Automate! Building Automation Systems

Automate! responds to local and global needs of both industry and education. For industry, the Metropolitan Community College (MCC) BAS IT degree option is preparing skilled technicians for a variety of careers demanding strong foundations in IT concepts and skills - from critical facilities operations to advanced manufacturing, network security, energy management, and continuous commissioning. Upon completion of the BAS option IT Associates, graduates are prepared for a wide range of IT-enhanced careers such as managing interoperable facilities systems, advanced manufacturing operations, network security, general IT systems, and critical facilities such as data centers.

MCC and partners are developing, field testing, and delivering learning resources for technician training through a new Building Automation Systems (BAS) option within an Information Technology Associates Degree. The primary audiences for the developed resources are two-year college students, dual credit high school BAS Academy students, and dual credit high school and college students.

Eight new BAS-contextualized IT courses will be developed, including lesson plans, assessments, hands-on kits, video, and other visual based elements. Access to Automate! resources will be available through the cloud and through open online venues such as YouTube.

The project is examining the effectiveness of the process of materials development; the impact of the BAS contextualized IT learning on student enrollment, performance and retention in the BAS option and the IT Associates degree track; and the value of the BAS technician training to industry.