1. Future Directions for GISCI and the Exam
Rebecca Somers
Somers-St.Claire
GIS Management Consultants
Fairfax, Virginia
February 2015

2. Overview GISP® and other GIS certifications Why obtain certification?
Future directions for GISCI
What it means now

3. GIS Certifications

4. GISP® Certification GIS Professional Certification Issued by GISCI
AAG, GITA, GLIS, NSGIC, UCGIS, URISA
Since 2004
Certification of GIS achievement, competency, and professionalism:
Experience
Education
Contributions
Portfolio; exam to be added in 2015

5. Other GIS Certifications
ASPRS—suite of certifications including:
Certified photogrammetrist (1975)
Certified mapping scientist (GIS/LIS, RS) (1991)
Certified GIS/LIS technologist
Esri Technical Certifications
Since 2010

6. Other Credentials Certificates Badges and “micro-credentials”
Completion of an education program
Badges and “micro-credentials”
Indicate accomplishments
Licensure
Legal requirement

7. Why Obtain Certification?

8. Why Get Certified? Document GIS professional achievement
Professional recognition
Greater earning and advancement potential
Credentials used to prescreen
Credential creep (DiBiase, 2014)
Growing preference for GIS certification
Grow the GIS profession

9. Growing Preference for GISP® Certification
More than 100 recent (Oct-Nov 2014) job listings included a preference for GISP® Certification
Public & private sectors
All types of jobs, including:
GIS manager
Geospatial analyst
GIS coordinator
GIS technician
Project planner
Department director

10. Growing Recognition of GISP® Certification
States are endorsing the GISP® Certification, including:
North Carolina
New Jersey
Ohio
Oregon
California
Montana

11. Grow the GIS Profession
It’s not just what you get from certification
What your participation contributes:
Increase GIS professional recognition
Increase GIS professional cooperation
Modular and portable GIS certifications

12. Future Directions for GISCI

13. GISP® Certification Development and Status
1997
2001
2004
2015
Feasibility & Discussion
URISA Certification Committee
GISCI
More than 7000 GISPs
Dev. of GISP® Certification Process
NOTES ON HISTORY:
1990s: Various discussions regarding whether GIS was true profession and whether certification was feasible and advisable began in earnest in the early 90s and continued through out formation of the program. (Key early input by Bill Huxhold, Nancy Obermeyer, David DiBiase, Rebecca Somers, and others)
1997: URISA formed a GIS Certification Committee in 1997.
2001: The first design of the GISP® certification was developed in It was subsequently discussed, and revised throughout Although minor revisions have been made over the years, the basic portfolio established in 2001 and finalized in 2003 remains the basis of GISP certification.
The pilot project for the GISP® certification was conducted with a group of GIS professionals in Georgia in These individuals earned the first GISP® certification designation in the fall of 2003.
2004: GISCI was formed as an independent non-profit in 2004.
VARIOUS REFERENCES, IF NEEDED:
Feasibility research and discussion, selected references:
AAG Panel, “Is GIS a new (academic) discipline?” Bob Aangeenbrug (organizer), Mike Goodchild, Derek Gregory, David Cowen, Robert Sack (General consensus: GIS does not stand alone as a discipline.)
Obermeyer, Nancy. “GIS: A New Profession?” The Professional Geographer, 46(4) 1994, pp
Obermeyer, Nancy. “Certifying GIS Professionals: Challenges and Alternatives,” Journal of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (5:1) 1993,pp
Somers, Rebecca, "Defining the GIS Profession." GeoInfo Systems magazine, p , May 2000, Advanstar Communications, Eugene, OR.
Various articles and conference presentations and panels—pros and cons of GIS certification: Bob Aangeenbrug, Mike Goodchild, Bill Huxhold, Karen Kemp, Rebecca Somers, Lyna Wiggins, others
1997 URISA Certification Committee:
Chairs: Nancy Obermeyer ( ); Bill Huxhold, ( )
Members from public organizations, industry, academia:
Bob Aangeenbrug, Heather Annulis, Bob Barr, William Bowdy, Judy Boyd, Al Butler, Tim Case, Roger Chamard, Will Craig, David DiBiase, Peirce Eichelberger, Joe Ferreira, Keith Fournier, Steven French, Cindy Gaudet, Josh Greenfield, Ann Johnson, Karen Kemp, Jury Konga, Joel Morrison, Sherman Payne, Michael Renslow, Warren Roberts, Mark Salling, Joe Sewash, Rebecca Somers, Curt Sumner, Geney Terry, Eugene Turner, Barry Waite, Lynda Wayne, Suzanne Wechsler, Elaine Whitehead, Lyna Wiggins, Thomas Wikle
Current GISP® Certification Process: Portfolio—experience, education, contributions

14. Professional Certification Development
1997
2001
2004
2015
GISCI GISP® Certification
Feasibility
Comm.
GISP® Cert.
GISCI
Start accred. & exam
7000 GISPs
1989
2002
~2005
2009
2013
NCCA/ICE (Nat. Commission for Certifying Agencies/Institute for Credentialing Excellence)
Background notes:
During the same time period as the GISP® certification program was being developed, significant developments were occurring in the field of Professional Certification.
NCCA developed standards and procedures for professional certification and requirements for certifying organizations. (NOCA was the predecessor of NCCA.)
ANSI also developed standards and procedures for personnel certification and requirements for certifying organizations.
Note that both of these standards were under development while the GISP® certification was being developed, and were not released until after the GISP certification was released.
Therefore, GIS in , GISCI decided to add an exam to strengthen the GISP® certification, better align it with professional certification standards, and to seek accreditation for the GISP® certification.
NCCA/NOCA
Certification Standards
ICE
Update
2003
2012
ANSI/ISO
ANSI/ISO 17024: Personnel Certification
Update

15. Professional Certification Standards
NCCA and ANSI set professional certification standards
NCCA and ANSI accredit certifying organizations
GISCI plans to meet these standards and achieve accreditation for the GISP® Certification and any other certifications it may develop
Certification is for protection of the public, not just advancement of the profession.

16. Professional Certification Standards
Validated by a Job Analysis
The tasks job incumbents perform
The knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to perform them
Independent
Accreditation
Assessment instrument—process & result
Certifying organization’s operations and governance

17. Job Analysis and Certification Development
Job Definition & Certification Purpose
Job Analysis
Tasks
KSAs
Linkage & Validity
Certification/Assess-ment Specification
Resources: Lit., References, BoK, Best Practices
Psychometric Validation/review
Assessment Instrument
Certification

18. Professional Certification
is Based On
Job Analysis
Essential method for determining the content of a certification assessment
Must adhere to accepted methodology
Must demonstrate and document job-relatedness
Unambiguously required by psychometric standards
Not directly derived from
Competency model or skills list (GISCI used the GTCM Tier 4, core technical competencies, as a guideline)
General BoK (GISCI used GIS&T BoK used as reference)
Best practices
Job Analysis is a standard, accepted, and required industry practice for the development of professional certifications.
A certification assessment cannot be based on or derived directly from competency models, general/academic bodies of knowledge, or best practices, but these may be included, as appropriate, in the certification development resources.
An Essential Body of Knowledge is derived from the required knowledge derived from a Job Analysis, so in these terms, it is more direct and specific than an academic body of knowledge.

19. GISP® Certification Update
Addition of an exam to strengthen the GISP® certification
Align with Job Analysis
Prepare for accreditation

20. Job Analysis First direct job analysis for GIS professionals
Several focus groups of job incumbents spanning all sectors, job types, and levels of experience (more than 50)
Validation survey--more than 350 individuals spanning all sectors, job types, and experience levels
Results vary somewhat from GIS&T BoK and GTCM—mostly in emphasis

21. Exam Development Job Analysis Exam Blueprint Exam Content Pilot
Cut Score
Final Exam

22. Alignment of Portfolio Requirements
Validate (with respect to Job Analysis results)
Adjust (to Job Analysis results)

23. Preparation for Accreditation
Exam (to supplement portfolio)
Certification process validation and documentation
Operational adjustments
Governance adjustments

24. Moving Forward
Not only validate GISP® certification through accreditation…
GISP® certification will serve as foundation for other certifications
New GIS certifications
Linkage to related certification

25. Additional/Specialty GIS Certifications
Sponsoring organization or interest group discuss with GISCI—define job/certification
Determine relationship to GISP® certification
GISCI follow standard certification development process (job analysis, validation, etc.)
SMEs, job incumbents, and resources from across industry
Certification granted and operated by GISCI
Business driver—membership/activity for sponsoring organization

26. Additional/Specialty GIS Certifications
“Sponsor”
GISCI
Job Definition & Certification Purpose
Job Description/Scope
Relationship to GISP ®
Industry-wide Job Incumbents & SMEs
Job Analysis
Tasks
KSAs
Linkage & Validity
Certification/Assess-ment Specification
Assessment Instrument
Guidance on Resources
Psychometric Validation/review
Membership/
Services
Certification

27. Additional GIS Professional Certifications Based On
Job Analysis
Essential method for determining the content of a certification assessment
Must adhere to accepted methodology
Must demonstrate and document job-relatedness
Not based on
Competency model or skill list, BoK, or best practices
These are references
Certifying organizations follow Professional Certification standards, practices, and guidelines
Alignment of the GISP® certification and future GISCI certifications with standard professional certification development processes and modules will also enable GISCI to work with existing and developing certifications by interfacing common modules.

28. What it Means Now

29. What to Expect
Two-part GISP® certification process: Portfolio and Exam
Begin application process at any time with either component
6 years to complete application

30. GISCI Geospatial Core Technical Knowledge Exam® Blueprint
Knowledge Area
Weight
Conceptual Foundations Cartography and Visualization GIS Design Aspects and Data Modeling GIS Analytical Methods Data Manipulation Geospatial Data
12% 14% 29% 17% 15% 13%
GISCI will release the exam blueprint (list of knowledge areas covered by the exam, not the specific questions) before the exam is offered, maybe concurrent with the pilot.  This is the information that universities (or any organization) will need to design exam prep courses.

31. What to Expect: Exam Exam pilot winter 2015
GISCI Geospatial Core Technical Knowledge Exam® mid 2015
All GISP® certification applicants will be required to take the exam once it starts
Initially, the exam will be offered at testing centers on specific dates
Exam availability will increase shortly thereafter
Initially, the exam will be offered through established testing centers.  Opportunities to offer the exam online or by paper-and-pencil events will be discussed later, probably during 2015, with possible implementation later in 2015 or 2016 and beyond.
The exam fee is not yet settled (as of September 2014) and will probably be announced before the end of the year (2014). 
A candidate can retake the exam if they fail it. However, the number of times a candidate can retake the exam (as well as any required waiting time, will be determined early next year (2015).

32. What to Expect: GISP Certification
Minimal change in the portfolio component
Recertify without exam
Process changes coming in July 2015

33. What to Expect: GISP Certification Changes
July 1, 2015: Changes take effect
3 year certification and recertification periods
Every new applicant must take exam
New fee structure
Certification application fee: $100
Certification exam fee: $250
Certification portfolio review fee: $100
Annual renewal fee: $95
Recertification: every 3 years; no fee—covered by renewal fees
Until July 1, 2015: Current process remains
5 year certification and recertification (“renewal”) periods
Current certification and recertification fees

34. What to Expect: GISP Certification Changes
July 1, 2015: Changes take effect
GISP certification will cost approx. $100/yr. for career

35. GISCI Directions More than just an exam… Accreditation:
Alignment of GISP® certification and GISCI with accepted professional certification development standards and practice
Validation of GISP® certification
Stronger foundation for additional/related GIS certifications

36. What To Think About Which certifications are right for you?
GISP® certification:
Get certified for what you already have achieved
Certification can help advance your career
Help grow the GIS profession

37. For More Information
Rebecca Somers, GISCI Exam Development Project Manager:
Bill Hodge, GISCI Executive Director:

38. For More Information
Rebecca Somers, “GISCI’s GISP® Certification, Evolution, and Future Directions”, URISA GIS Pro 2014 Proceedings. Also available at gisci.org.
Tripp Corbin. “GIS Certification: To Certify or Not Certify”, URISA GIS Pro Proceedings 2014.
David DiBiase, “Credential Creep in the GIS Field—For Good or for Ill?”, Esri blog (