Define professional land surveying under the Texas Professional Land Surveying Practices Act, including the three core licensed activities and the surveyor's primary obligation to the public.

Explain how boundary disputes are resolved in the Texas court system and what is professionally at stake when survey work becomes evidence in litigation.

Apply all four Canons of the TSPS Canon of Ethics: duty to the public, duty to the client, honor and dignity of the profession, and continuous professional development, to real professional situations.

Describe the role of the cadastre, deeds recording, and title registration systems in supporting the real estate economy, and connect that role to the ethical obligations of licensed surveyors.

Analyze the economic forces shaping the Texas surveying workforce and articulate why recruiting the next generation of surveyors is itself a professional and ethical responsibility.

MODULE 1

Who Is a Professional Surveyor?

Professional Identity & Scope of Practice

• The Texas Professional Land Surveying Practices Act
• Three core licensed activities
• The hierarchy of calls
• Duty to the public vs. the paying client

Legal Stakes of Survey Work

• Who resolves boundary disputes in Texas
• How the district court system works
• Real boundary dispute case studies
• The surveyor as expert witness

MODULE 2

The Ethical Framework

Philosophical Foundations of Ethics

• The British tradition of professional ethics
• How philosophical principles became professional codes
• The TSPS Canon of Ethics preamble

The Four Canons

• Canon 1: Duty to the public: fidelity and public safety
• Canon 2: Faithful agency: duty to the client
• Canon 3: Honor and dignity of the profession
• Canon 4: Continuous professional development

TBPELS Rules

• Continuing education requirements for Texas RPLSs
• The Annual Surveyor's Oath
• Board rules governing licensed practice

MODULE 3

Surveying and the Real Estate System

The Value Surveyors Bring to Society

• Surveys as the foundation of the real estate market
• The ethical obligation to charge appropriately

Land Records Systems

• Origins of the cadastre: from the Domesday Book to Texas
• Deeds recording systems and their limitations
• Title registration and the Torrens system
• The value of secure tenure: World Bank Thailand case study

MODULE 4

The Profession's Future

Economics of Surveying Services

• Supply, demand, and fee-setting as a professional responsibility
• Technology, efficiency, and the case for ad valorem fees

The Workforce Crisis

• Texas RPLS age and attrition data from the Blucher Institute
• Population growth vs. declining surveyor numbers
• A global skills shortage: lessons from the Australian surveying profession
• The ethical imperative to recruit and develop the next generation

The Surveyor's Oath

• Reading and understanding the annual Texas surveyor's oath
• Connecting course themes to the commitment surveyors make each renewal