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 CLSA San Diego Education Committee supports educational outreach and professional development for both students and surveying professionals. It helps coordinate training, workshops, licensure preparation, and student engagement activities through the local chapter and the statewide CLSA Education Foundation.

Scholarships are available at both the state level (through the CLSA Education Foundation) and locally through the San Diego Chapter. These awards support students pursuing careers in land surveying and related geomatics fields. Applications are typically based on academic achievement, career interest, and professional involvement.

Chapter Scholarship Information coming soon.

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

That year’s edition of the LS Exam Review course was available in a hybrid format, allowing future surveyors from across California and beyond to learn from a collection of experts. For those who registered, an MS Teams link was provided. For those in the San Diego area, attendance in person at the Caltrans District 11 office (4050 Taylor Street, San Diego, CA 92110) was encouraged. The speakers always appreciated attendees’ presence.

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

The topics covered over the course of 15 days included: 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 amounted to less than $7.00 a class for members and $9.00 a class for non-members.

Be on the lookout for information about the 2026-2027 edition of our course in the late summer of this year.

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.