
Weekly Assignments
Weekly Discussion Board/Video Assignments
Video Lectures
Online Office Hours (via Adobe Connect)
Software, such as ArcGIS, can be accessed via
the Southwestern College virtual server or
downloaded directly to the student’s home
computer.
Results of Geospatial Offered Online and as a
General Education
1) High enrollment (including traditional,
underrepresented, adult learners, and working
professionals). Intro course is waitlisted every
semester.
2) High rates of retention (over 70%).
3) Sustainable program. Enrollment patterns lead to
full support from Administration.
SWC Spring 2015 Geospatial Students
Demographic:
55% Women
33% Caucasian
6% Black
36% Hispanic
22% Asian
3% Native American
Reason(s) for taking course:
60% Taking the first Course for GE and accessibility.
40% “Really want to learn GIS for my field of study.”
Course Intent:
40% are “certificate seeking” at the beginning of the intro class.
At the end of the class, 78% are either certificate seeking or will take at
least one more geospatial class. The more students are aware of
geospatial technologies (for their field of study), the more they will want to
take geospatial coursework (and more of it).
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