Report to: MSPS Board of Directors August 8, 2001
RE: NCEES Annual Meeting
Little Rock, Arkansas
August 1 through August 4, 2001
This was the 80th Annual Meeting of NCEES There were over 250 delegates representing 67 licensing boards from throughout the nation and territories of the U.S. Also in attendance were representatives of 25 affiliated or interested organizations.
Michigan was well represented at the meeting. From MSPS were our Executive Director, Mr. Self, our President, Mr. Amey, and myself as the POLC representative. From the Board of Licensing of Surveyors were Mr. Victor Lukasavitz and Mr. Sayed Hashimi. From the Board of Licensing of Engineers were Mr. David Mester, Mr. Abe Munfakh and Mr. Lukasavitz who serves as the surveyor representative to the Engineers Board.
There were only two items discussed at this meeting that I believe may significantly affect surveying. The first item, which has an almost immediate impact on graduating surveyors, was a motion by the Computer Based Testing (CBT) Oversight Group to not perform CBT beta tests at this time. Previously the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Examination was scheduled to transition from a paper-and-pencil format to a computer-based format very shortly. CBT is now relegated to a long term process of development only after obtaining feedback from all stakeholders including potential licensees. Attached are two documents about this subject which will be available to interested individuals through the main office. The first is an analysis of the issues facing NCEES if the transition was made to CBT and how the general principles of testing and test validating would apply to the NCEES examinations. The second document is the report of the CBT Oversight Group with their recommendations which essentially postponed indefinitely CBT.
The second item will not have any immediate impact but has the potential to lead to a much more fundamental change to this profession. This is contemplated changes to the model law and surveying examinations to either add examinations for photogrammetrists, geodesists and other surveying professionals or include these branches as a separate module or modules of the general surveying examination. This could be a very fundamental change to the way surveyors are licensed. Attached is a copy of the report of the Joint Task Force on the NCEES Model Law for Surveying. Representatives of a number of groups were included on this task including ACSM, ASPRS, NSPS and others. One MSPS member served on that Task Force, Bob Burtch, as a representative of ASCE. I believe that this activity has such a potential to change surveying as we know it that MSPS should assign a committee to monitor and review the activities in this arena. The leadership of this society can respond appropriately to any proposed changes only if they are aware of these changes.
The next annual meeting of NCEES will be held on August 7 through 10, 2002 in La Jolla, California.
Respectfully submitted, Timothy L. Lapham P.S., P.E.
American Congress on Surveying and Mapping
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors
National Society of Professional Surveyors
National States Geographic Information Council
Urban and Regional Information Systems Association
Joint Task Force on the Model Law c/o James R. Plasker 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 210 Bethesda, Maryland 208142160
October 23, 2000
Ms. Betsy Brown
Executive Director
National Council of Examiners
for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)
PO Box 1686
Clemson, SC 29633
Dear Ms. Brown:
The above organizations represent important constituencies with a vital interest in recent changes to the NCEES Model Law for Surveying, particularly with regard to the inclusion of references to the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Land Information Systems (LIS). As a follow-on to our earlier report, originally transmitted to you by letter dated December 2, 1997, the original task force was expanded to address the GIS/LIS-related issues remaining at the conclusion of the previous task force effort.
The expanded Task Force, with representation from each of the above seven organizations, has met continuously since September 1999 to address the issues of most significant concern. The enclosed "GIS/LIS Addendum to the Report of the Task Force on the NCEES Model Law for Surveying" is the product of approximately 60 hours of debate and collaboration. This report has gained the support of each of the organizations and, we believe, if NCEES acts positively on these proposals the broader professional community will also support the outcome.
We have kept several NCEES members and staff informed during the task force deliberations, including Joe Phaneuf, Gail Oliver, Susan King, Rita Lumos and, until just recently, past-president Andrew Liston. In addition, task force member Karen Schuckman has recently discussed the status of the report with Dick Cottingham, and we understand the report will be forwarded to the UP&LG Committee for review.
The Task Force is pleased that the previous recommendations made to NCEES were considered seriously and resulted in substantive positive changes to the Model Law. The Task Force has spent many hours and significant effort in developing this addendum to the original report, and trusts that the latest recommendations will receive similar consideration. Because a growing number of states are considering modification of their statutes to reflect the latest Model Law language in this area, we would appreciate a timely review of this material. The leaders of the above organizations continue to embrace your earlier-stated goal "that the effects of [the Model Law for Surveying] be beneficial for the public and practitioners," and pledge to you their commitment to work with NCEES in obtaining that outcome. We continue to enjoy a good working relationship with key members of NCEES, and believe that together we can reach that goal.