(Not sure if this was posted before)
NCEES (the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying) is conducting a survey to improve our understanding of the current knowledge required for newly graduated surveyors and surveyors in training, and allow us to make sure the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) examinations reflect current best practice. Your answers will be treated confidentially, and reported only as grouped data. Be assured that your input adds to the integrity of the process. We appreciate you sharing your expertise with us. It is important to capture as many aspects of fundamental surveying as possible. It should take less than 30 minutes to complete the survey. If you need to complete the survey in more than one session, you may return to the survey if you use the same computer and have "cookies" enabled. The survey will return to the place you last exited. Please DO NOT hit "Done" on the very last page of the survey before completing the survey, otherwise, you will not be allowed to go back. When you are ready, click the following link, or copy it and paste it into your browser.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NCEES_FS_ContentReview
I Have Not Yet Seen The "Body Of Knowkedge"
...that survey educators were supposed to come up with.
It appears that not even the few professors could agree.
Paul in PA
Answered the questionaire last week at the urging of our local Society of Land Surveyors.
Thought it was a good way to give input on the subject. I suggest everyone should take the time.
I just completed the NCEES questionnaire. I encourage everyone interested in the future of surveying to respond to the questionnaire.
Several comments:
1. I would like to see a similar questionnaire developed for the Principles of Practice exam. The temptation for me was to cram everything into the Fundamentals Exam category. We need to recognize that professional maturity is a never-ending accumulative process.
2. I am one of the surveying professors who couldn't agree. The discussion of various viewpoints was healthy and very respectful. That is the way it should be unless you are looking for someone to do your thinking for you. I submit that should not be the case as professionals need to collect the evidence, evaluate differences of opinion in the context of personal experience, and contribute well reasons observations/opinions to the overall discussion.
I did the survey right after I posted.
What they should do is that last question where you give percentages, should be on a spreadsheet that gives you your total. I was fortunate that the first time through my total was 100%, so I checked it twice. Then I changed some precentages after looking at the balance of each and hit 100% again, checked it 3 times. All in all that was about the only thing right I did today.
Paul in PA
E F Burkholder?
Are you responding to my "Body of Knowledge" statement.
I believe there should be an agreeable body of knowledge, but each institution can emphasize it as they wish. I do not think in 4 years any college can cover it all. Penn State Wilkes-Barre and NJIT both go with 45 surveying credits with zero emphasis on the PLSS.
Celestial Observations and Geodesy barely gets touched anywhere and there is a dearth of Surveying History courses.
Paul in PA
Already done.
I did it too.