Accredited Course Points

In addition to Credential (Degree) Points, applicants may claim Course Points for any GIS-related course, workshop, or other formal, documented educational activity. The number of points earned per course or workshop is determined by the number of Student Activity Hours (the time that a student spends both inside and outside the classroom completing reading or homework assignments, studying, or other preparations) that each course entails.

GISCI awards one course point for every 40 documented Student Activity hours.

In most cases, transcripts, certificates of completion and other documentation do not disclose the number of activity hours that successful students are expected to invest in a course or workshop. Activity hours for credit courses offered by colleges and universities can be estimated, however, by multiplying the number of credits earned per course times 40, a standard estimate for student activity per credit hour.

For example:

  • A 3-credit hour college or university course qualifying for points will qualify for 3 Education points in the portfolio.  Using the calculation of 40 total student activity hours per credit hour will allow the web site to properly calculate the correct number of points.
  • A non-credit college or university course or workshop for which participants earn Education points will be calculated on the same scale, using the hours of attendance.
  • Most workshops and vendor training do not offer CEU credits, but these do qualify. The applicant will take the number of hours spent in the workshop.

Only formal courses and workshops that focus specifically upon GIS science, technology, and/or applications are eligible for Course Points. Relevant courses may be counted even if they were completed as part of another degree or certificate program for which the applicant has also claimed Credential Points or for a degree that was not completed. Course titles should be listed in the schedule as they appear on the supporting transcript, syllabi, or other documentation. Non-specific course titles such as ‘Special Issues in Geography’ can be augmented with the actual course topic e.g., ‘Special Issues in Geography: Error Analysis’

 

Non-Accredited Course Points

Applicants may claim credit for any GIS-related training. In most cases, transcripts, certificates of completion, and other documentation do not disclose the number of activity hours that successful students are expected to invest in a course or workshop.  The GISCI awards one course point for every 40 documented training hours.

 

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