Consortium for the Advancement of Process Technology (CAPT)

The College of the Mainland, Texas City, Texas, in partnership with the major petrochemical and refining industries, two-year colleges and four-year universities of the Gulf Coast region of Texas and Louisiana (Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance), is developing an industry sanctioned and driven standardized curriculum in process technology. The project encompasses four categories of activities to support this goal: curriculum development and improvement; instructional materials development; faculty enhancement; and dissemination and collaboration efforts.

This project builds upon the significant accomplishments of the Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance including the finalization of competencies for eight common core courses in process technology. These common core courses are required for all newly approved programs in Texas that implement the A.A.S. degree in process technology and have been recently adopted by Louisiana. Initiatives in other states such as Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia support the Alliance's effort to develop an industry-sanctioned curriculum in process technology and are actively pursuing the adaptation and adoption of said curriculum. Other accomplishments of the Alliance include the first international Process Technology Education Conference sanctioned by the American Petroleum Institute and a Process Technology Career Fair designed to enhance the recruitment of women and minorities into this occupation. This project and its proposed initiatives are a logical extension of the Alliance's vision and will build upon established relationships between industry, business, government and education. This existing foundation ensures the immediate initiation of the proposed activities and uniquely positions this project to serve as a national model for forming industry/education partnerships and for the advancement of process technology education.