GIS Co-operative Project

Summary of Requirements and Responsibilities

Sir Sandford Fleming College · Geomatics Institute at Fleming

1. Introduction

The GIS Applications Specialist and GIS Cartographic Specialist programs at Sir Sandford Fleming College in Lindsay Ontario are three-semester Ontario Graduate Certificate programs.

A GIS Co-operative Project is completed during the second and third semesters of both programs, designed to help the students apply their new skills in a project-based learning environment.

A project client is usually an individual or group from a industry, government, or community organization. Clients that are internal or external to the college are welcome.

Project teams will consist of two or three students, although three is recommended, ideally with at least one student from each of the two programs above (depending on the nature of the project). Projects are completed to the best of the students' ability, with the guidance of a faculty advisor, and without labour costs to the client. However, clients should not expect the same quality of work as they would receive from a paid professional. Copies of projects are retained by the college for demonstration purposes.

2. Project Timeline

The Client's request for a GIS Co-operative Project (i.e. the "Request for Project" or “RFP”) can be submitted on the Geomatics Community site (www.GeoCommunity.net) at any time for the consideration of students and faculty. Please note, however, that RFPs should be received before November 15th of each year to be considered by students and completed by mid-August of the following year. This deadline may be flexible, pending approval of faculty member servings as the Project Liaison, particularly for projects initiated by students.

In the second semester (January to April each year), students will select a client and project, plan and design their project, prepare a proposal, and gather required source data in the Project Planning and Management course. In the third semester (May to August), during the GIS Co-operative Project course, students will complete the actual project, prepare project documentation, and conduct project demonstrations. Although students have been allocated a significant block in their semester 3 timetable to complete the project, they still have other courses and responsibilities during that semester.

The critical GIS Co-op Project events within each program cycle (from early September to mid August each year) are listed in the table below (note: this information may be adjusted to better meet the needs of those involved):

#	Event	Semester Week	Approximate Date	Responsible Party	Description
Semester 1 – September to December
1	Program Begins	wk 1	Sep 04	Students	New program cycle (Sep to Aug) begins. Students encouraged to invite potential clients to submit requests and review previously completed projects.
2	Project Introduction	wk 5	Oct 3	Faculty	Brief presentation to introduce Co-op project course stream and policies and to encourage students to solicit potential projects of interest from clients. (Occurs during the previous April for returning Geomatics Technicians.)
3	Request for Project	wk 11	Nov 15	Client	Deadline for submission of a Request for Project to Project Liaison for approval and potential completion during the following summer semester. (This deadline may be flexible, particularly for projects initiated by students.) [web 1]
4	Project Approval	wk 13	Nov 30	Faculty (Client)	Project Liaison completes review of current RFPs and possibly engages client in clarification or revision of content. Once approved, students and other faculty are notified and RFPs are available online.
5	Project Review	wk 14	Dec 05	Students	Students begin to review current RFPs, research relevant subject areas, and consider potential projects and team members.
Semester 2 – January to April – Project Planning and Management course (GEOM068)
6	Project Data	wk 2	Jan 15	Client	Deadline for receipt of client data and metadata by faculty or students. If submission of full dataset is not feasible, a representative sample dataset is required.
7	Projects Awarded	wk 3	Jan 23	Faculty (Client)	Faculty review student bids and proposed teams to award projects to approved teams and assign with Faculty member as Advisor (for Semester 2).
10	Advisor Meeting	wk 3	Jan 23	Faculty, Students	Initial meeting of Project Team with Project Advisor.
8	Project Charter	wk 4	Jan 31	Students	Project Team establishes and submits project charter to Advisor, which is a detailed, formal statement of intent.
11	Draft Proposal	wk 7	Feb 20	Students	Project Team submits preliminary proposal to Advisor and Reader (with digital copy sent to client) for comments.
12	Project Presentation	TBA	TBA	Students	Project Team presents overview of their proposed project to their peers for information sharing and suggestions. *Note: this evaluation includes participation during other presentations.
13	Proposal Feedback	TBA	TBA	Faculty, Client	Draft Proposal returned to Project Team with corrections and recommendations.
14	Final Proposal	TBA	TBA	Students	Project Team submits revised proposal to Advisor and Reader for evaluation (with digital copy to client).
15	Final Examination	TBA	TBA	Students	Students complete Project Planning and Management test.
Semester 3 – May to August – GIS Co-operative Project course (APST062)
16	Project Meeting	wk 1	May 7	Faculty	Project Advisor consults with Project Team, returns final evaluated proposal, and discusses project and housekeeping issues.
17	Milestone Meeting	wk 7	Jun 18	Students (10%)	Project Team presents interim report and demonstration of project progress and status to Advisor for evaluation based on project schedule.
18	Final Report	wk 13	July 31	Students (25%)	Project Team submits detailed description of completed project to Advisor and Reader, with User Guide and Appendices, to be evaluated based on quality and technical content.
19	Oral Defense & Project Evaluation	wks 14 & 15	Aug 05 to 15	Students (50%)	Presentation to advisor and faculty committee, evaluated based on quality of presentation and project (20%). Diagnostic testing and evaluation of final product in terms of achieving proposed objectives and satisfying client requirements. (30%)
20	Project Archive	wk 15	Aug 14	Students (5%)	Project Team organizes project archive with updated files and documentation. [web 3]
21	Public Demonstration	wk 15	Aug 14	Students (10%), Client	Students demonstrate their project to client and others during Open House.

3. Project Requirements

To fulfill project course requirements, at least four of the following six components must be part of a GIS Co-operative Project. Any exception must be approved by the student team's semester 2 faculty advisor.

Data Acquisition and/or Pre-processing - acquiring field data, directly or indirectly, independent research including: collecting attribute data, data quality assurance; conversion and preparation of spatial data in proper coordinate systems and datums, converting data into required software-specific format, clipping and edge-matching map files

Database Design and/or Processing - design and development of databases with conceptual and logical data models, or manipulating data in existing databases

Spatial and Statistical Analysis - GIS analysis (e.g. overlays, map algebra, proximity analysis) to meet specific objectives; correlation, comparisons, trend identification of empirical data

Programming - customization of software applications to meet client's specific needs, automation of complex or repetitive tasks, etc.

Presentation and Visualization - effective cartographic output and visual communication with at least one hard-copy map product

Web Technology - may include use of Flash, HTML, JavaScript, web programming, and/or web GIS for the delivery and presentation of spatial data (i.e. using the web as a cartographic medium), and in some cases, for the delivery of GIS functionality as well.

Note that the above arrangement is subject to department approval. The purpose of providing some choice in the components included in a project is to allow some flexibility in the nature of the projects that students undertake. For example, a GIS database application may be developed by a student team as a project that does not include a significant Presentation and Visualization component. Likewise, a major Cartographic project can be undertaken by a student team even if it does not include a Programming component.

4. Client Responsibilities

The client must be prepared to provide the following items to the project team:

Project Specifications - clear concise project specifications, with clearly defined progress indicators and goals, are critical for success. If necessary, students can help the client to define project specifications based on a precise description of client requirements or of the problem to be solved.

Data - When available, spatial and attribute data, together with corresponding metadata, must be provided to the student before January 15 of each year. Data acquisition, i.e. digitizing and scanning can take a considerable amount of time and does not allow the student to fulfill the other project requirements listed above. Projects with existing digital data will be given priority. If the client does not have the spatial data required for the project, the student must be given direction as to a reliable data source agency: i.e. MNR, Stats Canada. All costs associated with acquiring the data are the responsibility of the client. Any data provided by the college will remain the property of the college.

Hardware and Software - If the completion of the project requires equipment or applications that are not currently available at the college (see listings below), the client is responsible for providing the necessary hardware, software, and licensing (a six-month evaluation license is usually sufficient) to the students by the middle of semester two.

Communication - The client must be available to discuss project details with the student team, either by telephone or email, at least three times in each of semesters two and three. More regular contact is encouraged depending on the nature of the project. The client must provide the students with contact information. The client must be prepared to answer student inquiries regarding the project in a timely manner. Please understand that the students are obligated to meet course deadlines, your promptness in responding to questions will be greatly appreciated.

Participation – in addition to the requirements above, clients are expected to participate in the project as listed in the Project Timeline table above, namely: submit request for proposal (by Nov 15), submit required project data (Jan 15), assist faculty as necessary in awarding projects to student teams, provide feedback on draft proposal, and attend project demonstration during Open House (mid August).

5. Available Resources

The following is a list of resources available at Sir Sandford Fleming College for the completion of GIS Co-operative Projects. Some software is not available on all operating systems.

Hardware

Laser Printers - colour & grayscale

Colour Plotter - large format

Scanners - tabloid format

Digitizing tablets - Summa, small format

GPS Units – GeoExplorer 3, GeoXT, eTrex

CD burners and DVD burner

Software

Please refer to our listing of Geomatics software applications currently available to students at the college, along with an indication of which applications are included as part of program curriculum.

6. Student Skills

Software Applications - Please refer to the software link above for a list of all software applications available to students in the college's Geomatics labs. Also note the specific software that are included in the curriculum of the GIS Specialist programs; although all software applications are available, students will receive instruction only in those applications that are explicitly identified in the table - students must teach themselves any other software that may be required for the GIS Co-operative Project.

Curriculum Overview - The diagram below provides the names of all courses in both GIS Specialist programs, and shows course streams, sequencing, and dependencies, as well as identifying which courses are common and unique to the programs (refer to key in top-right corner).

Course Details - please refer to Program and Course Information on the Fleming College web site for details regarding current curriculum and training.

7. Questions or Comments

Please feel free to contact Karen Whillans to discuss any aspect of your GIS Co-operative Project using the email address or phone number below. The other staff listed in the table can be contacted as needed.

GIS Co-op Project Liaison	GIS Program Coordinator	GeoCommunity.net Sitemaster
Karen Whillans kwhillan@flemingc.on.ca 705-324-9144 x3724	Noreen Goodliff nkelly@flemingc.on.ca 705-324-9144 x3238	Anthony Bonnici tony@geocommunity.net

Updated: 28 September 2007