Welcome, everybody. My name is Steve Bloomfield, and I serve as the Manager of Recruitment and Outreach here at Washtenaw Community College. We're so glad you took the opportunity to come to the fourth of a six-part series, where we're featuring our academic divisions. We have Advanced Technology and Public Service Careers tonight.
We're really excited to have everybody here, and I hope that you get a lot of great information and makes some connections tonight. I wanted to give you a framework for how everything's going to work as we move through the session tonight. We have a number of faculty members and representatives from within the division that are here, but it is a showcase.
And in that regard, you're going to hear about a lot of different programs. And so you might be here and you're very interested about a particular program. The one thing I would suggest for everybody tonight is, feel free at any point to make use of the chat. The chat is going to be checked throughout the entire presentation. So if you have questions about a particular career-- or let's say maybe you just learned about the one that you're really interested in, and you want to reach out to the particular faculty member who presented, you can do that right in the chat and with your information, and we can make sure that you get connected with that faculty person.
This is always great for us to have the opportunity to make individual connections. And regarding the chat, my staff in Recruitment and Outreach-- there's a few folks here tonight that'll be watching the chat. And we'll answer those questions as we go. At the end of this session, you'll have the opportunity to ask any further questions.
With the way things are set up, just to make sure that the video and the sound come through effectively, if we have your camera and your mic off during the session, that's a big help in terms of taking care of bandwidth, so that we don't have any delays or skips in any videos that are shown. So at this point in time, I'm actually going to pass the presentation over to our dean of this academic division, Dr. Jimmie Baber, so that he can introduce himself and welcome you here this evening. All right, thanks, Steve. Good afternoon. I'm so happy for you guys that have come out to learn about our programs.
Advanced Technology and Public Service Careers is a very diverse set of programs here at the college. And I always say the best because being the dean of this division, that's my belief. But our goal here in this area is to prepare you for workforce, for industry, or for transfer. We've got roughly $24 million in equipment, the latest and greatest. Our goal is that when you walk in anywhere, that you've seen this piece of machinery, you've touched this piece of machinery. You basically know about how to operate this machinery.
We pride ourselves in preparing students for that. Or if you want to go on to be an engineer, whatever you want to do, we want to make sure that you have what you need to be equipped to be successful. So we're student-centered, just like the whole college is, to make sure that you get what you need to go forward. Our curriculum is also based around industry needs, so if industry partners come to us and say, hey, we're losing this equipment now or we need your students to know this, this or that, it's the same way.
We look at public service careers such as criminal justice, early childhood education. It's no different than when you walk in-- whatever you do, as far as in the field or if you're doing an internship or whatnot, you know what you're doing. You've seen it before. It's not intimidating to you.
That's very important to us. So our curriculum changes from time to time because, of course, things change in industry and how things are going. The part of our division that is really good is that it's in demand right now.
And there's some exciting things going on, and you will see a glimpse of that today in our showcase. So before I get going too far here, I'm going to kick it back. But thank you so much for coming out. And if you have any questions, please ask them to put them in the chat. And then also, you will probably receive some information on some programs going forward after this showcase. So thank you again for being here.
We're going to play you one of the videos that we have for you today. [VIDEO PLAYBACK] - [INAUDIBLE] . Welcome. - Hi, I'm Al Lecz. I'm the Director of the Advanced Transportation Center at Washtenaw Community College. And I want to talk to you today about battery electric vehicles.
I'm standing next to a Ford Mustang Mach-E battery electric vehicle. The automotive industry is quickly changing over to battery electric vehicles in order to reduce carbon emissions and get better fuel economy to reduce our fossil fuel usage. Today, product development for battery electric vehicles is at an extremely high demand and the servicing of these vehicles. Technicians and engineers are required to do this work, and we're training people here at Washtenaw Community College to do the work on developing these vehicles. - Hi, I'm Allen Day, and I'm a faculty member in the Transportation Technologies Department. I teach classes like the class that's behind me-- automotive dynamometer and test-- where students learn to make wiring harnesses and instrument engines that they're going to run on engine dynamometers later in the semester.
Students are learning these skills because our employer partners in the region at research and development and technical facilities require the students to have these skills. And these skills are different than a technician that's just learning to work on vehicles to do diagnosis and repair because they have to build harnesses, put the pins in the connectors, vet the work that they've done, and actually get the engines to run. And that's important for when they work in technical facilities as well. - My name is Bob Lowing. I'm one of the full-time faculty in Auto Body Repair, which is now part of the Transportation Technologies Division.
And maybe a little background on what we do here-- maybe what's changing in the industry, what we're concentrating on. One of the big things that we really have to be mindful of is the materials that we're working with today. Cars are changing to composites, different types of steels, different types of ways to manage energy, different types of sensors.
And one of the things that we've really done in the last, maybe, two or three years is really concentrate on some of those materials. Behind me [AUDIO OUT] right now is an autoclave. And you might ask, what do we do with an autoclave in auto body? And the answer would be-- is composite materials-- Kevlars, fiberglasses, and basic carbon fibers. And a lot of this stuff is present in today's vehicles, and learning how to work with it and how to repair it is paramount, OK? Off to my right my right shoulder here is a welding station.
So primarily, we concentrate on sheet metal. This would be steels. This would be all kinds of different high-strength steels, ultra-high strength steels, and how to repair them, and the process to put all those back together using I-CAR standards. And then just recently, we really saw a need for aluminum repair.
So a lot of aluminum out there, more coming-- and processes of putting that stuff back together-- rivet bonding with adhesives, and getting into actually repairing the aluminum panels. And then the last thing would be aluminum welding, so many different aspects of welding aluminum. Thin metal to thick metal-- all kinds of different aspects of repairing the vehicles. And everything today is about lightweighting. So lightweighting the vehicles is very important. So that's our concentration-- that's our direction as a department-- is dealing with all the new materials and all the repair processes that go with it.
And then on top of that, all these sensors and all the different aspects of repairability after that car has been in a collision. So those are the big things that we really concentrate on in Auto Body Repair. - So my name is Sean Martin.
I'm the Robotics instructor here at Washtenaw Community College as part of the Mechatronics Program. So in the Robotics program, we teach how to set up and program industrial robots. It's a high-demand field for robot technicians and automation specialists for manufacturing. Basically, anything that's made today has some sort of automated system that builds it or assembles it in some way.
So the idea behind the industrial robots is they have different types of tools and grippers and things that you can place onto them, and we're going to teach you how to actually program this robot to go through different processes, to go through different applications, and to actually set up the robot and use it. We also teach how to integrate the robots with other automated systems. So for example, things we'll teach are how to set up offsets for the tools, using different things, like pointers. We have trainer boards set up with different types of sensors and automation, so the robot can go through and pick parts, it can do sequencing. The robots are connected to other cabinets so they can be communicating with other automated devices. We go and we integrate things like solenoid valves and other types of industry devices that you commonly see out on the plant floor.
We also train on safety. So I'm wearing safety glasses because that's something you've got to wear all the time in industry. So other things, too-- basically, even though it looks like a small tabletop robot, the programming is the same on this robot as it is on a large robot. Even the programming for these robots is similar to collaborative robots that are forthcoming. So with these robots, they have to be caged in that when they're in industry, to run them at full speed.
With collaborative robots, they're actually designed to work with humans. So for example, if this were a collaborative robot and it was moving, by touching it, it would actually stop. And their speeds are also limited in order to be considered a safe speed. So with these robotics classes, the goal is to help train you up for jobs like robotic technician jobs and automation specialist jobs that you would apply for at either end-user facilities or integrators. Integrators are the ones that actually build the robot work cell systems.
So the idea behind this is that as you progress through the classes, you learn more about how to not just to jog the robot and make a simple program, but to do more advanced software options-- these robots have safety software options to set up-- to; help prepare you for a job as like a robot technician an automation specialist in the field. - Hi there. My name is Andy Dubuc. I'm an instructor here at Washtenaw Community College. I teach CNC manufacturing, which is what you find right here behind me. In these classes, we teach the whole process for bringing a work piece from start to finish, just like this item that's located inside the machine behind me.
So you start out with a design phase using a 3D printer. This particular part is an upright for an off-road racing vehicle. So we design it first using CAD software.
And then we bring it out to the CNC machine and we create the actual finished product. This is a crucial step in the manufacturing process because we go all the way from the design, the prototyping, all the way up into mass production using the exact same type of machinery that you would find in industry. And then this part would be fully functional and ready to go onto a vehicle. So all of our courses are designed in that way using our state-of-the-art lab equipment, and you would be able to go all the way through the processes I've laid out right here.
This is a perfect example of the type of manufacturing that we see in today's industry because students will be able to take their skills, and go nationwide to any type of employer that has a manufacturing process like this-- whether it's an automotive facility or aerospace or any type of aeronautical component for shuttles or for SpaceX or any component like that. These are the type of skills that are widely transferable because all different industries use them, including automotive, defense industries, aeronautical industries with spaceflight, and other types of commercial space programs. All these skills are transferable to other institutions, if you're interested in a higher degree. You come here to Washtenaw to learn all the hands-on components, and how to run the equipment and how to build the parts.
And then a higher-level class teaches you how to design the parts and analyze them, and refine them into better and more simpler forms. Washtenaw Community College is an excellent place to bring that together. And as a graduate myself, I had a lot of fun, and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, too. - My name is Alex Pazkowsi.
I'm a full-time instructor here at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I'm also a co-chair of the department. Our welding program is one of the largest in the country. We typically enroll between 500 and 600 students. We have 72 welding booths-- 60 of those are hard-wired. Our program is linear.
We teach our students everything from the basic manual welding processes, all the way up to advanced automation and robotics. We teach laser welding and CNC plasma cutting. We also have a specialty in inspection and testing.
So we teach a lot of both destructive and non-destructive testing. We teach X-ray-- both traditional, two-dimensional X-ray and CT, so 3D X-ray. We teach ultrasonic testing-- both traditional angle beam ultrasonic testing and phased array ultrasonic testing. But we're able to cover a lot, based on where we sit in Michigan-- being that we're in the middle of a lot of automotive businesses, private industry. We have aerospace. We have military contractors around here.
So we're able to feed a lot of industry. Our program produces 21% of the welders in the State of Michigan, so we've been pretty successful at turning students into welders. So we are an ATF, so we're an accredited testing facility. All of our full-time instructors are able to issue AWS weld certifications. We don't require that as part of our program exit, but it is something that the students usually strive for, so we do offer that as an option for them.
In terms of occupational demand around where we are, we have automotive, we have the union trades. Through the program, we offer an iron-worker pre-apprenticeship program. We also offer a transfer agreement to Wayne State University, which is a three-plus-one program.
So the students can do three years here at the college, one year at Wayne State, to get a Welding Engineering degree, which has 100% job placement. In terms of our jobs for students that graduate from our program, depending on the skill set of the student and how far they get in the program, typically, our students graduating with our basic certificate will earn somewhere between $15 to $20 an hour. And our more advanced associate's degree-seeking students that are higher skilled have earned as much as $40 an hour coming out of our program. So we always go by the motto of, your input equals your outputs-- the more time you're able to put into this, the better you're going to be in the long run.
- Hello, my name is Zach Van Buren, and I am an Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Technician at Toyota. What I do really focuses on the advanced driver features that you see now more than ever. Between cameras, sensors, and radars, that's what I do for a living.
And without the training I got at Washtenaw Community College, and really, the focus on mobility and preparing everyone for the future, it's not a stretch of imagination to say that I wouldn't be where I am today. Being able to come here without really knowing what I wanted to do, but have the instructors and the system that helped me put my hand on the vehicle, experience what it's like to work in the field and the industry, helped really guide where I am today. [END PLAYBACK] So we'll be moving on to hear from different people in the different departments of the programs that we offer here at WCC, so I will pass it on to Al. Hi. Good afternoon, everyone.
So you saw in the video that was just shown-- you saw some of the, obviously, the wide spectrum of technologies and programs being taught here at Washtenaw Community College that touched mobility, advanced manufacturing-- and there's a big IT-- cybersecurity and networking and communications-- as well. And the Advanced Transportation Center at Washtenaw Community College is really the combination of those three program areas that are managed, obviously, by all the instructors, and Dean Baber and Dean Samulski in the Business and Computer Science areas. So there's a large diversity of programs for students to pick from, based on their interests and their skills and competencies.
And the college has a lot to try to place you into the thing that you're most interested and successful in. So I don't know if there's another video following this or not, but I'm certainly open to more questions about mobility or any of the other program areas. Hi there, I'm Al Coleman, Department Chair for the Advanced Manufacturing area, where we deal with computer-aided design, CNC machining, and additive manufacturing and robotics.
Our area-- we have all kinds of the technology that you saw in there. We've upgraded a bunch of it, and we're in the process of upgrading more-- the PLC logic controllers, which is actually behind me right now-- we've ordered enough to re-outfit our 12 stations, adding the newest technology. And then over the summer, for the CNC manufacturing side, we have close to $200,000 worth of equipment coming in-- part of it from a donation from a large company in Ann Arbor called Zoller, which will give us some modern technology that's used out in the CNC machining field, and also to proto track-type CNC machines that are used by a lot of our partner apprenticeship programs. The additive manufacturing we incorporate into the computer aided design classes, so there's some 3D printing. We have a bunch of 3D printers. CNC machining-- we have everything up through five-axis machining available to us.
The programs have been updated, so now there are two 60-credit programs. One goes down the robotics track, and the other one goes down the manufacturing CNC track, which is how you manufacture these type of products here. Basically everything that you touch in the world has gone through a CNC machine at some sort, whether it was the mold that's used to manufacture the final part or the actual product itself, including-- you couldn't wear any clothing because the stuff that manufactures clothing was made on machinery. So it's not a dirty, nasty industry like it was in the past.
Now it's a high-tech field. It's all run with machines that you program, so it's high-tech. So if you're a gamer-type person or enjoy code, math-oriented or anything like that, this is a good trade for you. And then with that, I'll have students walking in here in a few minutes. So I'll hang around for questions.
Awesome. Thank you, Al. Moving on to Alex. Muted. He's muted.
Yeah. Alex, you're muted. You'd think after teaching online for two years that I'd have this Zoom thing down by now, but I guess I don't.
But yeah, I'm Alex Pazkowski. I'm the Co-Chair of the Welding Department. You saw me in that video. It's like I said in the video-- we offer all kinds of different welding disciplines.
We teach you all of the main manual welding processes, as well as fabrication, inspection and testing, and some automation. So unlike Al's trade, we are a dirty job. So if you guys like being outside and working around construction sites and in shops doing private industry stuff, this is a great place to be. Another thing about welding that's important is to know that welding is a tool of the trade and not a trade in itself. So if you learn welding skills, you can take them to several different areas. But yeah, if you guys have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on chat or send me an email or whatever.
But yeah, thanks for coming. Thank you, Alex. Now we are going to hear from Brian. Hello, I'm Brian Martindale with the HVAC Department. I'm going to do a share-screen here. And I have a PowerPoint to share with you.
Brian, I have the slides in here. I'm not sure if they're the same. So far, that looks good. Sure.
So yeah, we'll just have you go through-- do the physical-- But yeah, I'm Brian Martindale. I'm the Department Chair for HVAC. And we have two different certificates and an associate's degree that's available.
The next few slides will take you through a little breakdown of the three programs that we have. So here we have the Residential Certificate. These are all of our 100-level courses. And we also have the Welding and Fabrication 104, where you'll also learn about the soldering and brazing. That's part of over there because part of the department's not set up to be able to properly solder and braze-- but you would learn that.
But we start off with the entry level 101 class, and it just gets your feet wet. Sometimes we have students take that as an elective, which is nice. Then 102 is our sheet metal fabrication course. 103 is primarily an electrical class-- HVAC electrical. 105 is heating, residential and light commercial.
107 is all about air conditioning. So the 105 and the 107 build off of the 101 and 103. So there's pre-reqs for the 105 and 107, based on those previous classes. And then the 108 course is our capstone course. And that typically is the last class that you're going to take to earn the Residential Certificate.
Next slide. Can you go to the next slide, please? OK, so then if you take 17 additional 200-level courses, you would earn the Commercial Certificate. And most of these classes are geared more towards the commercial end. And they also build off of a lot of the 100-levels that were discussed earlier.
And we have energy audits, and we have computer software where we can do a Manual J right on the computer. 202-- that's actually one of the classes I teach, where you would learn how to properly design the duct system in a home or for commercial applications. Refrigeration-- I also have some more slides of these other classes. The 207 is the last class that the students would take to earn the Commercial Certificate. And if we go to the next slide-- once the student earns their general ed requirements, they would then have earned the Associate's in Applied Science Degree. And this degree is also transferable to other programs, like Eastern and Ferris State.
Next slide. So the next few slides show some pictures of our lab facility. These are some 80% furnaces with some residential air conditioning units. And what's nice about these is everything's operational. The students get on the equipment.
And we also have faults set up for troubleshooting purposes, where they have to go in with their electrical meter or with the refrigeration gauges and diagnose the problems that we have set up into the furnaces. Next slide. And here's some 90% high-efficiency furnaces, also along with some more air conditioning units. And again, these are all operationable, and the students-- we have them on there just about every day, getting that hands-on learning, learning the ins and outs of HVAC equipment. Next slide. And here's the electrical trainers that the students work on in the 103 class-- that's the other beginner or entry-level class, the 103.
So if you have any interest in electrical, this would be a great class. And these trainers are set up where they also have faults built into them-- about 70 faults per training board. And the students go through with their multimeter and diagnose the problems that are put into the trainers. Next slide. In our 108 class, which is the capstone class, the students will have a chance to earn the EPA 608 Certification. This is for handling refrigerants.
And all HVAC employees that are working out in the field with refrigerants need to earn this certification. So this is built into our capstone class. And on the table here, we see recovery machines, recovery cylinders, and refrigeration tanks and gauges. And these are all part of class-- 101 course and the 107 course is where the students would do the hands-on with this equipment.
And the next slide, please. And part of our 105 course is pipe threading. So the students learn about gas piping, and also later in the program, how to size gas piping. But here, they'll actually get a chance to cut it and ream and thread black iron pipe.
Next slide. Our HVA 205 is our hydronic course. And this is where you would learn about boilers-- and not only how to work on them, but also service them. So we have some circulating pumps here on the left that the students tear apart and rebuild. Next slide.
And our HVA 102 course is a sheet metal fabrication class. And this class has a lot of hands-on. And you start with a flat piece of metal and build a fitting, like you see here on the left photo. Next slide.
And we also have geothermal heat pumps. The students have labs in the 105 and 107 course, working on the geothermal. And our building is set up to heat and cool with geothermal energy. So these trainers are actually tapped off of the building's system, and they make great trainers. Next slide.
And we also have commercial equipment, like these rooftop units that you see here. And the students do various labs on those. Next slide. And in our HVA 203 course-- these are refrigeration boxes that the students literally build from scratch.
And then they get them up and running. And the top box-- they get down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. So it's a really good course and plenty of hands-on.
And the next slide. So that would be the end of-- Oh, and that was the end. Yep. OK, well thank you. All right, thank you so much, Brian.
If anybody has any questions for him, please feel free to use the chat. Thank you, Kendall. Absolutely.
Now we're going to watch a video on our Criminal Justice Program here at WCC. [VIDEO PLAYBACK] What do you call someone who went to Washtenaw Community College? Attorney, sheriff, FBI agent, officer, leader, and more. Washtenaw Community-- Oops. One second. What do you call someone who went to Washtenaw Community College? Attorney, Sheriff, FBI agent, officer, leader, and more. Washtenaw Community College's Criminal Justice Program trains tomorrow's leaders, and help students achieve their goals.
Federal, state, and local government agencies all have a need for professionals with expertise and training in the field of criminal justice. Individuals interested in pursuing a criminal justice career will find a wide range of possibilities and professions to consider. For those who are called to serve, entering this dynamic field means you can be at the forefront of a new and exciting career.
WCC graduates enjoy careers as probation and parole officers, FBI agents, state and community police officers, cyber crime investigators, mounted and harbor patrol officers, and park rangers, among many other professions. Our Criminal Justice Program attracts students who aspire to be better, to be more. It's a call for anyone looking to serve their community with confidence and professionalism, to give back and make their home a better place to live and work. One of the things students love about WCC's Criminal Justice Program is that our faculty understand what it's like to work in the field.
They are criminal justice trained agents, officers, lawyers, and professionals, ready to help guide every student into a high-demand and high-skilled career. WCC students who complete their first three years here can transfer to a four-year college or university to finish their bachelor's degree in a single year. The future of criminal justice looks like you. If you desire to make your community, state, and country a better place for everyone, become part of its future.
Aspire higher by preparing for a career in criminal justice at WCC. Visit wccnet.edu/cjcareers to learn more today. [END PLAYBACK] Now we're going to hear from Kevin, who is a part of our Criminal Justice faculty. Good evening, everybody. My name is Kevin Lindsey.
I'm one of two full-time faculty. We have seven total in our program. Our faculty, as the video talks about-- we're in the field or were in the field. I myself am retired as a warden of a prison after 32 years. We have retired FBI agents, a current judge, a deputy court clerk, retired police officers-- so we've got staff that have either been there and done that for a lot of years, or are currently doing that. So when you come to our program, you're going to really get that hands-on experience to help guide you in your career goals.
Washtenaw-- we offer classes-- seven, 10, 12, 15 weeks, online, in-person, virtual. We have a police academy on-grounds. We have a county corrections officer academy on grounds. Internships available-- prisons, courts, police agencies-- where you want to go, we'll find you an internship. As the video talked about, we have three plus one transfer programs. If you're looking for a bachelor's degree, why not come to three years at Washtenaw rates, then one year at university rates? Criminal Justice Associate's Degrees, Law Enforcement Associate's Degrees, Pre-Law Program, Paralegal Degree-- all of that.
So our program is fairly nice-sized-- about 400 students on average. So you're going to have plenty of options of classes to take-- not like you're going to be locked into-- you've got to have to this class this particular semester because it's the only time it's offered or whatever. We're here. We hope that you will be a part of our program as well because now is the time for change in criminal justice.
Criminal justice is constantly evolving. So if it's something that you would like to do, by all means, please contact me. Thanks for your time.
Thank you so much. Now we're going to hear from Beth, who will be speaking about our Early Childhood Education programs. Hi, everyone. I'm Beth Marshall.
I'm the Program Coordinator and faculty member in Early Childhood Education. We have four part-time faculty who work in the field, and they're very eager to work with you. So our program is a little bit different than some of the others you've heard about. Our program-- you're going to be definitely hands-on. But I like to call our program "hearts on," so you're also working with your heart.
So next slide, please. Go ahead. So we offer one certificate program and two associate degree. Those are some photos of some of our students in our classroom. I'm very proud that we do have one-to-one technology.
So we do have tablets available for you to use in your classes. Next slide. Our certificate program is 10 credits, and it prepares you to get a national credential. The Child Development Certificate Program prepares you to get your national CDA credential. You will take a national exam. You'll have a site visit.
And you'll prepare a portfolio, which explains all the things that you do with young children. I'm very proud to say that 100% of our students who complete this program actually obtain their national CDA certificate. And that certificate is recognized in all 50 states. Next.
Now look at that lovely face-- how could you not want to work with a lovely face like that? Our Child Development Program is 60 credits, and it is a standalone associate degree. It prepares you to be a lead teacher in a child care program, an assistant teacher in a Head Start or a State of Michigan GSRP program. We do transfer to bachelor's degree programs in universities, if you're interested in getting your Child and Family Studies degree. You may have heard there's a teaching shortage.
You can do your practicums, get paid, and go to school and get your associate's degree. Next slide. We also have an Early Childhood Education Associate in Arts Program. This is designed for students who know they want to get both their bachelor's degree and their teaching certificate. The State of Michigan recently updated their teaching certificate standards, and we're currently working with local universities on transfer agreements, so that you will be well-prepared to get either a first through kindergarten teaching certificate or a preschool through third grade teaching certificate. Thank you.
Our in-person classrooms are active, collaborative learning. You are doing practical work that you can take back and use in your classroom the next day. Next slide. What do these degrees lead to? You can be lead teachers, associate, or assistant teachers in Head Start or State of Michigan GSRP programs. And I don't know if you can click the link to the short video. If not, that's fine.
Let's try it. Give me one second. That's OK. We can just move on. I think I've got it. One second.
Let me just pull it up here. Can everybody see it? Yes. Yeah, we can see it. [VIDEO PLAYBACK] [MUSIC PLAYING] You can definitely tell a difference in staff who have received training like they do at WCC.
It makes a difference-- not only in the kind of care that we're able to provide for children, but also the accreditation and other licensing and the standards that we're able to meet. So our business really depends on having qualified candidates in programs like WCC. [MUSIC PLAYING] [END PLAYBACK] OK, let me re-share. Give me one second.
Well, while you're re-sharing, I just wanted to share that for the first time, Early Childhood students are getting signing bonuses when they apply and obtain positions. And it's just a great time to go into the field of education. OK, next slide.
That is the end of those slides. Is there anything else you wanted to add? Nope, that's it. If you have any questions, I'll be watching chat. Awesome. Thank you so much. Now we are going to move along to hear from Dominique Green, who is an academic advisor.
Good evening, everyone. As stated, my name is Dominique Green, and I am one of two academic advisors that we have in our ATP program for Advanced Technologies and Public Service career. So it's an ATP I and APT II. So APT I is for the tech programs, and ATP II is for our Early Childhood Education and public service careers.
So my colleague, Niki Lee, does both ATP I and II. So she has the programs which we advise from start to finish. And I primarily focus on ATP I courses-- so our tech programs, or what is considered the trades.
So you can contact us at any time to discuss a plan of action of what a semester might look like for you. But it's easier for us, though, once you have applied and been accepted. So if you're debating on what you want to do, I encourage you to apply because then it makes the advising appointment a lot smoother to be able to map out a plan-- if you're thinking about part-time, full-time. Us advisors are the icing on the cake that the faculty have baked for you.
We are there just to make sure that everything is finalized, and that it's in an order, so that you can make the transition from a college student to a working adult. Or if you currently are a working adult or if you're currently trying to do a job as completing your education, just making sure that you're doing it at a pace which makes you successful-- whether it's two classes a semester, one a semester. That's the beauty at-- being a two-year college. There is no rush. Now, we do have to take into consideration some financial aid components, but still, make it fit your mold, versus being forced into curriculum in which you may not be able to move at the pace that you want.
And our programs is a combination of theoretical and practical-- learning what the book says and applying it to everyday educational opportunities. So these are the programs that we advise on. They are stackable credentials.
So if you are interested in the certificate of a program, you want to make sure when you apply to the program that you do not skip the intro. Because for example, if you wanted to do commercial HVAC-- and that is an option when you apply to WCC, to pick commercial HVAC. But it's not an accurate program because you must do the residential first to open up the courses for the commercial, OK? So sometimes, it's like, oh, I want to jump straight into commercial. It's stackable, so the classes like HVAC 101 and 103 are opening classes to our 205 courses, our upper-level courses. So it's important to understand that we build it so that students can take their time, and as they continuously dive into the courses and they understand that this is what they want to continue to be doing, add more to their plate.
Then we can change the program to fit the mold of what you're trying to do. So we can go from your basic certification to your advanced certification, and you're only taking certain classes-- meaning classes directly affiliated with the trade. And then the associates comes in when we add in our general ed classes-- your math, your science, your social sciences, your transferable agreement courses. So even if you're only thinking about an associate's, it's good to keep it in mind that-- let's focus on classes that are transferable, so that in the future, if the opportunity presents itself for you to go back to school for a higher-paying job, you have met the threshold to just transfer seamlessly.
And that's what us advisors-- myself and Niki do-- to make sure that there's no gray areas, that you understand the complete process of what your degree entails, and how it can convert, as well as if you're a high school student and you're taking some of these trade programs, the articulation agreements of-- what classes can you bypass as a student? Or work experience-- credit for prior learning. So there's a lot of different layers here, and us, as advisors, are here to make sure that when you start, the end goal is that you finish. And we just want to make sure that you're supported in every aspect. Faculty are really good with directing students to advisors and advisors directing to faculty. We work as a team in ATP-- very tight-knit, so we communicate constantly to make sure the student is at the forefront, and that the student is being served at the best of their ability.
Is there another slide, or is just the Contact Us? That's the last slide for you. OK, well, thank you everybody-- and your time this evening. Again, do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are more than happy to help you along your journey. It's our job to help you along this journey. So please make me earn my pay.
Thanks, Dominique. Hi, everyone. My name is Kendall Reid, and I am one of the Recruitment Outreach Specialists here. So I help students go through the application, take care of their checklist items, and get them to the point to where they would then meet with Dominique or Niki, depending on the program that they are going into.
So if anyone has any application or "how to get enrolled" questions, please feel free to send me an email. Definitely happy to help. And if anybody has any more questions, please feel free to use the chat.
I'm going to pass it back to Steve. Thank you, Kendall. I appreciate it. And I want to thank everybody this evening for this presentation.
What's great about these opportunities is that, for folks like Kendall, and myself in my area, we are able to make use of recordings like these, and help other prospective students as they consider the different careers within our academic divisions. And for our purposes, having these excellent presentations and these relationships with the faculty who take care of our students so well-- it's great for us to help make connections. And so I know tonight multiple times, we've said, please feel free to throw questions in the chat. If you're in a mode where, after this presentation is over, you would like more information, or if you'd like to make contact with somebody from a particular program, Kendall's just a great resource for you. She's the liaison for this division from my office.
She'll be doing a lot of programming work with the division as she continues and moves forward, so she's definitely someone who can reach out with you. I know she's texted and emailed a bunch of people prior to this particular event, so feel free to reach out to her. And again, thank you to all the presenters this evening.
We have one more item, I'd like to share with you at this point in time. At this time, I'd like to introduce Jake Sponsler, who's a representative for FAME USA. We have a new apprenticeship agreement program that we're going to start in fall '22, and I'd like to have Jake talk to everybody about it here, and have him take it from there. Yeah, thanks, Steve.
Yeah, so as mentioned, my name's Jake Sponsler. I'm the Vice President for a company called Orbitform in Jackson. First off, I want to congratulate all the students that are on the call because how exciting is it that you get a chance to go into these careers? All of the things that were listed-- amazing. They're in-demand and well-paid careers that I think-- it's exciting that you have that opportunity.
What FAME is-- FAME is something that augments one of the programs that was talked about-- the advanced manufacturing technology track. FAME stands for Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education. It's a Toyota-based program. They started it. But since then, it's grown into more than just Toyota, and it's facilitated by the Manufacturing Institute.
So it's a national program. We have this coming to Michigan now. What it is it's a two-year-- the Advanced Manufacturing Technician track at WCC. And it's a work study program. So the way it's structured is you basically work three days a week for a sponsor-- an employer that pays you for those three days. Then you attend classes two days a week.
The employer base covers a lot of-- we have several companies throughout the area. And different industries, but all in industry that are signed up to work in this program. Basically, with that work-school dynamic, you can graduate debt-free.
Listen, there are a couple of the sites you go to-- one of the things I think that's most exciting to me is, like I said, it augments the existing program. So you get to come away with a two-year degree from WCC, but you also are FAME-certified, which is, again-- it's recognized-- the program. And you also end up with a journeyman technician's certification as well. So pretty sweet deal if somebody's interested. There's all the information.
Like it was mentioned before by Allan-- manufacturing is not what is envisioned. It's high-tech. It's computers, it's robots, it's all that. It's pretty exciting stuff. So I hope there's people that are interested.
I'll throw my contact information in the slide there. But Meg Wallace from Toyota is someone that's been helping drive the process, too. So she created this slide, and she's on the call with us too, but wasn't in a position where she could present.
So there's a few of us from different companies. And just the fact that you have companies that have a desire to present it-- that's a good indication that there's a demand in the market for these positions. Any questions? So if there are any questions for Jake, feel free to put them in the chat. But also know that if you would like to make a connection and speak with Jake-- or Meg, for that matter-- just let us know.
And again, Kendall can definitely help you make that connection. And Jake just put his email address in the chat, so it's there for you as well. At this point, are there any final questions that anybody might have, before we end the presentation? So Matt Landrum asked, what are some of the other manufacturers that are partnered with FAME? Jake? So yeah, off the top of my head, I don't know all of them. That is definitely information we can provide. So I would have to provide that later.
I don't have the list. Right now, I think there's probably six or seven. But it's a growing program, and it covers several different areas around lower Michigan here. OK. So Jake, is that something we could follow up with, where we could send it to the people who are here this evening? Yeah, absolutely. And to touch on it-- it's a wide swath of different companies.
The company I work for-- we make forming and fastening and automation equipment, so our approach with it is more to apply it to service technicians, whereas a company like Toyota-- they're doing higher volume manufacturing-- they're looking at it from a standpoint of having maintenance technicians in the plants. So there's a lot you can do with that skill set. And it's growing.
Automation is obviously growing. So there's going to be a big demand. Very good. Yes, Steve? Yeah? I wanted to reemphasize for our audience our Transportation Technology programs, otherwise known as automotive-type programs-- but again, there's a full array of automotive programs that bridge, again, some of the skill sets with automotive cybersecurity, as well as reaching into manufacturing. So the Transportation Technologies programs-- I would want people to really explore that one for possibilities in their occupational pathways.
Thank you. Very good. So James throws out this-- he says, hello, can you throw more light on the CNC and the number of years it takes to master? We want to start a CNC machine company in Ghana, and I really need your advice and guidance. I had some students asking questions here. I caught part of that.
So-- Allan, yeah, it's in the chat there. It's asking to get more light on CNC and the number of years it takes to master. They're looking to start a machine company in Ghana. OK, so to master is a different thing than being able to be proficient at it, of course. So it would take, to master, 10 years, probably-- five at a minimum, if you've got someone that's really at the whip at it.
But it would take a couple of years to get your feet wet and learning how the machines are. And it depends on the type. If you're doing repetitive machining, where it's production, where you can create one part and then let it run, that's a little easier to do than if you're doing what's called a job shop, where you're getting a new blueprint of something different every day. You gain a lot more experience in a job shop environment because you're learning how to do different things and how to approach it. But with doing it more of a production aspect, if you're doing something repetitive, and you're going to make this type of widget over and over, but different sizes, then you can just continue to refine that. So that would be a little easier to get more proficient at quickly than doing multiple things, if that makes sense.
Good. So Matthew has another question. He had shown up a little late for the presentation. And by the way, Matthew, we can make sure we get you the link for the presentation once it comes back from closed captioning.
We have to send it out. But we'll definitely take care of you there. But he asks, can he "pursue an automotive technician education with any of these programs? I'm curious because I showed up a little late." Excuse me, I was on mute.
Again, automotive programs-- there's at least, what's it-- three degrees and one certificate in the Transportation Technologies, i.e. automotive type-programs, that can develop you for service or for product development. And we have a number of graduates in both areas.
And the demand for skilled technicians in the automotive-- either product development or services is very high today, especially with the movement into battery electric vehicles and the connectivity and autonomous sensors and controllers that are going into vehicles today. So again, we have a wide array and very interesting programs that prepare our graduating students for occupations in high demand today. So Alex had to head out from our Welding Department. But he did put his email address in the chat, should you have any questions for him. And I think that's the greatest part of this whole deal is-- everybody who's presenting here tonight is more than willing to talk to you about their programs and is available via email to catch up with you. And so there's a lot of folks here who are really up for, and willing to, and excited about helping you.
Kendall, am I missing anything on my end? Is there anything else? A couple things. Brian wanted to mention that his son went to WCC and earned his Automotive Technician Degree, and now works for Nissan, which is awesome. I also put the link in there for all the manufacturing and automotive programs that we have listed on our website.
Each of our programs do have their own web page. And if you scroll all the way down, you'll see program requirements, and that will show you all the different classes that are a part of those programs. So don't just look at just the title of the program-- look at all the courses that make that program. And then there's some info on other people to email. Matthew also said he would love more information about some of the programs and internships/apprenticeships within the automotive program. So Matthew, if you want to go ahead and email me, I can definitely connect you with everybody, to be able to get more info on those specific programs.
And as I said before, it'll be Kendall who will make sure that you get the link for the presentation, Matthew, since you missed some of it. There's another question that just came, too. "Adding on to Matthew's question, I also joined a little late. Is it possible to get more information on engine tuning and dyno tuning?" Yes. This is part of one of the automotive-- the Transportation Technologies Program called power train development.
And again, they're using a chassis dynamometer and engine dynamometers, and they're testing the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E on the all-wheel drive chassis dynamometer, in comparison to internal combustion engine powered powertrains. And the students and instructors are just having really a great time looking at the comparisons in performance and the other characteristics. So again, we have a great program-- Powertrain Development-- you should look at. I put the link to that program right in the chat for them.
Excellent. Thank you. And I would also encourage anyone-- again, the industry is using terms like mobility and connected and autonomous vehicles.
Go to the WCC Advanced Transportation Center to understand what these terms mean, and see the linkage to the programs we have discussed today-- manufacturing, transportation technologies, and computer science and it, intelligence. One of the things we'll always offer up-- you haven't seen Haley today. She's been watching the chat.
But Haley is our Campus Visit Coordinator. If you are local and you want the opportunity for a campus tour, definitely, Kendall can set that up with Haley and yourself. And we will make sure you get a chance to look at the facilities.
Because you can actually see the videos-- it's pretty impressive what you see in the videos-- but when you see what we have on our campus live, in person, it's amazing. We're blessed to have the facilities and the faculty that we have, doing what they do. Just let us know.
We'd be happy to have you for a tour. Were there any last questions, before we wrap everything up today? Thank you so much for attending tonight, folks. We appreciate it.
Yeah, thank you for being here. Thank you. Good job, everybody. All right. Thanks, everybody.
Goodbye. Have a good night. Thank you folks. Appreciate everything.
It was great. And Sharon, we'll keep you posted on the-- oh, she left? OK. Thank you for having me.
Yeah, thanks, Dominique. Just let me know anything you need. It's good seeing you, man. It's always good to see you, Steve-- Kendall and Haley as well.
Yeah, that's right. Steve the least. Yeah. Exactly. I was actually just going to compliment you, Dominique. It's fine.
I won't.
2022-05-14