Geospatial technology consortium of community colleges (GTC3)

The National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education awarded $2.997 million to the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) on July 1, 2025, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to establish the Geospatial Technology Consortium of Community Colleges (GTC3). This three-year project, concluding June 30, 2028, will develop a modern Geographic Information System (GIS) curriculum and comprehensive professional development program designed to address the gap between industry practices and educational instruction. The initiative will deliver structured educator training through multiple mechanisms, including GeoAcademy Sessions, Summer Institutes, GeoED, the GeoEDC, and a GeoFellows Program, equipping community college instructors with contemporary GIS competencies required for workforce-ready student instruction.

The GTC3 project leverages a collaborative consortium approach to ensure that participating community colleges develop practical, discipline-specific learning modules responsive to evolving industry demands. By enhancing educator expertise in modern GIS applications, the grant supports the Advanced Technological Education Program's mission to prepare skilled technicians for advanced-technology fields critical to national economic competitiveness. This award reflects NSF's commitment to fostering innovation in STEM education while building a technical workforce equipped with geospatial technology proficiencies across Kentucky's 16-institution community and technical college network.

Abstract

A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system that analyzes and displays geographically referenced information. IT uses data that is attached to a unique location, and allows users to visualize and understand patterns, relationships, and trends across different spatial datasets. Despite the widespread adoption of GIS tools and techniques across various industries, educational curricula have struggled to keep pace. Several factors contribute to this GAP, including the rapid advancement of GIS technology, limited awareness among educators about emerging GIS tools relevant to their fields, and insufficient professional development opportunities to enhance educators' expertise in these areas. As a result, there is often a disconnect between current industry practices and the content taught in classrooms, leaving students underprepared for the modern technological workforce. The geospatial technology consortium of community colleges (GTC3) will develop a modern geospatial information systems (GIS) curriculum that will be facilitated by an innovative professional development program, including geoacademy sessions, summer institutes, geoed, the geoedc, and a geofellows program. These initiatives will equip educators with the skills to incorporate modern GIS into their curricula; enhancing student learning experiences for today's workforce. The collaborative consortium approach will ensure that educational programs remain responsive to evolving industry demands, promote innovation in modern GIS education, develop practical, discipline-specific learning modules, and contribute to building a skilled technical workforce. This project is funded by the advanced technological education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.