9 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Featured Article National Award for Oregon Tech’s Geomatics Program The geomatics program at Oregon Institute of Technology has received a 2023 National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Surveying Education Award. The NCEES website says that this annual award recognizes surveying programs that best reflect the organization’s mission to advance licensure for surveyors in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Universities from across the U.S. applied and only 13 were awarded prizes of $10,000 to $25,000. Oregon Tech was the only school awarded the $25,000 prize. “To address the critical national shortage of licensed surveyors, this award program is intended to strengthen programs which best prepare graduates for licensure,” said Jack Walker, professor and chair of the Department of Geomatics. “This is the seventh year of the award program, and we are one of two programs that have received an award each year.” At Oregon Tech, the Geomatics program has two options for students to specialize in: Surveying or Geographical Information Systems. Students focusing on surveying use computer systems and equipment to find and define property lines, plan out subdivisions to make creative and effective designs, map boundary limits, learn how to write deed descriptions relative to property boundaries, and more. The surveying option prepares students to pass the Fundamentals of Surveying examination and pursue licensure as a registered Professional Land Surveyor. The Geographical Information Systems (GIS) option prepares students to design and construct workflows to collect, edit, analyze, store, and visualize geospatial information while preparing them to become certified GIS professionals. For more information about the geomatics program, visit www.oit.edu/academics/ degrees/geomatics. Oregon Tech Receives Approval to Offer Online Degrees After a 3-year process, the Oregon Institute of Technology announced that they have received formal approval to offer the bachelor of science surveying and bachelor of science GIS degrees fully online beginning this fall. The online degrees are ABET-accredited. In order to join the program, students must be employed in the surveying industry and have access to their firm’s equipment and software, which they will use to complete fieldwork exercises and homework assignments. To learn more about being a student in the program or to be a licensed surveyor mentoring a student, contact Jack Walker, professor and chair of the Department of Geomatics, at jack.walker@oit.edu or 541-885-1511. NEWS ADVERTISING RATES STARTING AT $330! Advertise in The Oregon Surveyor! The Oregon Surveyor is the official magazine for the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon. It reaches every member of the association and offers a great opportunity to target surveyors with your marketing efforts.
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