NSF Org:	DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education
Recipient:
Initial Amendment Date:	August 2, 2005
Latest Amendment Date:	August 2, 2005
Award Number:	0500708
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	David B. Campbell DUE  Division Of Undergraduate Education EHR  Direct For Education and Human Resources
Start Date:	August 1, 2005
End Date:	July 31, 2009 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$280,121.00
Funds Obligated to Date:
History of Investigator:	Richard Phillips (Principal Investigator) rphillips@me.vccs.edu Shuler Ringley (Co-Principal Investigator) Bernd Kuennecke (Co-Principal Investigator) Chuks Ogbonnaya (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Mountain Empire Community Col 3441 Mountain Empire Road Big Stone Gap VA  US  24219-4634 (276)523-2400
Sponsor Congressional District:
Primary Place of Performance:
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	ADVANCED TECH EDUCATION PROG
Primary Program Source:
Program Reference Code(s):	1032, 9178, SMET
Program Element Code(s):	741200
Award Agency Code:
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ABSTRACT

Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) and its partners are establishing the "Today's Education and Careers in Geographic Information Systems" (TEC GIS) Partnership to integrate GIS technology into public school and community college classrooms and encourage students to pursue careers in the fields of environmental science, forestry and computer aided drafting and design. The curricula for these programs are being updated to include revised courses integrating GIS concepts. Students in these majors are being encouraged to complete the GIS Certificate and an internship to enhance knowledge and skills, as well as opportunities for future employment.

Public school students participate in Governor's School sessions on GIS. Local public school teachers participate in workshops on how to use GIS to meet the Virginia Standards of Learning. The workshops are being conducted by OVERspace, a program jointly funded by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and the Virginia Department of Education. Community college and four year college faculty members are participating in GIS Institutes to prepare them for curriculum development and articulation. The MECC Certificate in GIS is being articulated with a proposed minor in GIS at the University of Virginia's College at Wise, with the B. S. in Geography program at Radford University, and with the B. S. degree program in Surveying and Mapping at East Tennessee State University.

The project meets local, state and national needs of business and industry to increase the number of GIS technicians. Faculty professional development sponsored by the project increases the utilization of GIS tools for discipline-based instruction.

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