Engineering an Associate Degree-Level STEM Workforce Education Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Community and technical colleges serve a vital function in STEM education by training workers for medium- and high-skilled technical careers and providing employers the labor necessary to operate and maintain thriving business ventures. A curriculum developed with the elements of a systems-based approach results in a program more relevant to the needs of the institution, its students, and industry partners—and avoids the pitfalls of programs designed without a plan or process in place. To achieve validity and reliability, curriculum assessment tools should be conduits to collect critical feedback from students, graduates, and the industries and academic partners served. Research was undertaken to design and evaluate an associate degree-level STEM workforce education program at the nexus of bioenergy/bioproducts, electrical systems and maintenance, and wastewater treatment plant operations. Component to the research, a program’s graduates were interviewed and professionals representing a spectrum of manufacturing/processing-type industries were surveyed. A curriculum development and assessment model emerged to help community and technical college faculty and administrators develop, evaluate, and revise associate degree-level STEM workforce education programs.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank their families for their consistent support. This manuscript has not been published elsewhere and has not been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere.

Funding

Curriculum development and student scholarships were funded by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2011-68005-30407 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The lead author completed the research component to completing a doctoral dissertation in Engineering Science through Washington State University and the tuition and fee expenses were paid for by a grant from the Easterday Foundation.

Additional information

Funding

Curriculum development and student scholarships were funded by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2011-68005-30407 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The lead author completed the research component to completing a doctoral dissertation in Engineering Science through Washington State University and the tuition and fee expenses were paid for with private funding.