Has anyone graduated from or been taking classes at Great Basin College? I will be enrolling there in the Fall with an associates from OSU OKC and want to ask some questions about their online Surveying Progam.
I am not taking classes there, yet. I have been in contact with Byron Calkins, and has been very helpful.
I'm trying to find out if they do their classes similar to Oklahoma State. They would post lectures and class content Sunday night at midnight and you had until the next Sunday to read the material, watch the lectures and turn in any work.
I took a couple classes from them. I seem to remember something similar to what you are describing. Contact [email protected]. He was my professor, and should be able to answer your questions.
I believe [USER=681]@Kurt Luebke[/USER] graduated from there in the last 2 years. He'd have some great insight.
Like many programs the Great Basin program is very week on law. A few years ago the class were set up with weekly mandatory Web conferences. At least one class required a licence surveyor to sign off on lab assignments.
You will learn how to deal with survey measurements and staristics. You will revive the bare minimum in legal instruction. I found the University of Wyoming program much more applicable to my career.
I took two legal classes at Metropolitan College at Longview in Missouri. I took them over the internet, and was impressed. I believe David Gantt was my instructor.
Several strikes against survey law, especially at small programs.
1/ Survey Law is most often an afterthought to a survey degree program.
2/ Even a PhD in surveying has limited legal experience.
3/ Small programs have limited faculty resources, sometimes only one.
4/ That faculty member may not have any degree in surveying, let alone an advanced degree.
5/ Instructors teach to their strength, most likely not law.
6/ Many programs try to cover it all in one course, by a survey faculty member.
7/ Boundary Law is an advanced course and should have prerequisites, often that are not a part of the program.
Advance survey courses require prior survey education, but generally not legal education.
You can educate yourself beyond the limits of any single program. I had had 2 Business Law courses, a Legal Research course and a Real Estate Law course prior to advancing my survey education. All were at local community colleges. Legal principals are the same no matter what the subject, so that diverse education gave me a perspective for Boundary Law courses.
Keep in mind that an education comes from more than books, and any education is a better start than no education.
Also keep in mind that at least 2 of the 3 surveyors on Mount Rushmore studied and practiced the Law.
Paul in PA
I can understand a College like Great Basin being weak on Law, they have online classes and it seems most of their students are from different states. Each state has different Laws on boundary and applying court cases.
The book Decisions by Ken Gold is the book we used in my Legal class.
I have 2 Legal Principles courses already through Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City taught by Dennis Mouland. He also teaches at UWyo. He was good and I learned a great deal. You may be right about the University of Wyoming program, but I am trying to get my licence in Texas and they accept the Great Basin BAS Degree. I don't think that UWyo offers a Bachelors, I can only find a certificate. I was going to go to Texas A&M Corpus Christi for their Geomatics Engineering program, but they have decided to close their online program due to lack of students.
-I don't like the Idea of Web Conferences. I like to be able to do the class when I have time during the week, but it is what it is
I don't think being online makes a boundary law class any better or worse. You either have a good Boundary law teacher or you don't. We used Boundary Control and Legal Principles for Legal Principles I and the Manual of Surveying Instructions for Legal Principles II. The manual was not an easy read.
Laws may vary from state to state but legal principles seldom vary.
Because few states have established laws to cover 100% of survey problems a Court will listen to rulings from other states.
The boundary law experts that write the books and appear in the courts and teach our CEUs are not licensed in every state but are seldom turned away. They are not in court to do the lawyers job, they are there so that the lawyer has the best opportunity to do his.
Paul in PA
I'm currently enrolled in the GBC BSA program. PM me if you have any questions.
I'm almost done with the program. 3 more classes to go. I believe it is a great program. You do get your assignments on Monday and it's due by midnight on Sunday. Some classes differ a little. There is some online conference. Most is up to you to read, watch and study. PM me of you have more questions.
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I'm new to Surveyor Connect. Where is the PM option?
Click on the avatar and select "Start a Conversation".
Paul in PA
PS, you have one from me.
As Rankin indicated, I graduated last May and would be happy to answer questions as well. Contact me if you need help. Byron is a great guy and the program has many good points. Obviously being an online program, it will have some things that aren't going to be as good as brick and mortar. But being able to get a degree while working anywhere in the country, is a positive cost effective option for many.
Kurt
TxSRVYR, post: 374242, member: 11744 wrote: Has anyone graduated from or been taking classes at Great Basin College? I will be enrolling there in the Fall with an associates from OSU OKC and want to ask some questions about their online Surveying Progam.
I have been enrolled in the program for several years, and I am just a few credits shy of graduation. About the only problem I have with the school at this point is the availability of classes that you need to complete the degree. Ie. Calculus seems to never be offered online when I want to take it. Having said that, the program is excellent. I give credit to the program entirely for helping me pass my FS exam last year, and helping my pass my NYS State specific this year. I did not pass the PS, but that is because I was juggling Physics and that exam at the same time, and even with that, I got a 67 on the PS exam. It is a great program for those who do not have the time to physically show up for class because of other engagements, but they will definitely make you work for it. I took a few classes with Kurt, I believe he recently graduated. Talk to Byron Calkins, he is the head of the department over there. He is a solid teacher and a great guy to deal with.
Have you had any bad experiences with GBC. Do they get back to emails very well? For the most part OSU OKC's online program was great, but some of the teachers didn't respond to emails well or set up quizzes and exams over things we had not been taught. Did any of you experience things like this? Also, I have been using Desire2Learn as a web platform for my classes. Byron tells me they use Canvas. Is that a pretty easy to use program to navigate and keep up with assignments?
TxSRVYR, post: 374453, member: 11744 wrote: Have you had any bad experiences with GBC. Do they get back to emails very well? For the most part OSU OKC's online program was great, but some of the teachers didn't respond to emails well or set up quizzes and exams over things we had not been taught. Did any of you experience things like this? Also, I have been using Desire2Learn as a web platform for my classes. Byron tells me they use Canvas. Is that a pretty easy to use program to navigate and keep up with assignments?
I've used both programs. D2L for the calculus classes I need. Found canvas much easier to use
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