SC ATE Center of Excellence Focal Point for Expanding Excellence in Engineering Technology Education

佛罗伦萨-达林顿技术学院和皮埃蒙特技术学院正在合作成为一个国家资源中心，传播非常成功的南卡罗来纳州高级技术教育卓越中心(SC ATE)产生的教育材料、课程、教学实践和招生战略。作为国家工程技术教育卓越资源中心，这一合作伙伴关系是一个高度可见的资源，提供想法、材料、联系人和指导，专注于在工程技术教育管道的开始阶段招收、培养和教授学生，而这些学生正是最容易流失的地方。所涉及的机构是过去六年SC ATE卓越中心工作的组成部分，所设想的系统性改革已经“扎根”。他们拥有数量最多的理工科ATE，准备改革的教员，以及在实施理工科ATE课程和促进教/学环境的许多其他改进方面最有经验的教师。这两所学院正在将这项重要的全州范围内的工作从南卡罗来纳州的经验和成功基础提升到下一阶段，以造福于更大的两年制技术和社区学院工程技术(ET)社区。该项目的愿景是成为全国的典范和信息交流中心，以提高两年制工程技术专业毕业生的数量、质量和多样性。该项目的目标是：(A)作为改进教育的国家联络点；(B)完善和分享成功的SC ATE招聘战略(例如ATE学者)，并分享新的招聘战略；(C)完善和分享SC ATE技术门户(工程前技术)课程(三门课程)和SC ATE工程技术核心课程“ET Core”；(D)开发多种课程和课程安排选择，以增加SC ATE课程的使用；(E)推出试行电子版《技术门户》，为无法提供全日制或不间断学习课程的学生提供更多获取电子技术方案的机会；(F)分享对组织变革问题的见解，这些问题可能有助于或阻碍工程技术专业学生的教/学环境的持久改善；(G)通过网上互动讲习班提供试行版本的ATE教学团队培训；(H)利用SC ATE的主要研究人员、学院行政人员和教员的经验，在其他人适应和实施SC ATE模式或以其他方式满足工程技术初学者的特殊需要时，为他们提供指导；以及，(I)展示如何将项目评估、项目评估和认证过程联系起来，以实现全面质量改进，为学生在工程技术及其他领域的成功职业做好准备。

Florence-Darlington Technical College and Piedmont Technical College are collaboratively serving as a national Resource Center for dissemination of educational materials, curricula, pedagogical practice, and recruitment strategies resulting from the highly successful South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center of Excellence (SC ATE). As a national Resource Center for Excellence in engineering technology education, this partnership serves as a highly visible resource for ideas, materials, contacts, and mentoring focused on recruiting, nurturing, and teaching students at the beginning of the engineering technology educational pipeline where most attrition occurs. The institutions involved were an integral part of the SC ATE Center of Excellence work for the past six years, and the envisioned systemic reform has "taken root." They have the largest number of SC ATE-prepared, reform-ready faculty and the most experience in implementing the SC ATE curricula and fostering numerous other improvements in the teaching/learning environment. These two colleges are carrying this significant statewide work from a base of experience and success in South Carolina to the next level to benefit the greater two-year technical and community college engineering technology (ET) community. The vision of the project is to serve as a national model and clearinghouse to increase the quantity, quality and diversity of engineering technology graduates from two-year ET degree programs. The goals of the project are to: (a) Serve as a national focal point for improvement in ET education; (b) Refine and share successful SC ATE recruitment strategies (e.g., ATE Scholars) and share new recruitment strategies; (c) Refine and share the SC ATE Technology Gateway (pre-engineering technology) curriculum (three courses) and the SC ATE Engineering Technology Core curriculum, "ET Core"; (d) Develop multiple course and curriculum scheduling options to increase use of the SC ATE curricula; (e) Introduce a pilot electronic version of Technology Gateway to facilitate greater access to ET programs for students for whom a full-time or an uninterrupted course of study is not possible; (f) Share insights into organizational change issues that can support or hinder lasting improvement in the teaching/learning environment for engineering technology students; (g) Deliver a pilot version of ATE Teaching Team Training via an interactive web-based workshop; (h) Leverage the experience of SC ATE's principal investigators, college administrators, and faculty by providing mentoring for others as they adapt and implement SC ATE models or otherwise address the special needs of beginning engineering technology students; and, (i) Demonstrate how the processes of project evaluation, program evaluation, and accreditation can be linked to implement total quality improvement in the preparation of students for successful careers in engineering technology and beyond.