- 241 - 
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING 
Commission. VI 
Symposium held in Mainz, FR Germany, 22 - 25 September 1982 
FEAST BE IL. ITY OF STANDARDS FOR C. LVL 
E R S Ww Ho USE OR PRACTIC 
RAMMETRY AND REMOTE S EN 
=i 
un 
ING 
Professor James M. Anderson 
Department of Civil Engineering,University of California, 
Berkeley, California 94 708, USA 
ABSTRACT 
The background related to establishing standards of competence for various dis- 
ciplines using photogrammetry and remote sensing is reviewed and the method 
for studying the relevance of such standards for the profession of civil engineer- 
ing is developed. Comments concerning the feasibility of standards of competence, 
abstracted from a sample of nineteen responses from six different countries, are 
presented and discussed. It is concluded that standards of competence can be 
set only by the members of the specified discipline (in this case, civil engineer- 
ing) but that the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 
(ISPRS) could formulate and suggest educational guidelines for educators, students, 
practicing civil engineers, and administrators in the field of civil engineering. 
Since these conclusions are based on such a small sample, it is further recom- 
mended that the survey be continued and expanded to include a much broader spec- 
trum of the participating countries in the ISPRS. 
lutroduction 
Resolution T-VI-2 (Education and Research) of Commission VI, included a recommend- 
ation that an inventory of educational and research facilities in photogrammetry 
and remote sensing be conducted and that standards of competence for specialists 
in these areas be developed. The objectives of establishing standards of competence 
as stated by Commission VI President Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hothmer (somewhat para- 
phrased here) are to provide: (1) international recognition for educational in- 
stitutions in any country should they desire such recognition; and (2) definitions 
of various levels of education in the fields of photogrammetry and remote sensing. 
In order to generate specific proposals for standards of competence, position 
papers for various related disciplines (e.g. geology, forestry, geography, civil 
engineering, etc.) were solicited. Instructions to authors of these position 
papers were then subsequently modified to request that the feasibility of stand- 
ards of competence for the relevant fields be the prime consideration. This paper 
contains comments and considerations concerning the feasibility and standards 
of competence for civil engineers who use or practice photogrammetry and/or remote 
sensing. 
Philosophical Background and Procedures Used 
A proper evaluation of the feasibility of standards of competence should be based, 
first of all, on whether or not the members of the specified discipline feel 
that a world wide set of standards would be beneficial to their profession. If 
the answer to this question is affirmative, then one needs to deal with the pro- 
blems of what should be included in these standards and who ought to have the 
responsibility of disseminating the information and encorcing the stated require- 
ments. The first question concerning the reactions of members of the civil en- 
gineering fraternity to the proposal, is the primary topic addressed in this 
paper. 
Bibliographic quotation : 
Anderson, J. : Feasibility of standards for civil engineers who use or practice 
photogrammetry and remote sensing. In: Int. Archive of Photogrammetry, 
24 - VI, pp 241 - 249, Mainz 1982