Nashua Community College received a U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration grant, known as TAACCCT 3, to work in tandem with local and regional manufacturers, state agencies and community organizations to transform its Advanced Manufacturing/Machine Tool and Mechanical Design curriculum into a Competency-Based Education (CBE) model designed for these technical programs.
The program, Advanced Manufacturing by Innovation and Design (AMID), will provide employers, incumbent employees, dislocated workers, the long-term unemployed and new students with an opportunity to earn stackable credentials needed for Advance Manufacturing jobs and will create a path to a STEM-based four-year college degree. In addition, the AMID program will provide students with wrap-around services to support their efforts, including academic and social supports.
The AMID program was driven by the findings from New Hampshire Governor’s Advanced Manufacturing Education Advisory Council (AMEAC), a two year study, which recommended the following steps be addressed to bridge the worker/employer gap in NH:
- Competencies acquired through course work must align with industry needs;
- Students need to be trained on state-of-the-art equipment with hands-on industry experience;
- Internships, apprenticeships and immersion programs must be created and expanded;
- Access to training must be enhanced to allow for self-paced and accelerated learning through virtual instruction.
Working across a broad coalition of stakeholders, AMID is developing a CBE curriculum in the field of Advanced Manufacturing that focuses on providing students more access to courses through online and hybrid courses and more opportunity for time in the machine lab. The first step in this process is to technology enhance the curriculum. In addition, AMID will help accelerate a student’s time to completion by developing a procedure to evaluate the student’s prior learning experience for possible awarding of credits toward required program courses. The AMID program also includes plans to expand the existing machine lab and acquire additional equipment.
This transformation is being accomplished through the active engagement of the AMID partnership, including the use of an interactive online Learning Collaborative and Work Groups comprised of employer, agency and community-based organizations.
The AMID program will ensure that participants receive both the academic, financial and social support that they need to overcome challenges typically encountered by community college students.
AMID will offer a Technology Enhanced Machine Tool Technology CNC Programming certificate in the fall of 2015. We anticipate launching the technology enhanced Associate Degree program in Mechanical Design in the fall 2016.
For further information, contact:
Mark Dodge, Program Coordinator Machine Tool, 603-578-8900 X1611, [email protected].
