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Award Abstract # 1566545
Manufacturing Certifications for Rural High School Students through Community College Dual Enrollment

NSF Org: DUE
Division Of Undergraduate Education
Recipient: NORTH FLORIDA COLLEGE
Initial Amendment Date: May 10, 2016
Latest Amendment Date: August 10, 2016
Award Number: 1566545
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Virginia Carter
vccarter@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4651
DUE
 Division Of Undergraduate Education
EDU
 Directorate for Education & Human Resources
Start Date: June 1, 2016
End Date: May 31, 2020 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $187,267.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $187,267.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2016 = $187,267.00
History of Investigator:
  • David Dunkle (Principal Investigator)
    dunkled@nfcc.edu
  • William Eustace (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Nancy Lillis (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: North Florida Community College
325 NW TURNER DAVIS DR
MADISON
FL  US  32340-1610
(850)973-1661
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: North Florida Community College
325 NW Turner Davis Drive
Madison
FL  US  32340-1611
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): C1QJG7YJV7D6
Parent UEI: HJ3JDZ916NF5
NSF Program(s): Advanced Tech Education Prog
Primary Program Source: 04001617DB NSF Education & Human Resource
Program Reference Code(s): 9178, 1032, SMET
Program Element Code(s): 741200
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.076

ABSTRACT

North Florida, like other rural areas, must adequately prepare the next generation of skilled technicians in the sector of advanced manufacturing because local manufacturing companies require highly qualified and skilled manufacturing and engineering technicians with appropriate soft skills to be successful. Participants who secure high-paying jobs can support themselves and contribute to the growth and prosperity of the community. This project at North Florida Community College (NFCC) is designed to develop an advanced manufacturing dual enrollment project with Madison County high school students. The project will result in career pathways leading from two local high schools to the community college to employment as technicians. This project will include dual enrollment (DE), career and technical education (CTE), industry partnerships, and soft skills development. This unique combination of project components is designed to meet the specific needs of rural high school students and rural manufacturing companies. Project findings will be widely disseminated throughout Florida and can serve as a model for other rural communities throughout the United States. A comprehensive evaluation will be conducted to document successes and guide project development.

The goal of the project is to recruit and educate underrepresented (rural, first-generation in college, minority) high school students who will graduate with strong soft skills and successful completion of the Automation and Production Technology (APT) course including the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) Certified Production Technician (CPT) credential. The APT program is comprised of four components and the project participants will complete each of the four components during subsequent semesters.The college plans to use summer hands-on workshops in robotics, 3D printing, and SolidWorks to introduce the project to potential students. Central to the project will be the development of employer-sought soft skills including team-building and problem-solving. Project participants will be involved in scenarios that require them to solve unfamiliar problems, communicate effectively, assume leadership or follower roles, work collaboratively, and think critically. Industry partners will interact with students through classroom visits and facility tours. NFCC has the commitment of industry partners to provide program support including tours of manufacturing facilities, guest speakers and content lecturers, mock interviews, and hiring opportunities to students who successfully complete the program. Secondary-postsecondary team teaching will provide professional development to expose all instructors to both high school and college environments. The professional development component, during which high school and college faculty team teach, will strengthen the bond between these two sectors of the educational community as well as model the skills essential for collaborative work. The MSSC CPT certification will translate into 15 credit hours toward the newly developed AS Degree in Engineering Technology at the college or elsewhere in the Florida College System. This will provide a pathway to a baccalaureate degree and higher skilled employment for students.

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.

North Florida College (NFC) located in rural Madison, Florida, with funding provided through the National Science Foundation (NSF) developed an advanced manufacturing and production program focused on providing dual enrollment opportunities to high school students. This program has created career pathways that lead from local high schools to the community college and further to employment throughout the college’s six-county service district. The team has relied heavily on summer hands-on camps that expose potential students to robotics, pneumatics/hydraulics, electronics, programmable logic controllers, CNC, 3D printing, and advanced manufacturing employment opportunities through industry tours with participating workforce partners. Students are able to dual enroll in the Advanced Manufacturing and Production Technology (AMPT) certificate program at NFC. The AMPT program is broken down into four separate components that prepare students to earn their Manufacturing Skill Standards Council Certified Production Technician (MSSC-CPT) certification. The CPT credential is also comprised of four components or certificates which include: Safety, Quality Practices and Measurement, Manufacturing Processes and Production, and Maintenance Awareness.

The overall goal of this project was to increase the number of under-represented (rural, first generation, minority) high school students who graduate high school having completed the AMPT program and earn the MSSC-CPT credential. An underlying goal was to help influence perceptions relating to the manufacturing industry. This industry is the second largest employment sector in the College's service district. Employers are in need of skilled technicians, and through a dual enrollment program that specializes in this training, this project hoped to assist in bridging that gap.

The project certainly raised the perception of the manufacturing and production industry within the region through its numerous outreach activities. The project team was actively engaged with guidance counselors and high school administrators within the service district, often visiting schools and meeting with students. The project team hosted Manufacturing Day events in an effort to bring prospective students and future employers in contact with each other.  Over the course of the project, nine summer camps were offered, serving ninety-seven students. All camps were evaluated by an external evaluator. All nine camps yielded significant results for pre-camp to post-camp changes in familiarity with science, technology, engineering/robotics, mathematics (STEM) courses needed in middle and high school in order to prepare for careers in engineering and advanced technology programs. Camp participants were also able to tour production facilities in order to gain an understanding what the world of work looked like outside the classroom/laboratory.  The project was initially written to focus on high school students in the 11th and 12th grade. The team decided early on to include a Robotics Camp for middle school students in an effort to plant seeds in younger students and give them the opportunity to see and work in the laboratory. NSF easily allowed this change of scope, and it was refreshing to work on a grant funded project that allowed such flexibility.

The project faced some challenges in terms of student enrollment in the AMPT program. As happens more often than not, changes in personnel and administrators in the local high schools changed between the writing of the grant and the award. As such, support and feeder programs that were to be implemented did not occur at the levels initially anticipated. Over the course of the project, 30 high school students dual enrolled in the AMPT program. All 30 students took part in workplace and soft skills training. The local workforce development agency facilitated workshops on resume writing, interviewing skills, professionalism, as well as teamwork and collaboration. Industry partners also visited the class to discuss the importance of reliability and dependability and the traits they look for in employees. Students were also given web-based courseware throughout their enrollment that focused on soft-skills development. Of the 30 students who were enrolled in the AMPT program, 16 completed with 5 of those students earning the full MSSC-CPT. While most students did not earn the full MSSC-CPT credential, most students were able to earn at least one of the certificates that make up the credential. Of these individual components, students earned a total of 39 certificates.

This project also helped justify the creation of a 60 credit hour Associates in Science degree program in Engineering Technology at the College. Students are able to articulate 15 credits into the degree program through the MSSC-CPT credential. So far, three students from the project have taken advantage of this opportunity, one of which recently graduated and is working in field with an industry partner.  This project has effectively allowed the NFC team to create a true workforce-educational pathway that allows students to earn credentials with numerous exit points should they decide to join the workforce before completing all portions of the training first.

 


Last Modified: 06/20/2020
Modified by: David A Dunkle

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