Colorado ATE Partnership

This partnership project involves the reshaping of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Education. ICT Education is changed to become responsive to the workforce needs of high-growth industries. This Colorado ATE Partnership (CATEP) project: (1) Strengthens the participating colleges' CIS introductory curriculum and associated Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses through the integration of employability skills with technical skills; (2) Transforms the recruitment, curriculum and pedagogical practices employed in CIS and CTE courses; (3) Addresses industry needs beyond basic IT skills; (4) Develops an ongoing evaluation program to ensure students meet the ICT workforce needs of the region's high-growth industries; and (5) Develops a dissemination plan to share the resulting ICT workforce education model with the other community colleges and secondary schools in the region. This project takes advantage of established relationships between postsecondary partners, industry representatives, the secondary education systems in the service areas of the respective community colleges, and pertinent Workforce Development agencies. It also incorporates best practices generated from research by the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies, the Center for Information Technology Education, Boston Area Advanced Technological Education Connections and the South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center.