Expanding Technical Career Pathways in Manufacturing for High School Students

工程技术课程为学生在制造公司追求技术职业生涯创造了途径。行业对熟练制造技术人员的需求在全国范围内继续增长，犹他州盐湖城地区的需求更是如此。盐湖社区学院(SLCC)工程技术项目的招生人数没有跟上该地区对技术人员日益增长的需求。鉴于区域人口结构，还有机会扩大妇女和少数族裔在制造业劳动力中的参与。服务于不同人群的地区性初中和高中尝试了几种方法，以提高学生对技术行业的认识，并为他们更好地为技术行业做好准备。SLCC将在这方面与当地学区合作，以增加该地区熟练技术人员的数量。该项目将在现有成功模式的基础上，通过为高中生提供工程技术证书计划来实现这一目标。高中毕业后，学生将准备直接进入劳动力市场，或在额外学习一年后从SLCC获得工程技术应用科学副学士学位。考虑到参加证书项目的学生群体的多样性，该项目将有助于扩大代表不足的学生在技术工作队伍中的参与。犹他州盐湖城内的约旦学区已证明在全国可用的普雷曼工程项目(PREP)方面取得了成功。Prep包括为期三年的自愿但广泛的暑期课程，旨在提高中学生对STEM内容的理解，并让他们了解当地可用的技术职业。约旦学区预科项目从不同的学生群体中招收学生，在多年的队列中有很高的保留率。该项目的目标是增加SLCC工程技术项目的学生数量和多样性，并支持他们的成功和进入劳动力市场，从而满足地区行业需求。该项目将：(1)在约旦学区增加一年的预科课程，以将课程扩展到高中；(2)在预科学生与SLCC工程资源之间提供早期联系；以及(3)为高中生提供SLCC的现场教育，从而获得工程技术证书，作为他们高中毕业时获得两年制学位的一年路标。证书课程和两年制学位课程将基于基于能力的学习策略，这将使学生从传统的时间表限制中解放出来，并导致与教师更多的互动。利用机构数据和学生调查，该项目将评估延长预科课程组成部分对学生坚持性和课程完成率的影响。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。

Engineering technology programs create pathways for students to pursue technical careers in manufacturing companies. Industry demand for skilled manufacturing technicians continues to grow nationally and even more so in the Salt Lake City, Utah region. The number of students enrolled in the Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) engineering technology program has not kept pace with the increased demand for technicians in the region. Given regional demographics, there is also an opportunity to broaden participation of women and minorities in the manufacturing workforce. Regional middle and high schools that serve a diverse population have tried several approaches to increase the awareness of students about and better prepare them for the technical trades. SLCC will collaborate in this effort with the local school district to increase the number of skilled technicians in the region. The project will do so by building upon a existing, successful model and by offering an engineering technology certificate program for high school students. Upon graduation from high school, students will be prepared to enter the workforce directly or to earn an Associate of Applied Science in Engineering Technology from SLCC after one additional year of study. Given the diverse student population participating in the certificate program, this project will help broaden participation of underrepresented students in the technical workforce.The Jordan School District, within the Salt Lake City, Utah metropolitan area, has demonstrated success with the nationally available Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP). PREP includes three years of voluntary, yet extensive, summer programming designed to improve middle school students’ understanding of STEM content and make them aware of locally available technical careers. The Jordan School District PREP program draws from a diverse population of students and has had high retention rates across multiple years of cohorts. The goal of this project is to increase the number and diversity of students in the engineering technology program at SLCC, and to support their success and entry into workforce, thus addressing regional industry needs. This project will: (1) add an additional year of PREP at Jordan School District to extend the program into high school; (2) provide early connections between PREP students with SLCC engineering resources; and (3) provide high school students with on-site education at SLCC leading to a certificate in engineering technology, as a one-year waypoint toward a full two-year degree by the time they graduate from high school. The certificate program and the two-year degree program will be based on a competency-based learning strategy, which will free students from traditional scheduling constraints and lead to greater engagement with faculty. Using institutional data and student surveys, the project will assess the effects of the extended PREP program components on student persistence and program completion. 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.