Profiles of Technical Workforce Programs and Students at Two-Year Colleges

为了保持和扩大国家熟练的技术劳动力，了解两年制院校的技术人员教育计划如何支持学生的学业和职业生涯是至关重要的。然而，在建立这种理解所需的数据方面存在重大差距。为了弥补这一差距，该项目将开发和测试一个集中系统来收集所需的数据。它还将开发一种最先进的可视化系统来显示和探索这些数据。这些资源的目的是：(A)支持对以工程为导向的技师项目的同行、地区、国家和影响分析；(B)向联邦和州机构以及关注STEM劳动力问题的研究人员提供数据；以及(C)创建两年制学院以工程为导向的技师项目的国家数字目录。这项工作建立在美国工程学会的工程和工程技术学院概况调查的基础上，该调查侧重于四年制院校的项目。此外，它响应了国家科学委员会在其报告：熟练的技术劳动力：制作美国的科学和工程企业中描述的填补此类数据空白的呼吁。该项目的目标是：(1)开发和测试用于标准化和收集两年制院校工程学技术员项目信息的调查工具和管理程序；(2)利用现有数据来源扩大原始数据收集；(3)设计描述全国提供的两年制工程学学位和证书类型的通用分类和目录；以及(4)创建和维护一个交互式数据可视化系统，用于分析两年制院校工程学技术员项目，以供同行、地区和国家进行比较。该项目将实施集中的数据收集工作，包括调查设计/管理、抽样和项目分析，以确保可靠性和有效性。其他数据获取活动包括将现有数据文件链接到其他数据储存库和主要调查数据，包括开发实现这些独立数据源链接所需的算法。数据可视化活动包括使用数据分析和其他方法来促进理解大型、复杂的数据集。国家咨询委员会将指导项目活动并评估其影响。该项目由高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

To maintain and expand the nation’s skilled technical workforce, it is essential to understand how technician education programs at two-year institutions support students’ academic and career pathways. However, significant gaps exist in the data needed to build this understanding. To address this gap, this project will develop and test a centralized system to collect the needed data. It will also develop a state-of-the-art visualization system to display and explore this data. These resources are intended to: (a) support peer, regional, national, and impact analyses of engineering-oriented technician programs; (b) make data available to federal and state agencies and researchers focused on STEM workforce issues; and (c) create a national digital directory of engineering-oriented technician programs at two-year colleges. This effort builds on the American Society for Engineering’s Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges Survey, which focuses on programs at four-year institutions. In addition, it responds to the National Science Board’s call for filling such data gaps, described in its report: The Skilled Technical Workforce: Crafting America’s Science and Engineering Enterprise. The goals of the project are to: (1) develop and test a survey instrument and administration process for standardizing and collecting information on engineering-oriented technician programs at two-year institutions; (2) augment primary data collection with existing data sources; (3) design a common taxonomy and directory describing the types of two-year engineering degrees and certificates offered nationally; and (4) create and maintain an interactive data visualization system to analyze engineering-oriented technician programs at two-year institutions for peer, regional, and national comparisons. The project will implement a centralized data gathering effort that includes survey design/administration, sampling, and item analyses for reliability and validity. Additional data acquisition activities include linking existing data files to other data repositories and to primary survey data, including development of the algorithms required to accomplish linking of these independent data sources. Data visualization activities include the use data analytics and other approaches to facilitate the understanding of large, complex data sets. A national Advisory Board will guide project activities and evaluate their impact. 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.