Competency-Based Education for Automation Technologies to Improve Student Success

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Manufacturing is the largest in-demand industry sector for skilled workers in southeast Iowa and is also the source of the most high-paying jobs in the region. Skilled technicians are needed who can successfully troubleshoot, repair, and maintain the machinery and equipment that powers the various manufacturing processes in operation at manufacturing facilities. The existing Industrial Controls, Automation, and Robotics Technology technician degree program currently has low retention and graduation rates, some of which is due to the variability of students’ technical skills on entry to the program. Industry stakeholders would like to see students completing the program sooner, with credential-earning opportunities, and in a manner where they can demonstrate their mastery of skill competencies. Competency-Based Education has shown promise in providing a learning environment in which students with different learning abilities can learn and demonstrate competency for a set of specific skills. A competency-based curriculum will allow students to work at their own pace asynchronously through structured competencies allowing them to master each competency prior to moving to the next one. This project will transform courses in the current degree program into a Competency-Based Education model to improve the retention and persistence rates of students. Recruiting activities will focus on increasing the number of students from disadvantaged socio-economic groups in the program.The goals of this project are to: 1) increase the number of graduates for a degree program in automation technologies; 2) create a flexible learning lab to increase student accessibility to hands-on learning experiences; 3) increase the number of high school students in dual enrollment courses; and 4) expand industry involvement to promote career paths for students. To achieve these goals, this project will redesign the courses in the current degree program using a Competency-Based Education modality which will include alignment to industry-recognized credentials and course-level competencies and the development of skills assessments and master course shells. High school students will have the opportunity to take dual enrollment courses that will decrease the time to graduation and increase student awareness of career opportunities. A Teacher Academy and externships in industry will provide high school teachers with the opportunity to learn about careers within the manufacturing sector involving automation technologies. A mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis will be used to assess the impact of the project on student enrollment, retention, and persistence. Project results will be disseminated to the technician education community through a project website, an annual report, conference presentations, and professional publications. This project will build upon the body of knowledge related to: innovative course delivery approaches; K-14 career pathways to increase student enrollment, retention, and completion; flexible learning labs to meet student needs; and expanded industry involvement to promote career paths for students. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.