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作为一个国家资源中心传播教育材料，课程，教学实践和招聘战略，从非常成功的南卡罗来纳州先进技术教育卓越中心（SC ATE）。作为工程技术教育卓越的国家资源中心，这种伙伴关系作为一个高度可见的思想，材料，联系和指导资源，专注于在工程技术教育管道的开始阶段招募，培养和教授学生，其中大多数自然减员发生。参与的机构是过去六年来SC ATE卓越中心工作的一个组成部分，设想的系统性改革已经“扎根”。“他们拥有最多的SC ATE准备，改革准备教师和最丰富的经验，在实施SC ATE课程和促进许多其他改善教学/学习环境。这两所学院正在进行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的基础到下一个层次，以使更大的两年制技术和社区学院工程技术（ET）社区受益。该项目的愿景是作为一个国家模式和信息交换所，以提高两年制ET学位课程工程技术毕业生的数量，质量和多样性。该项目的目标是：（a）作为改进教育技术教育的国家协调中心;（B）完善和分享成功的教育技术培训和考试中心招聘战略（例如，ATE学者），并分享新的招聘策略;（c）完善和分享SC ATE技术网关（工程技术预科）课程（d）开发多种课程和课程安排选项，以增加对SC ATE课程的使用;（e）推出科技入门试验电子版，让未能修读全日制或不间断课程的学生有更多机会修读教育培训课程;（f）分享对组织变革问题的见解，这些问题可能支持或阻碍工程技术学生教学/学习环境的持久改善;（h）利用SC ATE的主要调查员、大学行政人员、通过为其他人提供指导，因为他们适应和实施SC ATE模型或以其他方式解决开始工程的特殊需求，展示项目评估，计划评估和认证的过程如何可以联系起来，以实施全面质量改进，为学生在工程技术及其他领域的成功职业生涯做好准备。

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.