The Education Committee within the California Land Surveyors Association (CLSA) supports the association’s mission to promote quality education and professional development within the land surveying profession. At the state level, CLSA committees help guide educational programs, scholarship initiatives, outreach, and continuing education opportunities for members and students. The Education Committee works alongside the CLSA Education Foundation and other CLSA committees to help shape educational policy, coordinate resources, and support training programs.

The Executive Board and Caltrans District 11 are excited to announce the 2025-2026 edition of a long-lasting tradition that aims to prepare the next generation of surveyors for licensure.

This year’s edition of the LS Exam Review course will be available in a hybrid format, allowing future surveyors from across California and beyond to learn from our collection of experts. For those who register, a MS Teams link will be provided. For those in the San Diego area, it is encouraged to attend in person at the Caltrans District 11 office (4050 Taylor Street, San Diego, CA 92110). Our speakers always appreciate your attendance.

Meetings for the course run every Thursday between 6:30 PM and 9:00 PM from December 4 to December 18, 2025. There is a break for the holiday season, then the meetings resume on the same schedule starting January 8, 2026. The final day of the course is March 26, in time for the CA PLS Exam.

The topics that will be covered over the course of 15 days include: Introduction to BPELSG, legal descriptions, the CA Subdivision Map Act & PLS Act, public lands, boundary, riparian, photogrammetry & map standards, error analysis, GNSS, GPS, geodesy, California coordinates, construction, and business practices, culminating in a mock exam. That’s less than $7.00 a class for members & $9.00 a class for non-members!

Caltrans Employees: Please contact Rafi Hanna for Employee Pricing Information.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY ORDERS MADE AFTER 4:30PM PACIFIC TIME WILL NOT BE FULFILLED UNTIL THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY DURING REGULAR OPERATING BUSINESS HOURS.

California Young Surveyors Network (CA YSN) is a statewide initiative dedicated to supporting and engaging the next generation of land surveyors. Through professional development, mentorship, and leadership opportunities, CA YSN helps bridge the gap between students, LSITs, and early-career professionals and the broader surveying community. Within the CLSA San Diego Chapter, CA YSN serves as a platform for connection, growth, and involvement—encouraging young surveyors to build relationships, expand their skills, and play an active role in shaping the future of the profession in San Diego and across California.

Unwritten Records Podcast is a show for land surveyors, by land surveyors—exploring the stories, insights, and challenges that shape the profession beyond the technical manuals. Each episode dives into real conversations with experienced practitioners, emerging professionals, and industry thought-leaders to highlight the human side of surveying: career paths, lessons learned, innovation, leadership, work-life balance, and the evolving role of surveyors in a changing world. The podcast aims to inform, inspire, and connect members of the surveying community by sharing authentic experiences and practical perspectives that don’t always make it into textbooks or classrooms.

Have a story worth telling? Unwritten Records is always looking to hear from surveyors at every stage of their career. Whether it’s a lesson learned in the field, a unique project, a career-defining moment, or insights gained along the way, your experiences help capture the real, human side of our profession. By sharing your story, you can educate, inspire, and connect with others in the surveying community—preserving the unwritten records that shape who we are and where we’re headed.

Cuyamaca College

Location: Rancho San Diego, CA
Program Focus: Land Surveying & Surveying Technology

Programs Offered

• Associate of Science (A.S.) in Surveying

• Certificate of Achievement in Surveying

Program Description
Cuyamaca College is the only college in San Diego County with a dedicated land surveying program. The program provides hands-on training in field and office surveying practices and prepares students for entry-level surveying positions and continued professional advancement.

Trent Keenan’s Mentoring Mondays is a free, weekly virtual mentoring program created for the land surveying profession to help connect, educate, and support surveyors at all stages of their career. Hosted on Zoom and moderated by Trent Keenan, PLS, WRS, CFedS, each session features rotating guest speakers from across the industry who present on practical topics—from field techniques and software workflows to career development and professional issues—and engage in live Q&A with attendees.

Wisdom Wednesdays is a companion initiative to Mentoring Mondays created for the land surveying profession that takes a more reflective, discussion-based approach to learning. Instead of a traditional lecture format, Wisdom Wednesdays brings surveyors together (typically bi-weekly) to read and discuss chapters from classic and influential surveying books—what many refer to as the “surveying bibles”—in an open roundtable setting. Participants read a chapter ahead of time and then join the conversation to share insights, interpretations, and practical perspectives that deepen understanding of surveying principles, law, history, and practice. Sessions are welcoming to all levels of experience and are designed to foster thoughtful dialogue, collective learning, and community connection around the craft and context of surveying.

Keith W. Spencer’s Library

The LS Review Topics Library, created by Keith W. Spencer, PLS, CFedS, is a free, online reference and study resource for land surveyors. It provides an organized collection of topic-based materials covering core surveying principles, boundary law, geodesy, GPS, construction surveying, legal descriptions, and California-specific statutes and practices. Commonly used for exam preparation and professional reference, the library offers concise explanations, study notes, and curated links that support both students and practicing surveyors in strengthening their technical and professional knowledge.

In addition to his LS Review topics, Keith W. Spencer’s Library is one of the most expansive free online collections for land surveyors. It includes links to county and city recorded map and survey records, plus hundreds of digitized books and historical documents that date back centuries and cover surveying, geometry, boundary law, and related subjects. The library also contains a substantial selection of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) publications and manuals — such as historical Manuals of Instructions, case books, standards, and corner restoration guides — that are widely used for PLSS study and practice. With thousands of individual files and references, this resource is valuable for research, exam prep, and deeper study of cadastral practice, old maps, and public land survey history.