Advanced Technology Center (ATC)

Advanced Technology Center (ATC)

El Paso Community College

Jose Ricardo Canales, Director

Creating the “Pathway”

I. Overview

II. Framing Our Thoughts

III. Challenges Faced by Higher Education and Workforce

IV. Placing Education at the Center

V. Explaining the “Pathway” Conceptual Model

VI. Goals of the Process

VII. Conclusion

ATC Mission

The instruction at the El Paso Community College ATC focuses on state-of-the-art cognitive and mechanical skills development through:

Industry-specific trainingCurriculum that meets today's industrial needsFlexible class scheduling which provides opportunities for students to attend classes either day, afternoon, evening or weekendsDialog with local and national industry which keeps our programs currentStaff and faculty of the ATC work in concert with economic development agencies and business leaders to cultivate partnerships and ensure the validity of it's programs and classes

Features of the ATC

• $20M State-of-the-Art Facility

• Seven (9) areas of learning• Distance Learning Lab• Certified Lab Assistants• Coming soon:

– Online Education – Wireless communication

• Eight (8) student labs– Precision Machining– Industrial Maintenance– Plastics Technology– Welding– Electrical Journeyman– Robotics and

Automation– Office Technology

Benefits to Students

• Acquire high-technical skills training• Skills upgrade• Job Placement after completion of program• On-site counseling• Resource Lab

– Resumes– Access to Internet– Online registration– Free placement testing– Free tutoring

Benefits to Community

• Manufacturing and industrial resources and technologies meet the training needs

• Workforce Development• Industry-specific training• Partnerships with community and business

leaders• Opportunities for state-of-the-art instruction• Industry-based apprenticeship programs• Provide highly-qualified applicants

Programs

• Plastics Technology• Precision Machining• Electrical Journeyman• Industrial Maintenance• Welding Processes• Robotics and Automation• Quality Control• ISO• Diesel Mechanic

Framing our Thoughts

• To what extent is El Paso’s educational entities involved in economic development?

• Are the educational entities presenting a seamless, united front as they investigate, collaborate, and educate our current and future workforce?

• Do our city/economic officials seek/trust the council of the educational entities? Do we have a systematic way of doing this? And do we have evaluative tools to gauge our success?

• Is education in El Paso being proactive in new and high tech fields and leading the way to new innovative business/industrial processes?

• Do we react to situations and thus limit our impact on strategic planning?

• When we seek funding, are we doing this through integrated efforts that consolidate resources from EPCC and UTEP/NMSU?

• Are we communicating? Is it effective?

Challenges to Higher Education

• Traditional institutions are facing shrinking budgets and enrollment challenges

• There are major technological advances in education methodology -- the information age is here

• There are shifting demographics in the higher education workforce -- graying of the instructor/tenured professor

• There are shifting demographics in the higher education student body -- increasing adult and minority and off-campus enrollment

• There is a greater demand by organizations for skill-based education to prepare graduates for the challenge of the workplace in the global marketplace in the new millennium.

BOTTOM LINE: DO MORE WITH LESS

Challenges to Workforce/Voc Ed ProgramsChallenges within Academic Settings• The logical path that connects “workforce” courses with traditional academic

tracts is either non-existent, or extremely blurred– Traditional academia reduces workforce training to “shop” training and

tragically is failing to see the important relevance that these applied courses have to academic areas such as math, science, and engineering

– The value these type of courses add to the student, the curriculum and the workplace

• Training and Research facilities, specifically in areas such as engineering are very limited and costly– Facilities are expensive to build, maintain, and properly tool and thus the

trend in education is to require less hands-on labs and more academic type courses

– “We are producing scientists as opposed to engineers” UTEP faculty

Challenges to Workforce/Voc Ed Programs (cont..)

Social and Cultural Challenges

• Everyone wants their child to go to college. What this really means is they want them to go study a four-year career

– Parents and counselors are pushing 4-year academic degrees rather than their definition of “workforce” training

– Workforce is sent the “problem” children. Those that were deemed by some entity that they would not “make-it” in college (It is seen almost as a last chance)

• Workforce is seen as a step down, rather than as an extension of education

Challenges in the Economic Sector• As technology changes and the economic panorama shifts, little

or inconsistent communication is given to local future economic expansions– As a result education becomes reactive to problems, rather

than proactive in the planning phases and thus becomes a small factor in economic development initiatives

Placing Education at the Center

• First step is to create a seamless pathway in our educational system – Partnerships are the key

Education should be at the center of Economic Development

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Fundamental Premise

RELEVANCECOMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Benefits of placing educationat the center• When the focus is student success within our economic

structure– This facilitates the creation of policy and procedures that allow students

to easily transfer from one institution to the other– Creation of higher levels of evaluative tools because our outcomes

directly impact industry’s productivity– It aligns the goals and outcomes of education with the goals and

objectives of business and industry– Research data becomes the center to economic initiatives and the

cornerstone to skill development and future economic expansions– Acquiring national and state resources for retooling training centers at

all educational levels can now be a collaborative effort, rather than a competitive one

– Students are in tune and responsive to the local and future workforce needs of the community

– Programs are launched to meet specific current and future needs of the economic sector

– The pathway to student success would now be a pathway that they have choice and that business and industry see their success as well

Conceptual Framework“The Pathway”

Level IV Level V

Level VI

Level I Level II Level III Level V

Level VI

Level 1: High SchoolAND EPCC-ATCIntroduce Dual Credit to Workforce classes

– Diesel Mechanic– Machining– Electrical– Robotics and Automation– Industrial Maintenance– Electronics

• HS students could begin their technical/pre-engineering degree while still in high school and still benefit from our facility

• Currently working on dual credit pilot program with the El Paso Independent School District and the Center for Career and Technology Education

Level II: EPCC/ATC

Mainstream ATC courses into existing pre-engineering degree plans

• Include applied coursework or labs into the pre-engineering degree plans that adds value to the education of our students and value to existing course offering

• Students would now have the choice to either continue a technical degree and find a well paying job, or move into a pre-engineering degree without losing credits

Level III: EPCC to UTEP/NMSU

• Articulation agreements are currently in place and becoming more prevalent

– Pre-Engineering articulation is currently being negotiated– The ATC is currently offering 2 required undergraduate

labs for senior-level industrial engineers – Currently planning the expansion of

undergraduate/graduate Robotics and Automation labs, mechanical engineering, electronics and expanding industrial engineering labs at the ATC

• Value of practical hands-on training

Level IV - The Graduate Student

• Research support– The ATC and UTEP are currently working on

a joint National Science Foundation grant to create research cells in the ATC facility

– Areas of research will include Robotics and Automation, Industrial Engineering, Electronics, Mechanical Engineering and possibly metallurgy

– In this initiative a high-tech industrial library will also be funded to provide research capability and support to students and business entities alike

Level V - Mentoring

• Doctoral, pre-engineering and High school students will have the opportunity to work in teams in real world projects that will benefit themselves and the community

• Graduate students will also teach lower-level courses as part of their internship

Level VI – Industrial Incubation Center

• Logical Outcome of Research cells– Open to business/industry to create, test,

or evaluate existing manufacturing processes

– Create a direct link to business/industry

– Create “real world” opportunities for students to work on industrial processes

– Teams will consist of faculty member, graduate student, technical student and possibly high school student

– Community Service

Conceptual Framework“The Pathway”

Level IVLevel II Level III Level VLevel I

Level VI

Goals of ProcessI. Give students the educational prerogative to choose their futureII. Open communication at levels of education and workforce trainingIII. Open solid, outcome based communication with business/industryIV. Create community-based evaluative tools

V. Effectively prepare our students for productive employmentVI. Raise the overall skill level of El Paso/Juarez RegionVII. Position Education as the center for economic development

Workforce Education

Acade

mics

HS/EPCC/ATC/UTEP

Business/industry

Conclusion

• Partnership at all levels is key for overall success

• ATC is partnering with the Center for Career and Technology Education and ardently working to offer HS students dual credit (pilot program)

• ATC is partnering with UTEP/CCTE/business and industry in the creation of the Robotics and automation program

• ATC is working to partner with Mesilla Valley trucking for our Diesel Program

• ATC WANTS TO PARTNER WITH YOU !!!