Today Duncay Pay is the chief academic officer at GIA, USA. I have worked with Duncan on course development projects in Thailand, and his comments are truly valuable. He is intelligent and likable with superb product knowledge and gem trade experience.
Duncay Pay writes:
GIA's founder, Robert M Shipley, conducted his first gemology class on the campus of the University of Southern California. He then wrote additional course material and offered it through Distance Education. Later, he offered short-term, on-site courses to jewelers nationwide.
Today, the course development department researches and writes GIA's texts. The department includes researchers, writers, and editors. We also employ video specialists, gemologists, jewelry specialists, and graphic artists and transfer other specialists into course development as needed.
To ensure that our materials meet industry needs, we have a rigorous course development process. Once we establish a need for a new course or a substantial course revision, our curriculum committee meets to decide course objectives and student outcomes. In addition, we solicit input from many segments of the industry when we develop our new course objectives.
Once outlines are approved, our writers compose drafts guided by the department's subject specialists and education department management. Next a selected group from GIA education, GIA research, and others in the Institute with knowledge in that particular subject reviews the content. We then implement the reviewers' comments and lay out the assignment with appropriately placed text, photographs, illustrations, and captions.
Once the assignment has the look and feel of a completed product, it is often submitted for review to an external subject specialist. We also send drafts to internal subject specialist, who use their wide range of experience to review the information for accuracy and proper terminology.
As the written course material progresses through the review process, we work on classroom presentations, instructor notes, and teaching schedules with education management and faculty.
Outside of faculty contributions, the most important feedback about our education programs comes from the industry. We receive input from our Board of Governors and industry advisory groups, as well as from alumni and current students.
Our ongoing contact with the jewelry industry and our research department keeps us abreast of new discoveries, synthetic materials, and treatments. We also subscribe to commercial price lists and trade publications. We monitor industry and general news for events that may affect course material. Course development at GIA is a continual, dynamic process that we believe leads to clearly written, attractive, and valuable material that benefits all our students.
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