BACKGROUND
A new GISc academic framework has been created with an embedded competency set to serve as a standard for the training of professional GISc practitioners. The format of this GISc framework is based on the structure of the University Consortium of Geographical Information Science (UCGIS) geographical information science and technology (GI S&T) body of knowledge (BoK) as the most used framework in the USA, European and many other countries. The framework includes, by the unification of different competency sets, the South African, the USA and European perspectives of the knowledge and skills regarded as essential for the GISc profession. The adoption of the GISc academic framework in South Africa will facilitate the translocation of students between universities; provide international recognition of qualifications obtained in South Africa and enable reciprocal agreements between South Africa and other countries.
The concept of the self-assessment tool (SAT) was introduced using MS Excel as a prototype. However, challenges such as the maintenance of the software, record of users, return on investment (ROI) etc. favoured the development of the SAT as a web application using a database management system in preference to the flat files used in Excel.
ABOUT THE GISc SELF ASSESSMENT TOOL (GISc SAT)
The assessment procedure involves five key steps.
Step 1. User Registration: Programme coordinator (applicant) to register and log in to the system. Edit submitted data.
Step 2. Programme detail submission: Registration of a university programme.
Step3. Module (course) detail submission: Enter the modules related to the registered university programme.
Step4. Programme module and unit (competency) matching: Match the respective modules with the related units and knowledge areas (KAs) in the GISc academic framework.
Step5. Display assessment results and report: Assessor or accreditation panel make recommendations.
User Registration
In Step 1 on the home page a new user is required to establish a personal profile using the ‘Create new account’ link on the right-hand side of the home page frame.
The information requested on the ‘User account’ page is compulsory and must be provided by the applicant to meet security and privacy requirements.
To complete the University field, a drop-down list containing the names of all the South African universities is presented from which users can make an appropriate selection. Users can also add the name of university if it is not in the list. The tool requires users to indicate if they are registering in their private capacity or on behalf of an institution, so as to distinguish between a student wanting to register with the professional body and a university coordinator requesting the accreditation of a university programme. On completion of all the required fields users must press the Create new account button to save the information. The system generates a temporary password which is sent to the e-mail address provided by a user. Users must log in to the system with temporary password within 24 hours after registration. At the first login, users are requested to select a new password which replaces the temporary one. Once this process has been completed, users can proceed with adding a university academic programme.
Programme detail submission
During Step 2 of the assessment procedure users can add a new programme to the SAT. This is done by pressing the Add academic programme menu item. A new page containing a form will open.
The information requested on the Add academic programme page is compulsory and must be provided by an applicant. The form has two fields namely Programme and Total Credits. In the Programme field users must add the programme to be assessed and in the Total Credits field users insert the total number of credits for the programme. Once the fields have been completed users select the ‘save’ button to store the entered information in the user database. A message appears at the top of the page to notify users that the programme has been successfully created. This information can be reviewed and updated using the View academic programme menu item.
Module (course) detail submission
In Step 3 users load the modules of the programme to be assessed by selecting the Add a module menu item. Users are presented with a form into which information about to the module must be entered.
The information requested on the Add a module page is compulsory and must be provided by an applicant. To complete the University field, a drop-down list containing the names of all the South African universities is presented from which users make the appropriate selection. The page also requires users to add the subject and module name as well as the total number of credits for the module. The credits are used by the SAT when the modules are matched to the framework and will inform users when the number of credits matched exceeds the total credits entered. Once the information has been entered, users select the save button. Multiple modules can be entered by repeatedly completing and saving the form.
The View my modules menu item is used to view all the modules entered by a user. Existing modules can be edited or deleted by using the associated buttons. If no modules have been captured, the View my modules page will inform users that no modules are available and direct users to the Add a module page.
The credits entered are used by the SAT when the modules are matched to the framework and inform users when the number of credits matched exceeds the total number of credits entered.
When all the modules have been ingested into the user database, users can proceed to the next step of the assessment procedure, namely to match each module with the GISc academic framework.
Programme module and unit (competency) matching
Step 4 involves a systematic matching of competencies (units) in the GISc framework to the modules in the user database. This is done by comparing the content of a module (the content is assumed to be known to users) to the units in the GISc framework. If the content of the module is similar to a unit’s content, users can match that unit to the module. A module can potentially be matched with several units and a unit can relate to several different modules. The process is facilitated by the Match modules to framework menu item which opens the Match a related module page. The page presents a form consisting of three fields:
a) Module – A drop-down list permits the selection of the module to be matched.
b) Knowledge Area (KA) – Specifies the KA of the unit that matches the content of the module. Once the KA is selected from the drop-down list a Unit field is added to the form. The Unit field allows users to select the appropriate unit from a drop-down list of all the units associated with the selected KA.
c) Match Credits – Quantifies how many credits (and indirectly learning hours) of a particular module are dedicated to the content of the selected unit.
All combinations of matched modules and units are dynamically added to the Match a related module page. The user can at any time modify the matched items using the edit or delete functions. The credits allocated to each module and unit combination, form the basis of the SAT as it allows a quantitative comparison between the programme and the GISc framework. The system ensures that the number of credits matched to a particular module does not exceed the total number of credits associated with the module (as defined in Step 3 of the assessment procedure). For instance, if WTW 128: Calculus module includes an “8/8” notation in the Module Credits column it implies that all eight credits of the particular module were matched to the MS1: Mathematics unit. A “4/8” module credit notation indicates that only four of the eight credits of for example WTW 126: Linear Algebra module have been allocated to the MS1: Mathematics unit.
Display assessment results and report
Step 5 produces a summary report of the matched modules and units. The tool is activated by selecting the My report menu item.
The report is structured according to a specific KA and shows the name of the KA as well as the total number of credits required according to the GISc framework. Each module that was matched to the units credits is listed along with the matched credits and the gap between the matched credits and required credits is calculated by the SAT.
Conclusion
By applying the GISc SAT the new GISc framework and competency set can be used by universities to develop level-specific (i.e. years 1 to 5) syllabi that would better prepare individuals for professional registration and assessors can advise universities on how to modify their current programmes to provide training that is more in line with industry requirements.
The implementation of the assessment tool using three examples has proofed to be cost and time effective. The assessment and preparation time for both the university and the assessment panel is considerably less than using a manual process to do the same analysis. During the implementation using the examples, the average assessment were completed in approximately 30 to 40% of the time normally spends on the same manual assessment process. The saving in time and consequently costs can vary, depending on how familiar the user is with the university programme, modules and the GISc framework and competencies. The more aligned the university programme is with the GISc framework the more likely it is that further savings in time and costs can be attained.