Pathways for a Process Operations Technology Education Program for the Liquefied Natural Gas Industry

该项目旨在通过开发和实施最新的过程操作技术(PRO)计划，为学生在液化天然气(LNG)行业从事高要求的技术职业做好准备，从而服务于国家利益。目标职业包括石油泵系统操作员、炼油厂操作员、化工厂和系统操作员、制冷专家和天然气厂操作员。德克萨斯州有7个正在使用、在建或规划阶段的液化天然气出口设施，最终将支持该地区7万个就业岗位。重要的是，该项目将建立在先前工作的基础上，将PRO计划重新设计为一个灵活和可访问的全州模式，以满足东得克萨斯州地区行业和雇主的需求。这种方法将为学生提供越来越灵活的机会和途径，以获得进入液化天然气行业并在该行业取得成功所需的培训。最终，该项目旨在为这一快速增长的行业培训一支高技能的劳动力队伍，并作为该地区如何发展灵活的技术教育途径以满足学生需求的典范。德克萨斯州立技术学院将与当地行业合作，通过实施创新和灵活的流程运营技术(PRO)计划，实现提高液化天然气行业高技能技术人员的质量和数量的主要目标。这将通过以下活动实现：1)与行业合作，对PRO计划课程进行全州范围的课程调整过程，以标准化课程和学习结果；2)升级教学设备，以在开放实验室环境中提供灵活、可访问的培训；以及3)将基于绩效的在线教学模式与具有多个进入/多个退出(MEME)点的创新灵活职业途径方法相结合。该项目小组的目标是在三年的项目期内招收至少100名学生，其中50名学生将毕业时获得AAS学位或行业认可的证书。将进行一次正式评估，以评估项目活动和成果，重点是促进灵活的技术教育途径的知识体系，使熟练技术人员能够在科学和工程技术队伍中取得成功。因此，该项目有可能为技术教育社区提供一个模式，说明如何从传统的授课联系时间形式过渡到灵活的职业途径形式，采用阶梯式方法，促进学生留住和成功就业。该团队的目标是通过混合课程和其他有针对性的传播努力，立即将该项目扩展到达拉斯/沃斯堡地区、德克萨斯州墨西哥湾沿岸、德克萨斯州西部和格兰德河谷的其他校园。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。

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing and implementing an updated Process Operations Technology (PRO) program to prepare students for high-demand technical careers in the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) industry. Targeted occupations include petroleum pump system operator, refinery operator, chemical plant and system operators, refrigeration specialists and gas plant operators. Texas is home to seven LNG export facilities that are in use, under construction, or in the planning stages and will eventually support 70,000 jobs in the region. Importantly, this project will build on prior work to redesign the PRO program into a flexible and accessible statewide model to address the needs of industry and employers in the East Texas region. This approach will provide students with increasingly flexible opportunities and pathways to obtain the necessary training to enter and be successful in the LNG industry. Ultimately, this project intends to contribute to the training of a highly skilled workforce for this rapidly growing industry and serve as a model in the region for how to develop flexible technical education pathways that meet student needs. Texas State Technical College will collaborate with local industry to achieve the primary goal of increasing the quality and number of highly skilled technicians in the LNG industry through the implementation of an innovative and flexible Process Operations Technology (PRO) program. This will be accomplished through the following activities: 1) partnering with industry to undergo a statewide curriculum alignment process of the PRO program courses to standardize curriculum and learning outcomes, 2) upgrading of instructional equipment to provide flexible, and accessible training in an open lab environment, and 3) combining a performance-based online instructional model with an innovative flexible career pathway approach featuring multiple entry/multiple exit (MEME) points. The project team aims to enroll a minimum of one hundred students over the three-year project period of which fifty students will graduate with either an AAS degree or an industry recognized certificate. A formal evaluation will be conducted to assess project activities and outcomes with a focus on contributing to the body of knowledge on flexible technical education pathways for preparing skilled technicians to be successful in the science and engineering technical workforce. As a result, this project has the potential to provide a model for the technical education community for how to transition from the traditional didactic contact hour format to a flexible career pathway format with a stair-step approach that promotes student retention and career-placement success. The team aims to immediately expand the project to other campuses located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the Texas Gulf Coast, West Texas, and the Rio Grande Valley through hybrid courses and other targeted dissemination efforts. 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.