Beginning in 2006, Clinton Community College introduced a new evening certificate in the growing area of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The program includes four classes designed to allow working professionals to gain skills in this high-tech field.

"We wanted to create a convenient way for people already working in fields that may use GIS to get hands-on training and a working knowledge of this technology, earning a certificate in a short amount of time," explained Ron Serpliss, CCC Dean of the College. "GIS skills are in great demand in fields like agriculture, drafting and surveying, among others. The program combines mapping software and satellite technology with a variety of data, such as census, demographic and meteorological."

GIS is a system of hardware and software used for storage, retrieval, mapping, and analysis of geographic data. It gives you the ability to associate information with a feature on a map and to create new relationships that can determine the suitability of various sites for development, evaluate environmental impact and identify the best location for a new facility and so on.

The four classes include Introduction to GIS, Advanced GIS, Cartography and Remote Sensing.. As new additions to the curriculum of the college's long-standing technical drafting and computer-aided design program, the GIS courses help students in that program develop skills in demand by area employers.