Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/109821
Students in GIS benefit enormously from courses in other departments (and vice versa). apparently is facing a $32 million budget shortfall over the next four years. Although Canadian university administrators continue to express platitudes (Guelph���s Provost, Maureen Mancuso, arguing that ���one of the highest-weighted criteria is ... essentiality���), in the ���nal analysis, it���s really all about money. And if that���s the case, why don���t those self-same administrators give faculty free rein to generate new income with trendy and popular new courses that can be delivered in traditional lecture or online format? Chasing Tails One problem with the Dickeson approach is that if every university deploys it, they may all end up cutting the same courses and programs: the usual suspects of humanities, languages and ���ne arts. University administrators must be made to realize that the problem is systemic, and that if they all adopt the same solution, those courses that appear to no longer be needed will suddenly become highly prized, and universities that have gone against the mainstream, that have not adopted the Dickeson refrain, will begin to attract the best students. That���s not the only problem facing the shortsighted adoption of Dickeson���s method that has manifested itself in such decisions as the University of Regina���s cancellation of its bachelor degree in arts and culture. Other problems include a potential new surge in the popularity of these cancelled courses when it���s realized that they���re essential to the promotion of, for example, a newly globalized business culture (languages?) or human terrain mapping for homeland security and the protection of American forces overseas (humanities courses and cultural programs?). This shouldn���t be so dif���cult to grasp. When all concerned adopt the same short-term strategy, it���s a bit like six-year-old soccer players who all follow the ball around, ignoring the opportunities in the open spaces of the rest of the ���eld. economic activity. It���s likewise important to the public sector for the location and management of facilities (e.g., emergency, ���re stations, schools, libraries, etc.). It���s also a key element of military and intelligence operations and logistics. In addition, GIS is useful to many other academic disciplines, and service courses in GIS remain hugely popular with students across most university campuses. However, students in GIS bene���t enormously from courses in other departments (and vice versa). Courses in transportation science, climate science, criminology, environmental studies and a host of other disciplines allow GIS students to apply their technical skills to those areas. Courses in qualitative analysis from Departments of Education and Feminist Studies, Narrative Analysis, Con���ict Resolution, Cultural Studies and, indeed, the whole range of the arts allow the budding Geographic Information Scientist to extend his or her range of skills, contribution to society and ability to qualify for a job. Let���s remember this before abolishing departments and programs that appear to be less popular in the here and now. The twittering classes have already weighed in heavily on the Globe and Mail���s original article, with nearly 600 comments appearing on social media sites at the time of writing. However, the question remains not whether program prioritization should be adopted or abandoned, but whether we can improve on its presently ���awed implementation. ADVERTISERINDEX ADVERTISER PAGE Esri www.esri.com/geowldagol 5 GeoWorld on Facebook www.facebook.com/geoworldmag GeoWorld Subscriptions www.geoplace.com/subscribe 32 9 How Would Geographic Information Science Fare? Prima facie, it would seem that departments specializing in GIS will be secure. First, this is a subject and discipline that���s extremely useful to the private sector for business planning and the location of GeoWorld Web Mapping eBook www.geoplace.com/ebooks F E B R U A R Y 2 O 1 3 / 31 W W W . G E O P L A C E . C O M 13