Decision-makers are increasingly

Development of a GISc programme for CPUT by Raubie Raubenheimer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology This paper discusses the development of the first GISc diploma at a South African University of Technology. The changes in Surveying education and development of GIS is explored, since it became clear that the interest in the cartography programme became increasingly limited and the obvious solution was to replace it with GISc. Decision-makers are increasingly relying on the geospatial component of information because 90% of the data used by them are location-based [1]. In South Africa most GIS technicians are currently employed by local authorities, provincial authorities, planning departments, organs of state or private geospatial suppliers. These employees are either trained in-house or have general or related qualifications. Employment opportunities for surveyors have severely decreased due to the economic decline over the past couple of years. On the other hand, GIS applications are found in almost all spheres of business, e.g. planning, engineering, nature conservation, health, etc. According to Rüther [2] survey education and the survey profession are under severe threat. Too few graduates enter the profession and then many of these are soon lost to other professions. As opposed to Rüther's rather bleak forecast for the future of surveying, Pagiatakis et al [1] are very positive and state that the geomatics industry has been increasing at a dramatic pace and has become a multi-billion dollar industry with a high demand for knowledgeable and skilled people with expertise in the many and varied aspects of geomatics theory and applications. Brief history of survey education in South Africa Survey education in South Africa at university level dates back to the early 20th century, while the first diploma course was introduced in 1958. The latter was a three-year diploma consisting of three semesters of theory alternating with three semesters in-service training. This diploma course Application development Data acquisition Co-ordination Data analysis and interpretation Data management Visualisation Marketing Management Project management Systems analysis Systems management Training was replaced in 1991 with two years academic education and one year in-service training after a complete revision of subjects and learning material. During 1995 the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) formerly the Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon introduced the B.Tech. degree which also includes a dissertation. Registration of technicians and surveyors was introduced with the so-called PLATO Act (Registration of Professional and Technical Surveyors' Act 40/1984) in 1984. Although the perception exists that only conventional survey skills and traditional cartography are required in Africa and therefore the education Identify and develop tools and instruments to satisfy customer needs Collect geospatial and related data Inter-organisational facilitation and communication Process data and extract information to create products, derive conclusions and inform decision-making reports Catalogue, archive, retrieve and distribute geospatial data Render data and information into visual geospatial representations Identify customer requirements and needs, and effectively communicate those needs and requirements to the organisation, as well as promote geospatial solutions Efficiently and effectively apply the company's mission using financial, and intellectual skills and resources to optimise the end products Effectively oversee activity requirements to produce the desired outcomes on time and within budget Assess requirements to produce the desired outcomes on time and within budget Integrate resources and develop additional resources to support spatial and temporal user requirements Analyse, design and develop instructional and non-instructional interventions to provide transfer of knowledge and evaluation for performance enhancement Table 1: Roles played by geospatial professionals. Adapted from DiBiase, 2006 [3]. can still follow its conventional form [2], significant changes were made at both universities and universities of technology. The latter have upgraded their diploma programmes and introduced B.Tech degrees. New technologies like GPS and GIS, were introduced into the programmes to a varying extent. The number of students at the traditional academic universities in South Africa has declined to such an extent that three of the original five departments have closed over the last 15 years [2]. Contrary to this, the numbers at UoT have increased to such an extent that most of the UoTs now have to limit their number of students 44 PositionIT June 2012

SAQA topic CPUT subject Mathematics and Statistics Mathematics 1 & 2, Statistics 1 Geography Geography 1 Data capture Surveying 1, 2 & 3, Photogrammetry 2 & 3 Data manipulation Computer Applications 3, Adjustment of Errors 3, Cadastral Surveying 3 Map production Survey Drawing 2, Map Projections 2, Cartography 3, Cartographic Techniques 3 Photogrammetry Photogrammetry 2 & 3 Databases Computer Applications 3, GIS 3 Professional practice Legal Principles 1, B.Tech GISc GIS 3 Remote sensing Photogrammetry 3 (limited) Spatial awareness Geography 1, Drawing, Surveying Spatial analysis - Work ethics Experiential learning Research methodology B.Tech Table 2: SAQA BoK relating to CPUT qualifications. due to capacity constraints. This is probably due to the improvements of the quality of the diploma and B.Tech programmes, registration of surveyors and the resultant improved status. Unfortunately, the academic quality of the recent intake of first year students is of grave concern because a significant percentage of these students lack numerical and communication skills as well as the ability to think in a structured and logical way. This problem is now amplified by the fact that geometry is now merely optional in the senior certificate Mathematics. HEQF The Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF) was published by the government in 2007 and was implemented by 2009. This prescribes the qualifications that can be offered in future by South African higher education institutions. All new programmes that are introduced must be in terms of this structure and all existing programmes will have to be converted to one or more of these structures. The cut-off date for conversions has not been determined yet. PLATO will also have to determine which of these new qualifications will be required for practitioners to register in the different categories. In future any university may offer any of the qualifications in the HEQF with the approval of the Department of Higher Education. It is interesting to note that the structure makes provision for the four year professional degree currently offered by academic universities, but not for the diplomas or B.Tech degrees currently offered by universities of technology, who will now have to convert all their programmes in order to comply with one of these approved programmes. New programmes will have to be developed in consultation with industry and the professional bodies. These curricula will also have to be compared with unit standard qualifications previously developed as well as with international qualifications. Development of GISc Diploma When the current diploma programme was developed in the early 1990s, GIS was still in its infancy in South Africa and a full subject offering GIS was not included in the diploma course. With the introduction of the B.Tech in 1995, a subject GIS 4 was included in the fourth year. In 2005 this was augmented by also introducing GIS at diploma level. To achieve this, the former Photogrammetry 2 and 3 and Stereo Mapping 3 were restructured into two subjects to accommodate the new subject. These subjects were offered in both the Surveying and Cartography streams. Over the last decade a few GIS programmes were developed in South Africa, mostly at universities (e.g. Stellenbosch and Pretoria) as part of geography programmes or as post graduate programmes (e.g. University of Cape Town). There were however no programmes at technikons or universities of technology. With the Directorate: National Geospatial Information (NGI), South Africa's national mapping organisation, the navy cartographic section, and various private mapping companies all based in Cape Town, CPUT is ideally suited to offer a programme in GISc. The diploma in Surveying is offered at four universities of technology but the Cartography diploma is offered only at CPUT. This is viable only because it largely overlaps with Surveying, but the number of students enrolling for Cartography is very small. Most of the people in industry who have a cartography background are also doing a large amount of GIS work. Research in the USA identified the key competencies and roles that GIS employees were involved in [3]. This is summarised in Table 1. Technicians are directly responsible for at least the first seven functions. It was therefore decided in 2009 to set up a small committee to revise the Cartography diploma course to make provision for GIS. This committee was representative of staff from the department, academics from other universities, members of the Advisory Committee and practitioners from industry involved in GIS. They used the current Surveying and Cartography diplomas and the qualifications compiled by the GIS Standards Generating Body (SGB) as a basis for their investigation. This SGB has compiled the "body of knowledge" (BoK) that would be required for a diploma and degree qualification in GIS in South Africa. It therefore describes the requirements for South African qualifications. The topics in the qualifications compiled by the SGB were compared to the existing CPUT qualifications to determine the gaps. Table 2 shows how these topics are covered by the existing CPUT qualifications. These documents served as the basis for discussion from which the committee compiled the subject matter that had to be included in a qualification. These were then grouped into related topics. Although modern technology must be sufficiently covered, this must be based on fundamental knowledge. It was therefore essential to maintain the right balance between theoretical principles, modern technology and applications. After scrutiny of all existing subjects in order to prevent duplication, three new PositionIT June 2012 45

subjects were created: Data Quality Management 3, Spatial Analysis 3 and Remote Sensing 3. The contents of the subjects are briefly summarised in Table 3. To be successful, a surveying or geomatics programme must provide students with the fundamentals of mathematical, scientific and surveying knowledge underlying the role of the surveyor as the leader and geospatial expert [4]. The underlying principle of technician education in the diploma courses was to emphasise the application of knowledge and skills with a balance between theory and practical application, thereby balancing the universities' academic objectives with industries' desire for ready-to-work technicians. Universities of Technology have always used outcomes-based education where the emphasis is on developing the skills that a technician would need to perform his daily tasks. This has proved most successful with co-operative education where theoretical studies are combined with experiential learning. Rüther [2] also stresses the advantages of the integration of software systems, but point out the dangers of a "black box" approach which may lead to uncritical acceptance of outputs. This needs to be considered when developing new teaching material. Because it was decided to keep the current structure of the programme unchanged, the period of experiential learning is still kept to one year. In a revised structure in terms of the HEQF, however, this might well be reduced to 6 months, or even removed from the qualification. Whereas the year of experiential learning for Survey students is the 2nd year of the programme, it was decided to make it the 3rd year for GISc. It was felt that after only one year of study, students do not have sufficient knowledge particularly in GIS theory to be able to apply this in industry. Moving the experiential learning component to the third year, also has the added advantage that if an employer wants to employ a student permanently, this would then be a continuous period from his practical year to full-time employment. UoT may change the content of programmes by a maximum of 50% with the approval of senate. However, they may not significantly change the name of a programme without the approval of the Department of Higher Education. Such an amendment could take up to two years to be effected. All qualifications will have to be transformed into the new HEQF model in the next few years. The department therefore had to make a decision either to go through this process to change the name of the programme and then soon afterwards amend it to the applicable HEQF model, or to keep the current name until a full revision is required. It was decided to do the latter with a minor amendment to the programme name: National Diploma: Cartography (GISc). The new curriculum is shown in Table 4. An important component of geomatics and GIS education is the availability and accessibility of equipment, software and data [1]. The department is reasonably well equipped with surveying, GPS and photogrammetry equipment as well as GIS software. Remote sensing and image analysis software will have to be acquired. Data sets have been provided by the City of Cape Town and Directorate: National Geospatial Information and they are very helpful in providing updates and applicable samples. It is essential for these qualifications to fulfil the requirements for registration with the SA Council for Professional and Technical Surveyors (PLATO) and to be accredited by the Education Advisory Committee. PLATO is responsible for the registration of surveyors and GISc professionals. The current Surveying diploma and B.Tech were fully accredited by PLATO in 2009. Accreditation assures students that their course material, lecturers and academic resources are within the high-quality standards and requirements of the professional bodies [1]. If the new qualification closely resembles the SGB qualifications it would probably comply with these requirements. This would, however, only be determined when the universities are accredited for GIS qualifications probably only by 2012. Surveyors and GIS technologists are becoming more involved in multidisciplinary projects and for this reason they also need skills in communication and staff management [5]. We have added a management subject to the diploma, but have also found that the communication skills of students entering the programme are declining every year. This needs to be addressed by the university and industry. Work-integrated learning Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an educational structure used worldwide in many surveying and engineering programmes. It provides opportunities for students to apply theoretical knowledge, develop and consolidate skills, reflect on practice and develop an understanding of the profession while obtaining real-world experiences [6]. If it is not part of the formal programme, it is usually recommended as some sort of vacation work. WIL is a compulsory component of all Surveying and Engineering programmes at CPUT. In some cases it is one year in the middle of the three year diploma and in other cases it is the last year. Raubenheimer [7] described the objectives as to provide a career oriented programme and to assist students to develop the (practical) skills required for their profession. The advantages are that it provides an integral learning process between theory and practice and ensures co-operation between students, university, employers and professional bodies. If the formal period of WIL is reduced or even removed from the formal qualification, care should be taken that these advantages are not lost in the process. Comparison with other programmes Whereas surveying science is easy to define and most survey practitioners know exactly what it entails and what skills a surveyor must have to perform his function, this is not the case with GISc. It is a tool used by diverse professionals such as engineers, planners, environmental managers, bankers, etc. In fact, there is almost no profession that does not make use of geographic information in one or other form. This makes it very difficult to design a curriculum to suit the different requirements of these diverse professions. Data Quality Management 3 Understand and manage data errors Data cleaning Metadata Spatial Analysis 3 Concepts of spatial queries Statistical analysis GIS project Remote Sensing 3 Remote sensing platforms Digital image processing Image classification Table 3: Content of the new subjects. 46 PositionIT June 2012

FIRST YEAR Semester 1 Semester 2 Mathematics 1 Mathematics 1 Computer Skills 1A Physics 1 Communication Skills 1 Photogrammetry 2 Surveying 1 Computer Skills 1B (CAD) Drawing 1 Civil Engineering 1 Geography 1 SECOND YEAR Semester 1 Semester 2 Mathematics 2 Geographic Information Systems 3 Cartography 3 Data Quality Management 3 Map Projections 2 Spatial Analysis 3 Statistics 1 Remote Sensing 3 Computer Applications 3 Management: Civil 1 Spatial Data Acquisition 3 Legal Principles 1 THIRD YEAR GIS experiential learning Table 4: Curriculum of ND: Cartography (GISc). GISc BoK CPUT subject Comment Analytical Methods Comp. Appl. 3, GIS 3, Spatial Analysis 3 Introductory level Conceptual Foundations Geography, GIS 3 Limited coverage Cartography & Visualisation Map Projections, Cartography 3 Design Aspects Computer Appl. 3, GIS 3, Management: Civil 1 Data Modelling Computer Appl. 3, GIS 3 Introductory level Data Manipulation Geocomputation Geospatial Data Evidence of this is visible in the Education Advisory Committee of PLATO at the moment. This committee is in the process of compiling a model which will be used to accredit universities that offer GISc. However, the members of the committee find it difficult to agree on the contents of the model. There appears to be two schools of thought: One which is based on surveying and believes that a GISc professional should have a strong scientific (surveying) background with an extensive knowledge of mathematics, positioning/surveying, GIS 3, Cartography 3, Computer Appl. 3 Data Quality Management 3, Spatial Analysis 3 Map Projections 2, Spatial Data Acquisition 3, Remote Sensing 3, Data Quality Management 3 Limited coverage GIS & T and Society Legal Principles 1, Management: Civil 1 Introductory level Organisational & Institutional Aspects GIS 3, Data Quality Management 3 Table 5: GISc BoK relating to the CPUT curriculum. Introductory level map projections, error theory and computer science. The other mostly represent people with a geography background who believe that they should have a general education based on geography, environmental science, statistics, spatial analysis and even philosophy. To get a common curriculum model that would satisfy both groups is proving to be very difficult. To evaluate a new or revised curriculum one can compare it to other university curricula or with the requirements set by industry. In a number of publications a so-called Body of Knowledge (BoK) has been published, covering the material in that area [3, 4]. One can therefore test a curriculum by comparing it to a BoK. Table 5 is an attempt to give an indication of the coverage of the GISc BoK by the CPUT curriculum. A cursory comparison between the CPUT programme and the Diploma in Geographical Information Science at the University of East London appears in Table 6. The evaluation of the CPUT curriculum reveals that it covers the basic mathematical sciences, data capture, data manipulation, mapping and visualisation. It is probably lacking in programming, modelling and geo computation. It can however be argued that these areas are more on a professional than on a technician level. Ultimately the employers of our graduates will be the main evaluators of the programme, together with PLATO accreditation. Surveying, GISc or Geomatics The debate between Surveying or Geomatics has been ongoing worldwide [2, 5, 8] including South Africa, for a few decades. It has been argued that geomatics includes a wider field than surveying and rather refers to the science of spatial information. Many universities changed the names of their programmes and departments to Geomatics, hoping to increase their student numbers, but with limited success. It was also felt that with Geomatics it would be possible to expand the traditional market of sunsets and land rovers to young people interested in information technology and spatial science. Compared to engineering or the legal profession, for example, surveying is a small and largely unknown profession. In many countries the profession has an extremely low profile when compared to other professions [5]. This has made the marketing to learners difficult because most of them are not aware of the profession. Geomatics is even less known and although it may be a better description of the modern science, it will even be more difficult to market as a possible career. Even internationally the term geomatics still remains very much unknown to the majority of high school students and the public at large [1]. Most parents and students do not know what geomatics is, whereas nearly all are familiar with e.g. Google Earth and GPS car PositionIT June 2012 47

navigation systems. The question is therefore: Do we rather use a term that best describes the science or do we use one that is possibly easier to market to prospective students and the general public? Marker [9] described how surveying and GIS were merged into a geomatics degree by offering a common knowledge base with options. An example exists in the engineering programmes where at most institutions the first year is common, while students only specialise from the second year onwards. We can also create a common knowledge base between surveying and GIS at CPUT, with common subjects such as Geography, Surveying (data capture), Map Projections, etc. Surveying/Geomatics are traditionally housed in the Engineering faculties at universities, often together with Civil Engineering. In South Africa only the Tswane University of Technology has a separate department of Geomatics, whereas at all the other universities of technology it is combined with Civil Engineering. CPUT previously had a separate department of Surveying but it has also merged with Civil Engineering in 2004. The University of KwaZulu-Natal is in the same position as CPUT, while at the University of Cape Town Geomatics is combined with Architecture and Town Planning. This trend is also visible in international programmes where, for example programmes in Canada, it is found in Civil Engineering, Geography and Arts & Science [1]. Conclusions With technology changing and developing at such a rapid rate, university curricula have to be updated regularly to ensure that graduates meet the demands of industry. CPUT is already working on the curriculum that will be introduced in terms of the HEQF. The draft makes provision for a Diploma and Bachelors degree in Geomatics. This will probably have two streams with electives so that students can either specialise in Surveying or GISc. In March 2010 the Education Advisory Committee of PLATO recommended that in terms of the new structure, candidates will need an Advanced Certificate to register as a technician and a diploma or Bachelor degree to register as surveyor/technologist. This will mean that CPUT will have to offer both these parallel qualifications to provide the necessary skilled personnel. A challenging curriculation is required to offer this within the restrictions of staff and budget. UEL CPUT subject Plane Surveying Surveying 1 Quantitative Methods Mathematics 1 & 2 Skills for Surveying Surveying, Experiential learning Mapping Cartography 3 Introduction to GIS GIS 3 Applications in GIS GIS 3, Spatial Analysis 3 Applied Information Technology Comp. Skills 1, Comp. Applications 3 Handling Spatial Data GIS 3, Comp. Appl. 3 Legal Framework for Geomatics Legal Principles 1 Data Acquisition and 3D Modelling Spatial Data Acquisition 3, Remote Sensing 3 Analysing Spatial Data Spatial Analysis 3 Digital Cartography Cartography 3 Table 6: Comparison of University of East London and CPUT curricula. Much has been said and written about the highly improved pass rate of grade 12 learners in 2010. Educators at tertiary institutions, though, find a vast number of their new students lacking in sufficient mathematical and communication skills. The harsh truth is that the current school education system and curriculum fail to adequately prepare their learners for tertiary education and even the job market in general. A remedy for the short term would be for the university to put more emphasis on preparing students in communication, mathematics and work ethics, although this is mere patching of a much larger problem that should be addressed by policy makers in the school system. In the meantime, our marketing will have to improve because we compete against the engineering, science and medical programmes for the limited number of school leavers who do have acceptable marks in Mathematics and Physics. PLATO has introduced a compulsory system of CPD (continuing professional development). This will mean that the need for short courses and post graduate courses will grow. When students leave the university it is essential that they do so with the expectation that this is not the end of their learning, but only a transition to a new phase. Acknowledgment This paper was presented at AfricaGEO 2011 and is republished here with permission. References [1] S Pagiatakis et al: The Establishment of a Geomatics Engineering program and its Challenges: The York University Case. Geomatica. 63(2). pp. 97 107, 2009. [2] H Rüther: The situation of geomatics education in Africa an endangered profession. Proceedings, 2nd FIG Regional Conference, paper PS3.2. Marrakech. December 2003. [3] D DiBiase et al: Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge. Association of American Geographers. Washington, 2006. [4] J Greenfield & L Potts: Surveying Body of Knowledge Preparing Professional Surveyors for the 21st Century. Surveying and Land Information Science. 68(3). pp. 133 143, 2008. [5] J Hannah et al: Surveying: A Profession facing a Global Crisis? Survey Review. 41(313). pp. 268 278, 2009. [6] R Webb: A New Undergraduate Model for Broadly Based Spatial Science Curriculum at Queensland University of Technology: Diversity in Surveying Curriculum. Proceedings, FIG Congress. Sydney. April 2010. [7] J H Raubenheimer: Co-Operative Education in Surveying. Proceedings, FIG Congress. Washington. April 2002. [8] G Barnes: Geomatics at the Crossroads: Time for a New Paradigm in Geomatics Education? Surveying and Land Information Science. 69(2). pp. 81 88, 2009. [9] M K Marker: Merging a GIS and Surveying Curriculum Integrating Geospatial Communities at the Oregon Institute of Technology. Surveying and Land Information Science. 67(4). pp. 209 213, 2007. [10] H J Du Plessis: Qualifications, learnerships and a proposed centre of excellence. PositionIT. May/June 2007. [11] University of East London 2011. University of East London. viewed 24 March 2011. www.uel.ac.uk/ programmes/cite/undergraduate/ surveying-map.htm Contact Raubie Raubenheimer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town South Africa, Tel 021 460-3054 raubenheimerj@cput.ac.za 48 PositionIT June 2012