| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | April 12, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 23, 2021 |
| Award Number: | 1601168 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
John Jackman
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $438,964.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $438,964.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
501 COLLEGE DR CHARLOTTESVILLE VA US 22902-7589 (434)977-3900 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
501 College Drive Charlottesville VA US 22902-8714 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Advanced Tech Education Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project at Piedmont Virginia Community College is developing an advanced manufacturing education and training program to meet regional and statewide employment needs. Developing and maintaining a highly skilled workforce is a vital factor in sustaining a strong economy. This program responds to that need by training, educating, and certifying a technical workforce to international industry standards. The degree of collaboration among post-secondary faculty, technical educators, and industry is improved by this initiative and the pathway between secondary and post-secondary institutions is being strengthened. The student recruitment plan is carefully designed to attract and retain a diverse population. An organized effort is in place to disseminate the effective practices and outcomes resulting from this project to a broad audience.
This grant is working towards the following goals: developing an innovative education and training program in advanced manufacturing; enhancing the advanced manufacturing career pathway between secondary and post-secondary institutions; developing training capacity by establishing an advanced manufacturing lab, an open access curriculum, and project-based-learning (PBL) modules; and supporting regional economic development in advanced manufacturing. The program is being developed by incorporating the multiple fields of engineering technology into one integrated curriculum. The new courses provide students with a broad understanding of advanced manufacturing and the ability to apply the new knowledge in a lab environment that simulates the work environment. By educating students in this manner, as opposed to the usual route of focused training in one field, the industrial base is being presented with well-trained employees.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
NSF ATE Grant 2020-2021 Outcomes Report
Piedmont Virginia Community College was awarded a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education grant to develop an advanced manufacturing education and training program to meet regional and statewide employment needs. This initiative benefits the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) field by producing an estimated 30 qualified science and engineering technicians in each future year. Through this grant project, PVCC accomplished the following:
- Developed an innovative advanced manufacturing program to include:
- Project-Based-Learning modules (PBLs)
- Enhancing the advanced manufacturing career pathway
- Training for at least four secondary instructors from four area high schools
- Educated more than 130 students seeking post-secondary education related to advanced manufacturing.
- Employed a Program Liaison to support outreach, recruitment, and student success activities.
- Created a lab space aligned with industry standards and engaged industry partners to create student internships.
In the final year of the grant, internships with local industry partners continued. This work focused on goal four of the grant: support regional economic development in advanced manufacturing through the education and training of a skilled advanced manufacturing workforce.
2020-21 Internship partners:
- Emerson
- Gaston & Wyatt
- NRAO
- VDI
- Micro Aire
- UVA Facilities Management
New Organizations or Partners added this year:
TING - Spoke in ETR 243 program class and expressed interest in Advisory Board and internships
Comsonics - Spoke in ETR 243 program class
Gropen - Industry interested in Advisory Board and internships
One apprentice was added this spring to the Northrop Grumman cohort.
National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s National International Exchange Program: summer Internship - a collaboration with NRAOs NINE program, the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), and PVCC. The students worked with Raspberry Pis and SDRs to do spectrum monitoring as well as creating a high school radio astronomy curriculum that will be piloted in local schools. It is an international project. The students’ summer advisor is at a University in Costa Rica. As a result of the connections with NRAO, there are now four students serving internships and another intern lined up for the fall. This partnership is positioned to flourish as a pathway to introduce radio astronomy into local curriculum. These students are supported through NSF ATE grant and the LSAMP grant.
Overall Summary:
Over the life of this grant, a functional community has emerged serving job seekers and area manufacturing alike and it is growing. Our curriculum for the Industrial Electronics Technology (Advanced Manufacturing) degree is advised by an array of local manufacturing businesses and our students find the training invaluable. They have a wide range of job opportunities available to them after completing the program. Internship and job placement opportunities have grown every year and I expect this to continue as Central Virginia expands its manufacturing opportunities. This award supported a model process for developing a manufacturing training program that suits local industry. Working with industry partners ensures a progressive curriculum that is keeping pace with rapidly advancing technologies in manufacturing. In summary, the success of the program is supported by:
- A program liaison position to support relationship building and logistics
- Industry advisory panel for curriculum development
- Establishing internship partners
Certainly, this will serve our community for the foreseeable future as our relationships strengthen and expand. Our enrollment has fluctuated over the past three years with 61 unique students enrolled in 2018-2019 to 136 students in 2019-2020 and 106 students in 2020-2021. The recent decline in enrollment is likely due to the impact of COVID on our region and follows the general enrollment pattern at the college after the onset of COVID.
Last Modified: 10/12/2021
Modified by: Erica H Funk
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