University Offers CEUs for Virtual Campus Courses

Students working toward a certificate in GIS through the University of California, Riverside, Extension (UCRX) can now fulfill some of the requirements online. UCRX began offering continuing education units (CEUs) for two Esri Virtual Campus courses, Introduction to ArcView GIS and Introduction to ArcView Spatial Analyst, in spring 1999. The 1.5 CEUs offered for each course count toward the 24 units required to complete the program.

Because the online courses can be taken anytime, anywhere, students can work them into their busy schedules and eliminate travel time as well. "These courses give students the GIS software skills they need to be successful and complete projects in applied GIS courses offered through the program," says UCRX Program Specialist Jennifer Campbell. "This year, we made them a prerequisite to our GIS Summer School program."

Students can download the Virtual Campus editions of Esri software to complete the course exercises and use it for 120 days. "Students who take Virtual Campus courses get more hands-on time with the software than they do in a traditional university computer lab," said Ron Gullon, Esri Virtual Campus manager.

UCRX is considered one of the most comprehensive GIS education programs in the United States. As of February 1999, there have been 123 graduates, 371 students have applied for candidacy, 294 classes have been offered, 45 different classes have been developed, and 3,494 students have participated in the various courses and seminars.

To receive CEUs, students must register for the courses through the university. For more information about the program, visit the UCRX Web site at www.unex.ucr.edu/gis/gis.html. To preview the courses and take a free module, visit Esri Training and Education.

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