Moraine Park celebrates the holidays by giving back

From FDLReporter.com: “Moraine Park celebrates the holidays by giving back” — At Moraine Park Technical College, students have been busy finishing up final projects, cramming for end-of-semester exams and registering for spring classes.

Despite their active schedules, many student clubs and organizations are finding time to make spirits a little brighter for families in need this holiday season.

■At the Fond du Lac campus, the Straight and Gay Alliance club helped Broken Bread with more than 900 families who registered to receive food for Thanksgiving. They assisted with registration, handed out turkeys and helped carry food to people’s cars.

■The Student Veteran’s Association is running a Christmas in a Shoebox campaign by packaging and mailing donated items to deployed troops.

■Moraine Park’s Cosmetology, Corrections, Radiography and Clinical Lab Technician clubs are all adopting families through the Salvation Army or collecting nonperishable food items for donation to a local food pantry.

■Staff and units of the college are donating items to support Elijah’s Mantle/Ebony Vision. This local organization supports at-risk minority youth ages 6-18 in the Fond du Lac area that are in need of clothing and shoes this holiday season.

■On all three Moraine Park campuses, the IT club is holding a hat and mitten drive and Phi Theta Kappa honor society is sponsoring a family on each campus by holding a food and gift drive.

Those interested in donating items or learning more about the holiday service projects should visit morainepark.edu/calendar.

Morna Foy named president of Wis. Technical College System

From Madison.com: “Morna Foy named president of state tech college system” — The Wisconsin Technical College System has named its next president from within, promoting longtime administrator Morna Foy to the top job overseeing the state’s 16 technical college districts.

Foy has been an administrator in the system since 1998. She’s been in her current job since 2005 as executive assistant and vice president of policy and government relations. She also worked in the Wisconsin legislative audit bureau from 1989 to 1998 as a program evaluation supervisor.

She becomes the 12th president — and first female president — in the system’s 100-year history. She will start in January.

“The board knows that Morna will hit the ground running as a strong leader who builds upon our past success,” said Mark Tyler, president of the technical college system board and chair of the presidential search committee, in a statement Thursday.

Tyler earlier had hinted the search would move quickly to replace outgoing president Dan Clancy, who announced his retirement in July.

Foy earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from UW-Madison and a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana University. She also is working on a doctorate in educational leadership and policy at UW-Madison.

FVTC students lighting up Appleton history

From AppletonPostCrescent.com: “‘Light Up the Fox’ project aims to highlight Appleton history.” — A nonprofit organization plans to harness the same magical power that paper manufacturer H.J. Rogers captured with his hydroelectric plant in 1882 when it erects lighted sculptures along the Fox River.

“Light Up the Fox” is working to make the sparkling illuminated displays a reality at Atlas Mill, Vulcan Park and the Paper Discovery Center next year.

“We want to point out Appleton has this amazing early history of hydroelectric power with Hearthstone, the first electrically lit hotel and streetcar,” said Keith Powell, a volunteer with the new group.

The organization has attained $7,600 of its $11,000 fundraising goal. Plans call for the switch to flip in December 2013, said Barb Sauer, the group’s president.

The main focus of the displays is on history and the community, Sauer said. The group has not decided whether to use the lights during the holidays.

“We want to make it not only a light celebration, but shedding light on the Fox River and its heritage,” Sauer said. “We want to intersperse some celebrations throughout the whole year and are thinking about a night bike ride in the summer.”

The group will hold a kickoff event on New Year’s Eve. It will include a candle procession across the river, Sauer said.

Mike Cattelino, a volunteer with the group and associate dean of manufacturing and agriculture technologies at Fox Valley Technical College, is already working with students to design displays that will be synchronized to music. The lights display has drawn inspiration from the Green Bay Botanical Gardens in and Celebration of Lights at Menominee Park in Oshkosh.

“The technology involved is really an industrial-based control system, inputs and outputs, turning lights on and off, and making them dim and sparkle in ways they’re not programmed to do,” Cattelino said. “The electrical consumption is amazing low with high-efficiency, LED lights.”

The project got a boost this fall with a $5,000 matching donation from Faith Technologies, a Menasha-based electrical contractor. Matt Sabee, an Appleton service manager with Faith, led the company’s partnership with the nonprofit.

“We’d like to get students get involved right away when it comes to programming the lights to music, and making the controllers with relays,” Sabee said. “Then down the road we’ll roll in the historical educational with facts about the river, what’s it’s done to help our area, and boost manufacturing.”

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers also donated $2,500 to the campaign this year. Sabee said the group is looking for more volunteers to help organize, market and create the displays. By waiting until after the holiday, the group hopes to save money on light supplies. Sauer said she’s eager to organize more volunteers and get programs planned for 2013.

“Every time I mention our plan to someone in the community there’s such an excited response. We’re seeing a lot of energy behind it already,” Sauer said. “It’s all about doing good for the community, having fun and celebrating the river.”

 

Northcentral Technical College highlights student work

From WJFW.com: “Northcentral Technical College highlights student work” — When you were a kid, your parents probably put your best school work up on the fridge for everyone to see.

Adult students don’t get many chances to show off their best work – especially when that work is welding, mechanical design, or air conditioning service.

But Tuesday night, Northcentral Technical college hosted a student showcase so their technical and trades students could show the community what they do.

Associate dean Greg Cisewski said the showcase brings in prospective students and employers. “Right now, our industry in our greater Wausau area and the whole state is really pacing the nation in manufacturing,” he said. “All our industry partners are telling us they need more [employees], so we’re trying to work and educate new employees to go out and help meet the demands that they have.”

Two welding students were hired on the spot at last year’s showcase.

Ken Gillespie is a machine tools techniques student graduating in May.

He said this event and the school’s reputation will help in the job search.

“It’s a good way to get employers in to see what kind of work you’re capable of and see how you work and how you interact with other people,” Gillespie said. “There are jobs all over the country and all over the world as well. So I’m not worried about getting a job at all.”

NTC reports that last year, 92 percent of machine tools students had a job within six months of graduating.

MSTC starts Quick Start Learning program

From marshfieldnewsherald.com: “MSTC starts Quick Start Learning program” — Mid-State Technical College is now offering people the opportunity to more easily fit coursework into their everyday schedules.

Beginning this fall, the college began offering Quick Start Learning classes. Rather than attending daytime classes, students now have the opportunity to attend in the evenings or online. Steve Smith, dean of the Stevens Point campus, said there are around 25 courses in such areas as project management, personal finance, computers, quality management, real estate, first aid, health care, hydraulics, alternative energy and welding.

Rather than having to sign up for classes in either the spring or the fall, Smith said that Quick Start Learning classes are offered regularly throughout the year. He added the courses are a good fit for people who want to increase their skills in their current career or are training for a new one.

“It’s another option for students who can’t fit into a traditional class schedule and still want the option to have a quality education,” Smith said. “Some people might think it might be an easier route, but I would suggest that students are still getting the same level of education and working just as hard.”

Sean Stilson oversees computer-based training courses, which make up a part of the learning program. Students interact with Stilson via email as they complete sections of a course and take tests. Stilson said he has about 37 students in the courses.

Stilson said the classes range from partial up to three credits, and are electives rather than courses required for a degree.

“It’s more to round out their degree, if they are looking to work in a specific area,” Stilson said. “The advantage of taking these classes is that people can spread the coursework out, or they can finish it in a couple of days or weeks.”

Jodi Belongia, 29, attends school at Mid-State’s Stevens Point campus and plans to graduate with a degree in business management in the fall of 2013. Following graduation, she plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Stout to earn a bachelor’s degree in human resources.

She’s will take two computer-based training courses as electives — effective use of feedback for business and leading from the front line — during the upcoming winter break. She said she found out about the option of taking the computer courses when looking into fitting in her education around a full-time job at North Central Irrigation in Plainfield.

In fact, Belongia said the courses will allow her to avoid having to take courses next summer as she originally planned.

“I don’t mind having to have a class during the break because I don’t have to add any more classes during the spring, and I can work around my job,” Belongia said.

Nicolet College’s early childhood education program sees enrollment surge

From starjournalnow.com: “Nicolet College’s early childhood education program sees enrollment surge” — Nicolet College’s early childhood education program has enjoyed an enrollment boom in recent years thanks, in part, to greater opportunity for students to earn a bachelor’s degree and a desire by child care providers to have a more highly skilled workforce.

That’s according to Diana Rickert, early childhood education instructor at Nicolet, who recently gave a presentation to the Nicolet College Board of Trustees about program developments.

“Students like what Nicolet has to offer,” Rickert said. “They see the benefits of attending Nicolet on a number of fronts and that’s what’s driving the enrollment increase.”

Currently, 52 students are in the program and that number is expected to nudge higher in coming weeks as new applicants work their way through the enrollment process in order to begin classes at the start of the spring semester in January.

One of the biggest drivers of this trend is the close partnership Nicolet has developed with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Thanks to a credit transfer agreement between the two institutions, students can complete roughly the first two years of their bachelor’s degree at Nicolet and then transfer to UW-Stevens Point to complete the degree.

“Students are realizing that they can save thousands of dollars by starting at Nicolet,” she said. “That’s because of Nicolet’s affordable tuition and because they can live at home, which means they don’t have to pay room and board. Combined, this results in a very significant cost savings.”

With bachelor’s degree in hand, graduates are then eligible to receive their Wisconsin teaching license and teach pre-kindergarten through third grade in a public school system.

An added advantage is the increased level of hands-on, practical experience students get in the associate degree program. Nicolet’s early childhood education program has an advisory committee made up of teaching professionals that offers guidance for program development.

“When they look at rèsumès to fill teaching positions, I’ve heard time and again that applicants who first earn an associate degree rise to the top of the pile,” Rickert said. “The added level of hands-on teaching experience they get with an associate degree on top of what they get with a bachelor’s degree is highly valued by school districts.”

Another factor contributing to the enrollment increase is the state of Wisconsin’s YoungStar program. Launched in 2011, YoungStar ranks licensed child care providers on a scale of one to five, with five being the best rating. The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families then make the ratings public to help parents make child care decisions.

“More than a third of the possible points a program can earn are based upon the educational qualifications of the staff,” Rickert said. “Because of this, we are seeing more people who are currently working in child care enrolling in Nicolet classes. They are learning additional skills that ultimately benefit the children they teach and care for, and also help their employer receive a higher YoungStar rating.”

In recent years, Nicolet has also added a high degree of flexibility to the program, offering classes in the evening, on weekends, over an interactive television network, in an accelerated format, and on-site in the Lac du Flambeau tribal community.

“Everybody’s life situation is different,” Rickert explained. “By expanding the options students have to take classes, we’re making it easier for students to fit college into what are already busy lives.”

Tech colleges use videoconferencing, Telepresence

From insidehighered.com: “From Boardroom to Classroom” — Students at Yale University enrolled in elementary Bengali meet four days a week in a campus classroom, just like they would for any other course, but there is one big difference: their instructor is almost 300 miles away, in Ithaca, N.Y.

Yale, Cornell University, and Columbia University, backed by a two-year, $1.2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, have launched a pilot program to conduct classes in uncommonly taught languages, including Indonesian, Yoruba, and Zulu, across the different campuses using videoconferencing technology. In doing so, they’re reviving not only language programs on the brink of extinction, but also a familiar concept in distance education. At a time when asynchronous instruction reaching hundreds of thousands of students is increasingly common, these universities are returning to a mode of distance learning geared toward small classes in which students all meet at the same time.

“It’s been a while since videoconferencing has been in education,” Dick Feldman, director of Cornell’s Language Resource Center.

The project evolved after a round of federal budget cuts in 2011 essentially gutted foreign language programs across the country, taking 47 percent of the budget for National Resource Centers, hubs of foreign language and cultural study. The language directors at the three universities, who knew each other through other collaborations, realized as the cuts began to hit their campuses that they had an opportunity to join forces and preserve some of the rarely taught languages.

“We each had a fair number of languages and it seemed like we also shared the stress of continuing to support our languages because of the federal government cutbacks to NRCs,” Feldman said. “It seemed like we were a good fit to share languages.”

At the core of the program is the idea that languages – and not just Spanish, French, and Latin – are important, but not financially feasible if only two or three students are interested. By joining forces, the three universities hope to leverage the languages they don’t all have, affording students more options, and to deepen existing programs by, for example, facilitating collaboration between instructors of the same language at different institutions.

“The ability to sustain languages with very low enrollments, though morally and intellectually desirable, was financially going to be brutal in the short term and dubious in the long term,” said Walter Cohen, Senior Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Cornell.  “We thought distance learning might be a way of sharing resources.”

Fundamental to the program is the use of videoconferencing – not pre-recorded lectures, the modus operandi for massive open online courses, and not webcam video, which is static and is designed to show just one person. Videoconferencing involves higher-quality cameras, larger lenses, and faster compression for sending the video signal, allowing for two-way interaction. It’s a concept often found in the boardroom and occasionally in the K-12 classroom, but still rarely in higher education.

Videoconferencing makes the experience similar to a face-to-face class. Students go to the same video-outfitted classroom every day and sit around a table, but on one wall, instead of a blackboard, there’s a screen showing the teacher and the students at the other campus. There are also computers at the back of the room equipped with cameras, so students can do pair work with their counterparts at the other university. The universities are also introducing tablets and touch-screens, which will allow the teacher to demonstrate scripts and share them with both classrooms, and they use document cameras so students can submit written work in real time.  In some classes, they’ve even come up with ways for students hundreds of miles apart to perform skits together, as they might in a regular language class.

Videoconferencing also works particularly well for small classes, Cohen said. These languages classes are capped at 14 or 15 students across all institutions, so the students and the instructor can interact and the class can be tailored to students’ needs.

“It’s not a good model for lecture courses,” Cohen said. “There, you run into the obvious problems, and you might as well videotape it.”

The technology, which includes large, flexible cameras and other hardware, requires an initial investment from the universities, some of which was subsidized by the Mellon grant. Cohen points out, though, that the cost of adding new technology to one or two classrooms is cheaper than hiring a professor or lecturer. And, he says, if the concept doesn’t prove viable for language instruction, it’s likely those classrooms will be useful for something else.

“It seems to me like [the language pilot] could be a practice run for other things,” Cohen said. “Even in large graduate programs, like English or history, individual sub-areas can be very poorly covered. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing if graduate seminars could be taught in such a way that in relatively small fields, say Turkish history, if you have two people at one school and three at another, you could have a nice seminar.”

One college in Wisconsin has already seen videoconference seminars run successfully, and has recently upped the ante in the realm of two-way distance education.

Moraine Park Technical College’s three campuses are each about 30 miles apart, and in the early ’90s the college began looking for a way to offer classes at all three locations with instructors at one location. It settled on videoconferencing, but at the time the program was limited by technology, and administrators found the virtual classes had a lot of downtime because of user error – the system was too complicated for instructors to use effectively.

In fall 2010, though, the college introduced TelePresence, a technology from Cisco Systems that makes participants feel like they’re all seated at the same table. The idea has gained the most attention in corporate boardrooms.

“The people at the other location appear to be the same size, there’s no delay at all when they speak to you, and when somebody speaks from one side of the room their voice comes from that side of the room,” said Pete Rettler, a campus administrator for Moraine Park who also oversees distance education. The college worked with CDW-G to develop the strategy.

TelePresence and other videoconferencing techniques – the college only has one room on each campus set up for TelePresence, so it still uses more traditional videoconference technology in other classrooms – allow Moraine Park to offer courses that a single campus might not have demand for, similar to the language program at Cornell, Columbia, and Yale. The classes are also more satisfying to Moraine Park’s students than online classes might be, according to Rettler.

“The average age of a student at Moraine Park is 36 or 37, so a lot of those students don’t want to do online learning or even blended learning,” he said.  “There are a lot of students who still want that face-to-face experience, and it’s hard to argue that TelePresence isn’t face-to-face.”

The technology does not come cheap. Rettler said it cost about $150,000 to outfit one 14-seat classroom, and the college currently has two 14-seat rooms and one six-seat room set up for TelePresence. That $150,000 does not include costs for necessary infrastructure upgrades, either.

Still, Rettler sees it as a good investment and an efficient way to offer classes. He’s not sure how to quantify the return on investment, but said it does make for a good marketing tool, and he’s convinced it’s a good educational tool.

Moraine Park’s next step is to partner with four-year colleges to allow Moraine Park students who earn their associate degree to take classes toward a four-year degree from a campus near home. Several colleges already have the technology, Rettler said, so it’s a matter of coordinating credit and scheduling, which isn’t always easy.

Scheduling has been one of the main hiccups at Cornell, Columbia, and Yale, too, as each university has different vacations and different start times, so coordinating students on different campuses can be tough. The other challenge, Feldman said, is recruiting students, but he and his counterparts on the other campuses are discussing ways to reach out to those who might be interested.

As for long-term development, Feldman sees the program as a very specialized – and conservative – niche in the education technology landscape, and Cohen emphasizes that the model, if it works, would only work for seminar-style courses. Still, both believe the project has potential.

“If in foreign languages and other areas we find a way to provide better education at the undergraduate or graduate level, or for that matter faculty collaboration across campuses, than that seems like a great thing to me,” Cohen said.

Finalists named in search for tech college system president

From lacrossetribune.com: “Finalists named in search for tech college system president” — Morna Foy and Carol Spencer have been named the two finalists in the search for a new president of the Wisconsin Technical College System.

Foy has been a top administrator in the system since 1998, serving since 2005 as executive assistant and vice president of policy and government relations. She also worked in the Wisconsin legislative audit bureau from 1989 to 1998, serving as program evaluation supervisor.

Spencer is a former president of San Juan College in Farmington, N.M., a job she held from 2002 to 2011. Since then she has been executive director of a steering committee overseeing academic transfer programs for the Arizona Joint Council of Presidents.

She has leadership experience at two other colleges. She was a dean at Milwaukee Area Technical College from 1987 to 1991 and was president of Cedar Valley College in Texas from 1991 to 2002.

One of them will be chosen to replace president Dan Clancy, who announced his retirement in July.

Getting a jump on college

From htrnews.com: “Getting a jump on college” — MISHICOT — When Gabriella Cisneros, a junior at Mishicot High School, found out she could earn college credit in the pre-calculus class she already was taking at the high school, she decided to pay the reduced tuition and take advantage of that opportunity.

“It’s a lot cheaper than if I waited until college,” said Cisneros, who is earning three college credits for $300.

“You’re almost killing two birds with one stone ’cause you get college and high school credit for it,” said Quenten Haack, also a junior in the pre-calculus class.

They are among numerous students earning college credits as part of a dual enrollment program in place at Mishicot High School.

Dual enrollment is different than other programs that allow students to earn college credit in high school, such as Youth Options and Youth Apprenticeship. With Youth Options, students apply to the school board to have the district pay for a college class that is not available at the high school, and Youth Apprenticeship involves coursework at a technical college and work experience at a participating business.

The dual enrollment program offers the opportunity to earn college credit by taking high school classes – at the high school, taught by high school teachers. It differs from the traditional Advanced Placement program in that students taking AP high school classes have to achieve a designated score on the AP exam in that subject in order to receive college credit. The rest of the work they do in the class doesn’t count for college purposes, and in fact, students can take the exam without even taking the class.

Program expanding

While Mishicot High School has offered a couple of dual enrollment courses through Silver Lake College for many years, the program has expanded dramatically in recent years. The number of dual enrollment classes available at Mishicot High School has increased from four classes that could be taken for a total of 12 college credits in 2010-11 to 10 classes for 33 credits this year, according to Marci Waldron-Kuhn, academic adviser and psychology teacher. Another three credits will be added for 2013-14.

Students who enroll in the classes can take them just for high school credit but most opt to pay tuition and earn college credit as well. They pay around $400 or less for each three-credit course, as opposed to about $1,000 if they took it at college, she said.

Mishicot has agreements with four four-year colleges. The school is offering Advanced Chemistry and Honors English through an agreement with Silver Lake College; business management and AP Psychology through UW-Green Bay; pre-calculus and AP Calculus through Lakeland College; and Spanish and sociology through UW-Oshkosh. The credits transfer to other colleges, but whether they transfer and how they transfer – in that subject or just as an elective – varies among the institutions so students are advised to check with the school they’re planning to attend.

LTC

Mishicot High School also has arrangements with Lakeshore Technical College whereby students can earn LTC credits without paying tuition. Two classes – marketing and medical terminology – are available at MHS as transcripted courses. Students who earn at least a C in the class receive LTC credits, and the course and grade are recorded on a transcript at LTC. The credits can be transferred to other technical colleges and four-year universities that choose to accept them.

Advanced Standing courses allow students who earn at least a B to avoid taking the same class at LTC, but the classes aren’t recorded on an official LTC transcript. Other technical colleges may accept the classes, but four-year colleges do not. Mishicot offers 11 Advanced Standing classes through LTC.

Glimpse of college

Senior Shelby DeRoche is paying $700 to earn six credits through Silver Lake College for Honors English. She’s planning to attend Madison Area Technical College so she’s not saving as much as students going to a four-year school, but “it’s easier just to get it done right away,” she said.

Her classmate, senior Dalton Derenne, said he would have to pay $1,800 to get the same six credits at UW-Whitewater. And there’s a benefit beyond the cost savings, according to Derenne.

“They try and prepare you the best they can for college,” he said, referring to the high school, “and offering these college courses really gives you a perspective of what it’s going to be like.”

“It gives the kids a glance at the curriculum that they will see in college so it prepares them for that,” said Honors English teacher Jessica Brossard.

The amount of content differs slightly from the equivalent class at Silver Lake College because of time constraints with Mishicot’s block schedule, but “the skills are essentially the same,” she said. “The curriculum keeps changing to keep up with Silver Lake.”

The students “definitely take it more seriously” because they know they need to get at least a C in order to earn college credit, Brossard said. “And they know that it’s the same work that’s being done in college so they know it’s going to be much more rigorous, so they go into it with that mindset and that prepares them then to be successful.”

And there’s another advantage: “I’m in communication with the colleges so I know what my students need,” Brossard said.

Each post-secondary institution has its own criteria for approving teachers to instruct dual enrollment classes, according to Waldron-Kuhn. For instance, UW-Green Bay requires all teachers to have a master’s degree in the subject they’re teaching or in a related field.

Preparing for college

About half of the dual enrollment classes are taught in a blended format, meaning they include an online component along with traditional instruction, Waldron-Kuhn said. When students get to college, they’re going to have online assignments, such as class discussions on message boards.

“We want to expose our kids to that before they get to the university level,” she said.

Expanding the opportunities for earning college credit while in high school is one piece of the puzzle when it comes to Mishicot’s efforts to prepare students for life beyond high school, according to Waldron-Kuhn. Other initiatives in recent years are group advisement sessions, requiring students to complete a career portfolio to be used when applying for college or jobs, and an increase in credits needed for graduation.

US Dept of Labor’s OSHA renews alliance with CVTC

From osha.gov: “US Department of Labor’s OSHA renews alliance with Chippewa Valley Technical College in Wisconsin” — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has renewed an alliance with Chippewa Valley Technical College that focuses on health and safety training for college staff, students, local employers and community members.

OSHA and Chippewa Valley Technical College will provide information, guidance, and access to training and related resources to improve employee safety and health as well as develop training programs.

“This alliance presents a great opportunity for OSHA and Chippewa Valley Technical College to continue working together to train employers, workers and students about safety and health issues,” said Mark Hysell, OSHA’s area director in Eau Claire. “Our mutual goal is to protect Wisconsin’s workers.”

Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with businesses, trade associations, unions, consulates, professional organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, businesses and educational institutions to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources, and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/alliances/index.html.

Chippewa Valley Technical College has four campuses in Eau Claire as well as facilities in Chippewa Falls, Menomonie, Neillsville and River Falls.

Employers and employees with questions about this or other OSHA alliances and partnerships may call the agency’s Eau Claire Area Office at 715-832-9019.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Tech colleges are addressing skills gap

From channel3000.com: “Walker wants tech schools to address skills gap” — As Gov. Scott Walker looks to technical schools to address the skills gap, some colleges say they’re already doing what’s being proposed.

Walker has been making a continued case for performance-based funding for education, including for tech colleges, to send more skilled workers to businesses that say they can’t find qualified workers to fill needed positions.

“Whatever the reason is, we need to find a way to say not just offer the classes, not just have kids in the classes, but make sure they graduate and get plugged into those jobs,” Walker said on Monday.

But officials at Madison College said they’re already taking strides to do that, including having a business advisory board for every occupational program offered at the college in order to match curriculum and course offerings to what businesses need.

Turina Bakken, associate vice president for learner success at the college, said Madison College wants to be able to offer a diversity of programs but would be open to additional funding to target the skills gap.

“Certainly, there are going to be industry-specific areas where maybe things change more quickly than we’re able to react to, so that’s why any additional funding or creative partnerships we can get and build that will allow us to work in partnership with industry to meet those gaps more quickly, then we’re all for it,” said Bakken.

But the skills gap issue isn’t as simple as that at the college level.

Madison College said it’s graduating as many students as it can given the resources in some programs. In 2011, the college graduated dozens of automotive technicians, machine tooling techs, welders, maintenance technicians as well as medical lab technicians and IT positions. Based on surveys returned from those graduates, most of them got jobs right away.

But the college said that’s not all it can focus on.

“One of our dilemmas is when you get into saying, ‘OK, there’s a need for welders,’ but there’s also a need for child care workers and vet techs and paralegals,” said Bakken. “It’s difficult for us to start to put more value on one industry than another.”

Welding is one of the most popular programs at the college. But meeting the demand for some programs isn’t the only problem.

“For retiring and aging workers, we’re not getting the initial interest from younger (students). There are fewer younger students entering the manufacturing workplace,” said Lisa Delany, associate dean of applied technology at Madison College.

Dan Schmidt, of Lake Mills, is in the welding program at Madison College in hopes of starting a new career.

“The main reason I got into the program was because I lost my position I had after 26 years,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt’s career at Madison Kipp Corporation had given him years of experience but his layoff had him see the light that experience wasn’t enough for some employers.

“I had 12 interviews in a 10-month period, and nobody said, ‘Hey, you’re just the guy I’m looking for,” Schmidt said.

Now as a student at Madison College, he said he hopes a degree in welding will lead to re-employment.

The welding program is one of the most in-demand areas Madison College sees right now.

“We have hired three additional faculty. We’ve expanded our physical capacity here in Madison and at Fort Atkinson,” Bakken said.

Madison College officials said they’re already working with local employers to see workforce trends and to design programs around those trends.

The college also said that manufacturing, health care and IT are also the most expensive programs to fund, so that should be kept in mind when allocating funding to schools in the next budget.

 

New Medical College effect will be significant

From wpr.org: “New medical college effect will be significant” — The proposed new Medical College of Wisconsin campus in Wausau could have a significant impact on other  higher education facilities in the region.

The announcement of the new Medical College campus is welcomed by Bernie Patterson, Chancellor of UW Stevens Point, who says the two schools are already working on joint research projects.

“There’s a big research component at the Medical College, as there is here,  and in fact we’ve already sent practically a busload of faculty and staff to Milwaukee to meet with their faculty and staff to begin the collaboration two months ago,” he says.

The new campus will also affect the curriculum at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau.  President Lori Weyers says there will be hands on opportunities for the medical students with  her school’s health sciences and public safety programs.

“We will be able to simulate a natural disaster and be able to bring the medical students in with our students, paramedics, EMT’s, our nurses, our search techs, that if it would ever happen in real life, they would be prepared to handle it,” she says.

Dr. Brian Ewert, President and CEO of the Marshfield Clinic, sees a win-win, with the new medical students learning at the clinic, and then practicing medicine in the region.

“We’ve been around since 1916 and we’ve been educating doctors for 80 of those 96 years, because we recognize that where physicians train is a strong predictor of where they will practice,” he says.

And Dr. John Raymond, President of the Medical College, says the other institutions could even have teaching space on his new campus.

“There’s the opportunity to bring in other programs, and they wouldn’t necessarily all need to be owned by the Medical College of Wisconsin,” he says.  “We’re up to helping maximize those possibilities.”

The new Medical College campus is expected to open in 2015.

Column: MSTC helps close Wisconsin’s skills gap

From wisnconsinrapidstribune.com: “Column: MSTC helps close Wisconsin’s skills gap” — Wisconsin’s technical colleges are essential to closing the state’s skills gap, a term used to describe the mismatch between workforce skills and available jobs in business and industry.

Despite persistent unemployment, the Department of Workforce Development estimates there are 32,000 to 45,000 unfilled jobs statewide.

The “Silver Tsunami,” an industry term referring to the impending impact of the retirement of the baby boomer generation, only adds to this workforce shortage.

To help address Wisconsin’s skills gap, Mid-State Technical College continues to offer and advocate for the educational resources MSTC students need to be successful in the workforce.

Half of all jobs require a two-year degree, making MSTC a preferred destination to learn skills for a new career or enhance skills in your current career. Our college serves about 9,000 students per year. In fact, the 16 colleges that make up the Wisconsin Technical College System, or WTCS, serve 370,000 students and form the largest higher education system in all of Wisconsin.

MSTC offers 10 unique career programs that can be found nowhere else in the WTCS. We regularly assess our more than 100 career programs and certificates to ensure they are relevant to today’s economy, enhanced by flexible technology and easily accessible to individuals in our district communities.

Recent survey results indicate that 86 percent of MSTC graduates were employed within six months of graduation. An MSTC associate degree graduate earns an average of $31,000 in their first year, and in their lifetime can expect to earn $400,000 more than those with a high school diploma.

Student success is priority number one at MSTC. Our students experience small class sizes, hands-on instruction, engaging faculty with industry experience, and programs of study tied to local workforce demand. Interested in learning more? Stop by any of our four locations, call 888.575.MSTC, or visit www.mstc.edu. Spring semester classes start Jan. 14. Enroll now!

Sue Budjac is president of Mid-State Technical College.

Department of Labor grants to help fill the skilled labor gap

From areadevelopment.com: “Department of Labor grants to help fill skilled labor gap” — Will it work? Mark Tushar, marketing manager at Derby Molded Products in Neenah and Oshkosh Marine Supply in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, hopes so. “We’ve been looking for some skilled labor, but we’ve been unable to find it,” he reports. His companies, contract manufacturers of injection-molded plastic and of metal parts, need machinists and programmers, but lately has had little luck finding them. He blames a cultural push away from skilled trades. “Kids are pushed toward a four-year college and they’re not given the opportunity, I believe, to try something else that may require going to a technical college or a trade.”

Just seven miles from his plant, however, is Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) in Appleton. Through the second installment of the $2 billion, four-year initiative, FVTC received $3 million to develop the Advanced Manufacturing Pathways PLUS project, a program that focuses on developing skills in electronics/automation, welding and metal fabrication, printing and publishing, and machine tooling. Part of the federal grant dollars are going toward changing that cultural perception says Chris Jossart, spokesperson for Fox Valley Tech. On National Manufacturing Day, the technical college that serves about 53,000 students each year, organized a bus tour of its Oshkosh facility and three area manufacturers. “Immediately,” says Jossart, “when these students come into our Advanced Manufacturing Center, they’re looking at digital, high-tech welding resources that totally change their perception of welding and fabrication as a career.”

Twenty-three-year-old Valarie Wocjik is one of Fox Valley Tech’s success stories. She graduated from the welding program in 2009, transferred to Ferris State University in Michigan through an articulation agreement, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in welding engineering technology. Wocjik is now a project engineer at Hirotec America in Auburn Hills, Michigan, an assembly line fabricator for the automotive industry. “She goes into these manufacturing settings,” says Jossart, “and blows people’s minds when they find out she can weld.”

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grants are awarded to partnerships between colleges and employers to promote skills development in fields like advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation. They are targeted, at least in part, at workers who have been displaced by trade policies and outsourcing. The programming developed by the colleges will not remain those schools’ exclusive property. To accept the funding, the partners agree to make all educational materials they develop available for use by the public and other education providers through a “Creative Commons” license.

Every state in the nation has received some level of funding, but more is available with two more rounds to go. Applications for the next round will be reviewed in the spring of 2013. A complete listing of grants awarded to date is available at www.doleta.gov/taaccct.

 

56-year-old adds FVTC degree, new job to life

From postcrescent.com: “Next chapter: 56-year-old adds FVTC degree, new job to life” —  When displaced worker Mitch Wilke enrolled at Fox Valley Technical College in early 2011, he hadn’t taken a math class in about 40 years.

Wilke, 56, of Two Rivers, says getting back to basics was worth the challenge. Through FVTC he is completing his studies in the mechanical design technology program. He also found a new job before graduation at F.C. Dadson in Greenville with the assistance of Wisconsin TechConnect, a service available to students and graduates at all 16 Wisconsin technical colleges.

“I have been titled ‘engineer’ in the past without a degree,” Wilke said Friday, a day before FVTC’s fall 2012 commencement ceremony. “I was looking for the extra education and the paperwork to go with it, to say, ‘Hey, I can do this.’ Throughout all my classes I was the oldest one in class except for one teacher. I’m just kind of taking it in stride. Because of my age as well, I’ve got more of a sense of responsibility. Right now, I’m at a 3.96 (grade point average) out of 4.”

Wilke is one of 686 FVTC students who applied for graduation for fall 2012. FVTC recognized those students Saturday afternoon with a formal cap-and-gown commencement ceremony at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton.

Each academic year, about 2,000 students graduate from FVTC, representing all of the college’s regional centers and campuses throughout its five-county district. FVTC recognizes graduates with both fall and spring commencement ceremonies.

Wilke, who said FVTC is his first college experience, was laid off in September 2010 from his job at Burger Boat Company in Manitowoc. There, he had designed interior spaces of yachts and then had moved to a department in which he used machines to fabricate parts for the yachts from drawings.

“It was seen coming,” he said of his layoff. “They just weren’t selling any boats because of the economy downturning. Even millionaires were looking at how to better spend their money. There were a lot of used boats on the market. Rather than buying a new one, they could buy a used one for pennies on the dollar and then have it custom-fit the way they wanted.”

Wilke said he spent time checking out colleges and decided upon FVTC in part because of the guidance he received prior to enrollment. That has continued throughout his time at FVTC, he said.

“They made me feel welcome here,” he said. “I remember right after I registered, on orientation day we got our class schedules, and my counselor actually called me while I was in transit going home from orientation to let me know that math class was a lab and not a lecture class. I had preferenced four lecture classes, but ended up getting a tutor to help me along and once I got through that, it wasn’t too bad.”

Wilke credits Dean Sommerfeld, team leader for the mechanical design technology program, for making a difference in his time at FVTC.

“He will take whatever time is necessary to help you understand a problem that you don’t get,” Wilke said. “I would be sitting in class for two, three hours of my free time between classes and he would help me work through it.”

Sommerfeld said nontraditional students, including displaced workers, often bring unique perspectives to the classroom because of their life and past work experiences.

“I find they tend to be maybe more motivated, because they want to get back out working again,” Sommerfeld said. “They realize they may be competing against younger people, so they want to get themselves as good of an education as they can, to be prepared. When they do go out into the job field, they do have a lot of experience from the previous work they’ve done.”

Classes at FVTC wrap up several weeks after commencement. In one of Sommerfeld’s classes, Wilke is working on a team project with a younger student.

“He’s willing to help other people in class,” Sommerfeld said. “There’s some mentoring going on. I see that as a benefit.”

MPTC business students gain hands-on experience

From fdlreporter.com: “Little dogs spread big happiness” — Moraine Park Technical College business students gained some hands-on experience by helping a local nonprofit assist others.

When William Krause of Fond du Lac was hospitalized in 2004, it was a couple of furry friends who helped speed up his recovery. Because of his positive experience, he knows that dogs can bring joy to those in need and he decided to share that joy with individuals who might benefit the most.

In 2009, Sassu Enterprises was born. The organization provides pet therapy as a self-supporting service and includes visiting individuals in hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, hospice care, treatment facilities and group homes.

Moraine Park instructor Julie Dilling recently connected students in her business practice firm class with Krause and his 10 shih tzu dogs to help raise funds and awareness for Sassu Enterprises.

The service learning opportunity allowed students to apply skills and concepts learned throughout their program, Dilling said. She was Krause’s accounting instructor in 2003, and was contacted by him last year when he found himself in need of accounting assistance for his organization.

That was when she recognized the opportunity to integrate his need with the service learning requirement in her course.

“The projects in this capstone class are challenging, utilize critical thinking and require commitment, but in the end (they) positively impact all of those involved,” Dilling said.

Students created posters and displays around Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus, including a Christmas tree adorned with photos of the shih tzus as ornaments. Raffle tickets were sold during November with a culminating event on Nov. 29. A winning cash raffle ticket was drawn, a basket raffle was held, and guests could meet some of Krause’s canine helpers.

“When the Moraine Park business practice firm students presented their ideas for promoting Sassu Enterprises to me, I was in tears,” Krause said. “They have gone above and beyond what I dreamed of them doing to help raise funds and awareness for the organization.”

Krause covers most of the grooming, medical, food and transportation expenses on his own.

“Sassu Enterprises provides comfort and joy to a great many people in varied circumstances through pet therapy,” said Kathe Gilbert, a Moraine Park business student. “It has been a highly rewarding experience to get to know William and his canine friends.”

During the fundraiser students, staff and members of the Fond du Lac community were able to interact with several of the therapy dogs.

“It was an opportunity to experience firsthand what Krause is so passionate about and learn more about this nonprofit organization that is helping to spread joy throughout the community,” Dilling said.

 

Youth Apprenticeship leads this student to tech college

From wausaudailyherald.com: “Student learns multiple job skills in YA program” — More than 60 Merrill High School juniors and seniors are currently working in the community as youth apprentices in a variety of program areas, including agriculture, finance, health, hospitality, lodging and tourism, information technology, manufacturing, and transportation, distribution and logistics.

One of those students, Allison Sabatke, agreed to share her thoughts about her YA experience for this article. Ali, a senior at Merrill High School, is the daughter of Mark and Becky Sabatke. She has been working at Allied Health Silverman Chiropractic in Merrill since June 2011.

“Joining the youth apprenticeship program was one of the best decisions I made in high school. I actually got the job my junior year before I learned about the program, but going through the apprenticeship program I get credits and an awesome work experience. I work at Allied Health Silverman Chiropractic here in Merrill. Besides the fact that I do get out of school early, get paid for my time at work, and get credits at school, I’ve learned so much at the office.

“First of all, I used to be a very shy person, and working at the chiropractor sort of brought me out of my shell because I had to answer the phones, and I had to interact with the patients who came into the office. I’ve learned how to manage my time as well because it’s very important to keep Dr. Silverman on his schedule and to keep the patients happy, too. Multi-tasking is also another big thing at work. There’s always something to be doing, whether it’s filing, scheduling, preparing for the next day, answering phones, or even cleaning: It all has to be done. My multi-tasking skills have, without doubt, improved since I’ve been working at Silverman’s.

“My parents love the fact that I joined the youth apprenticeship program. They think it’s a great opportunity and that the program teaches great responsibility to the students who are in it. My mom thinks that the program is as awesome as do I. I would definitely recommend this program to other students. It’s more than just having a job; it teaches and helps improve students’ everyday skills such as priorities and time management.

“After graduation, which is creeping up on me, I want to go to Northcentral Technical College in the radiography associates degree program offered there. There are just so many opportunities in this field that would be really cool to learn about. X-rays can show so much; I even get to see them at work every now and again.”

If you are interested in learning more about the Youth Apprenticeship program, contact Marla Konkol at Merrill High School at 715-536-4594, ext. 18037, or email her at marla.konkol@maps.k12.wi.us.

CVTC food program provides fresh greens

From leadertelegram.com: “CVTC food program provides fresh greens” – Thursdays are fresh produce delivery days at Chippewa Valley Technical College, and even in late November people receive bags of fresh lettuce, carrots, baby radishes, onions, peppers and various herbs.

Students, meanwhile, receive practical lessons on running a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, not to mention a bit of cash for the Horticulture Club. It’s a delicious arrangement that students thought of themselves.

As part of its landscape, plant and turf management program, CVTC operates small greenhouse and hydroponic facilities. Students in the Horticulture Club wanted to make the best use of the extended growing season the facilities offer.

“We wanted to continue growing stuff, plus there was food already growing there from the summer internships,” said Carrine Baldwin, a Menomonie area resident who is president of the CVTC Horticulture Club.

Club members thought of various options for selling what they could grow and harvest, but most ideas weren’t practical. The answer to what was came from Baldwin’s own career ambition.

“I want to do my own CSA,” said the third-semester student. “I did an internship this past summer with a woman who ran her own CSA near Boyceville.”

In a CSA, local people purchase a share of a farmer’s crops in advance through a subscription. The farmer receives cash to cover the costs of producing the crops, and a bit of profit too. The members receive fresh, locally grown produce at harvest time, usually cheaper than buying it at a grocery store. CSAs support small farmers, the local economy and healthy diets.

“It’s shared risk and reward too,” said Baldwin. “If you have a good year, the members share in the harvest, but if things get hard, they have to understand.”

In October students proposed setting up a mini-CSA to horticulture instructor and department chairman Susan Frame, who asked them to spell out their plan in writing. The limited amount of produce they would have available so late in the fall required that the project be kept small, so students proposed recruiting 10 people to buy $20 memberships with the promise of receiving bags of produce once a week for a month or two.

Frame approved the endeavor, and on Oct. 22 an all-staff email went out soliciting memberships. The email message prompted 35 immediate responses and the new 12-member CSA was established in less than a day.

“I thought it was going to be hard to find 10 people,” Baldwin confessed.

All CSA members are receiving lettuces and greens such as spinach, kale and Swiss chard plus herbs such as basil and tarragon.

Members take turns receiving some of the harder-to-come-by produce like broccoli and beets. But they aren’t complaining. The program has been a big hit with members, who will be happy to know students plan to bring it back in the spring. The fall program is winding down.

“They are so happy. That’s the most rewarding part,” Baldwin said. “Growing the food is fun, but when they get their food, they are so grateful.”

CSA members agreed.

“I love the lettuce. I love the carrots, and I used all of the potatoes I got,” said member Candy Johnson, assistant to CVTC President Bruce Barker. “I love every Thursday when they come (with food).”

In addition to the opportunity to eat fresh food, Pang Garcia, an academic services assistant at CVTC, appreciates the personal touch the CSA offers.

“They always have a note of what’s in the bag and some recipes,” she said.

The CSA makes monetary sense too, members said.

“If you went to purchase these items in a grocery store this time of year, you would pay four or five dollars for the herbs. My money has been returned ten-fold,” Garcia said.