A Regional Partnership to Improve Access to and Academic Quality of Technician Education for the Incumbent Worker

该项目解决了高等教育中的两个长期存在的问题：保持在线技术课程的学术严谨性，并改善学院学术和劳动力发展部门之间的合作，使在职（目前就业）工人能够继续接受技术教育。研究表明，对失去严谨性的担忧是阻止采用在线学习等无障碍交付模式的一个重要因素。展示保持严谨性的有效方法，同时使技术教育更容易获得，将刺激它们的采用，并使学分技术教育成为在职劳动力的可行选择。此外，该项目消除了学院的学术和劳动力发展单位之间的竞争，通过提供劳动力发展的上级，学分产品出售给雇主，而不是非学分office.Madisonville社区学院（MCC）将提供技术援助，以合作院校在三个州，以适应和传播其先进的综合技术（AIT）课程和交付模式。每个合作学院都是全州社区和技术学院系统的一部分，为项目传播提供了一个自然的出口。该项目扩展了先前在NSF支持下开发的工作，在此期间开发了基于混合在线能力的大学学分课程，使雇主和在职工人更容易获得技术教育，以进行技能升级。课程分为以能力为基础的大学学分模块，使学生能够在四个核心领域-机械，电气，流体动力和可编程逻辑控制器（PLC）中获得特定技能。模块将针对特定的雇主和雇员培训需求进行定制，并在灵活安排的实验室环境中进行技能演示，使学生能够在不牺牲工作时间的情况下安排应用练习。该项目的工作重点是调整千年挑战委员会的课程和交付模式，使其符合各种组织文化、政策和程序框架以及雇主和雇员的需求。教育在职劳动力也提出了特殊的学生支持和建议的挑战。MCC将有效利用职业教练职位，协助在职工人进行入学和注册过程，并监督每个工人的课程表现和证书进展。MCC正在与合作伙伴学院合作，以确定他们的在职工作咨询和学术支持需求，并协助他们相应地调整职位。此外，伙伴学院正在进行入学后研究，以确定在职工人的挑战和未满足的需求，以创建一个有记录的战略和当地支持服务工具包。

This project addresses two persistent issues in higher education: maintaining academic rigor in online technical coursework and improving cooperation between colleges' academic and workforce development units to make continued technical education accessible to incumbent (currently employed) workers. Research shows that concerns about loss of rigor are a significant factor in preventing the adoption of accessible delivery models such as online learning. Demonstrating effective methods of preserving rigor while making technical education more accessible will spur their adoption and make for-credit technical education a viable option for the incumbent workforce. Further, the project eliminates the competition between colleges' academic and workforce development units by offering workforce development a superior, for-credit product to sell to employers in lieu of non-credit offerings.Madisonville Community College (MCC) will provide technical assistance to partner colleges in three states to adapt and disseminate its Advanced Integrated Technology (AIT) curriculum and delivery model. Each partner college is part of a statewide system of community and technical colleges that provides a natural outlet for project dissemination. The project extends work developed with prior NSF support, during which a hybrid online competency based, college credit curriculum was developed to make technical education more accessible to employers and incumbent workers for skills upgrades. Courses are broken into competency-based, college-credit modules that allow students to target specific skills in four core areas - Mechanical, Electrical, Fluid Power, and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). Modules will be customized to target specific employer and employee training needs, and skills demonstrations are being delivered in a flexibly scheduled laboratory setting enabling students to schedule application exercises without sacrificing work time. The work of this project focuses on adapting the MCC curriculum and delivery model to conform to a variety of organizational cultures, policy and procedure frameworks, and employer and employee needs. Educating the incumbent workforce also presents special student support and advising challenges. MCC will make effective use of a career coach position who assists incumbent workers with the admission and registration process and monitors each worker's course performance and credential progress. MCC is working with partner colleges to identify their incumbent work advising and academic support needs and assisting them in adapting the position accordingly. In addition, partner colleges are conducting post-enrollment research to identify incumbent workers' challenges and unmet needs in order to create a documented tool kit of strategies and local support services.