CONTACT: DR. JIM WOOD, EXT. 2176

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/19/99
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- Tri-County Technical College officials will meet with area industry representatives Friday (March 26) to present information about the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Scholars initiative, an effort to attract, retain and graduate a greater number of engineering technicians to meet the needs of industry.

"We're not able to supply industry with the sufficient number of graduates from our high-skills programs," said Dr. Jim Wood, who chairs the College's Industrial and Engineering Technology Division and is principal investigator for ATE.

The shortage of technicians isn't a local issue, it spans the state and nation, Dr. Wood added. The S.C. ATE Scholars initiative, an integrated teaching approach that allows students to learn in an environment that more accurately reflects the workplace, is a way to combat the problem. "It is a partnership effort between Tri-County and local industries which have engineering technology employment needs.

He and others will address specifics of the program at a luncheon meeting Friday, March 26, at noon in the Industrial and Business Development Center on the Tech campus. The focus of the meeting is to meet with industry and to develop strategies for attracting qualified students into the College's engineering technology curricula which includes engineering graphics technology, electronics engineering technology, general engineering technology and quality assurance technology.

The agenda includes presentations by Doug McKay of the S.C. Department of Commerce, who will discuss how ATE will help to increase the pool of engineering technicians and will advance the productive capability of the state's businesses.

Among the other speakers will be Tom Persons, CEO of the S.C. Technology Alliance; Eugene Grant, team leader at the Robert Bosch Corp. in Anderson, and Joe McMullin, manager of technical training at Michelin North America in Greenville. In addition, three students currently enrolled in the ATE pilot program at the College will give their perspectives about their first-year experiences.

"At this meeting we will discuss marketing and recruiting of the program," said Dr. Wood. "We'll talk about the possibility of industries sponsoring students
through scholarships and full- or part-time jobs for students."

Tri-County began its pilot ATE program last fall. ATE students enroll in four interrelated courses taken simultaneously during the semester.

"It's a new approach to teaching," said Dr. Wood. "The program helps the students to understand the value of using math, science, engineering technology and communication skills through solving real-world problems. Our curriculum models the workplace and makes the studies more relevant to students. It immerses the student in the problem-solving process, a more effective learning strategy by forming students into teams to solve industry problems."

A major strength of the pilot program is that "we've seen higher retention of students than in traditional programs," said Dr. Wood. "The classes are related to real-world problems so there is an interconnection between courses. Students have a one-on-one relationship with faculty that is conducive to retaining the students," he said.

"The classes are action-based – students are able to apply what they know. Students form teams which, in turn, create support groups for themselves and an environment for retention," he said.

"We've seen an increased maturity of the students. They work together
well. They're doing things that you wouldn't expect of typical first-year students. Students are building their own knowledge as opposed to a traditional lecture format," he said.

This curriculum development was sponsored by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant awarded to the State Technical College System. The grant was one of 11 funded nationwide.
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