Tri-County, Fairview Industries Join Forces
to Offer GIS Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/30/05
CONTACT: JOHN BENSON, 646-1717
(By Lisa Garrett)
PENDLETON --- Tri-County Technical College and Fairview Industries
of
Pendleton have joined forces to offer a continuing education program
designed specifically for persons interested in the Geographic
Information Systems (GIS).
The program, a first for the College, will allow engineering
professionals, as well as students and the general public, to gain
technical training and updates in geographic information and spatial
data sciences by logging into a Fairview Industries-Tri-County website.
This project identifies key research publications and white papers in
the geographic information sciences. Participants will proceed with
a
scheduled program of readings and exams leading to continuing education
credits given by Tri-County. "This is the only place where all
professional articles are in one location and individuals can read
them, answer questions and get immediate CEU credit," said John
Benson,
director of the College's World Class Training Center.
The GIS field is a rapidly growing, multifaceted science with wide
ranging impact on resource management, public sector planning, civil
engineering, property ownership and security, forestry and
environmental planning, as well as national defense.
"The endeavor is a result of individuals close to the industry
recognizing the need and meeting it by providing an electronic means
of
staying abreast of current developments in the field of GIS," said
Benson.
"Our plan is to expand the student participation in continuing
education at Tri-County by as much as 10 percent over the next two
years," said Dr. Bill vonMeyer, CEO of Fairview Industries, Inc.
"There are several thousand engineers and administrators who will
use
the product of this joint effort. We are doing this by transferring
critical knowledge to a practical, publicly available system where
Tri-County can apply its student management and knowledge in the
deployment of state-of-the-art learning skills," said Dr. vonMeyer.
Dr. Nancy vonMeyer, vice president of Fairview Industries, Inc., will
administer the project for the company. Comprehension questions are
developed based on the articles and reports on the web page. The
payments, article selections, tests, scoring and certificate awards
all
are automated through web processing technology. The public may access
the program at http://www.fairview-industries.com
and then click on the
GIS CEU portal under the Education section. Users will then recognize
the Tri-County Technical College logo and can follow the instructions.
The GIS program also can be accessed through the Tri-County Technical
College website
http://www.tctc.edu/learn on the Professional CEUs and
Recertification page under the Industrial/Technical section.
|
Oconee