Chemical Education Today
Association Report: ACS Education
ChemTechLinks: Alliances for Chemical Technician Education by Tamara Nameroff
Much of the nation’s effort to build a technically trained and highly skilled workforce has focused on producing graduates with at least a bachelor’s degree in scientific and engineering fields. Within this framework, a sometimes-overlooked fact is that, while a majority of high school graduates do not complete four years of college, nearly 60 percent of them pursue some form of higher education. They represent a potential gold mine for the nation’s science and engineering base. Technician education programs at twoyear colleges provide a means for students to explore their interest in the sciences and to launch a career with good starting pay, high potential for career advancement and opportunities for further education (1). Despite the availability of these attractive careers, many educational institutions are having difficulty recruiting talented students into their programs. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is involved in an ambitious effort to help supply the U.S. with a critically needed source of well-educated, chemistry-based technicians. ChemTechLinks is a project of the ACS Educational and International Activities Division and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support and advance chemistry-based technician education. The project aims to help improve technician education programs, foster academic-industry alliances, provide professional development opportunities for faculty, and increase student recruitment into chemical technology. Many ChemTechLinks resources can be accessed through the project’s Web site, which also serves as an online national clearinghouse for information in chemistry-based technician education (2). Aspiring technicians and their instructors can use this site to find information on careers in chemical technology, identify educational institutions that have chem-ical technology programs, and learn about industry trends. Web site visitors can also learn about other ACS programs and services, including those developed by the Division of Chemical Technicians (3). Improving Technician Education Programs and Fostering Alliances Many employers prefer entry-level technicians to have at least two years of specialized training or an associate degree in applied science or science-related technology (1). Some chemistry-based technicians may have a bachelor’s degree in science, others may have taken several science and math courses at four-year colleges. With the wide range of educational options, ACS can help schools ensure that their programs meet the needs of local employers and are of high quality. Over the past several years, ACS has worked with industry to identify performance-based workplace competencies for chemistry-based technicians (4). An updated, Web-based, Voluntary Industry Standards (VIS) database catalogs these skills, which range from broad sets of critical
job functions to focused individual competencies, and groups them according to the needs of different industry sectors. Users can customize the competency groups to match the needs of a particular business or specific industry. This feature is ideal for incorporating state or local skill standards. It has been used extensively by alliances of two-year colleges and local employers. Skill surveys, developed through the user interface, allow a local firm to rate the importance of specific competencies. A partnering academic institution can use the same survey to assess the level of emphasis placed on these competencies in its curriculum. The VIS software can analyze the responses and pinpoint gaps in a program and identify unnecessary or redundant aspects. The ACS Chemistry Technician Program Approval Service (CTPAS), which has been in operation for nearly a decade, can help schools improve the quality of their technician education programs (5). The service is unique, nurturing applicant schools through a program review, creation of a program development plan, and implementation of the plan. By meeting ACS guidelines, which are based on the VIS, ACSapproved programs can demonstrate to industry that they have met standards of quality similar to those of the most effective programs in the country. The ACS College Chemistry Consultants Service is a joint program of the Division of Chemical Education, Inc., the Society Committee on Education, and staff of the Education and International Activities Division (6). The Service consists of independent chemistry educators and professionals committed to promoting positive change in chemistry education, including technician education. The Service can help programs receive ACS approval or simply improve their general performance. Consultants can provide guidance on increasing program enrollment and on building and maintaining local technician education partnerships. Professional Development for Educators ChemTechLinks sponsors workshops each summer for high school teachers and two-year college faculty that emphasize a technology-oriented curriculum. The workshops feature Science in a Technical World (7), an interdisciplinary, modular curriculum developed by ACS with NSF support. Modules can be used as the primary material for a technical preparatory course for grades 9–12, or as a supplement to a chemistry, biology, earth science, or physics course in a high school or a two-year college. Each module places students in a virtual workplace in which they assume the roles of technicians to solve a real-world problem. In addition to focused workshops, up to 15 scholarships are available through ChemTechLinks for instructors who teach chemistry-based laboratory or process technicians to attend ACS Short Courses that might help them in their teaching. Scholarships are awarded to qualified applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 80 No. 8 August 2003 • Journal of Chemical Education
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Chemical Education Today
Association Report: ACS Education New faculty members in technician education programs, recruited for their expertise in process technology, may lack formal training in classroom instruction. A Guide to Classroom Instruction for Adjunct Faculty (8) is a self-study instructional guide for faculty to use in preparing for classroom instruction. Because this guide touches upon several concepts that are important to effective teaching, all teaching faculty can benefit from reading it (9). Recruiting Prospective Technicians Some technician education programs at two-year colleges are closing as a result of poor enrollment, despite their increasing importance. To address this problem, ACS is working with two-year colleges to disseminate information about their technology programs. Wide dissemination of information about career opportunities is an essential component of recruiting students, particularly younger students who are still in high school, to technician education programs. Recruitment materials are available free of charge to chemistry-based technology programs. One set of materials (a brochure and a video) focuses on laboratory technician programs, another on process technician programs. Institutions can easily personalize the brochures and add specific program and contact information. The brochures can be downloaded from the ChemTechLinks Web site (2). Students seeking a two-year degree in chemical technology may be eligible for scholarships offered by the ACS Scholars program, which is designed to encourage African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students to pursue undergraduate degrees in the chemical sciences and technology. Scholarships, up to a maximum of $3000 per year, are awarded on the basis of merit and financial need. The awards are renewable. Looking Ahead The future of chemistry-based technician education depends upon building a world-class, national network that
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connects and nurtures local activities. By building on its existing chemistry-based technician education activities, ACS is establishing a foundation for excellence in two-year college chemistry education. Please contact us directly for more details about what we are doing and let us know how else we can help you (10). Literature Cited 1. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Science Technicians, 2002–2003 ed.; available on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ ocos115.htm (accessed Jul 2003). 2. http://www.ChemTechLinks.org (accessed Jul 2003). 3. http://www.members.aol.com/acsdoct/techinfo.htm (accessed Jul 2003). 4. American Chemical Society. Foundations for Excellence in the Chemical Processing Industry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1996. 5. The CTPAS contact is Sam Stevenson; phone: 800/227-5558 ext. 6108; email:
[email protected]. 6. The C3S contact is Steve Iwanowski; phone: 800/227-5558 ext. 6124; email:
[email protected]. For information about the C3S program see also Susskind, T. Y. J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 990– 991. 7. American Chemical Society. Science in a Technical World; W. H. Freeman: Cranbury, 2000. 8. Reed, J. H. A Guide to Classroom Instruction for Adjunct Faculty; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2002. 9. Karty, J. M. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 1325–1326. 10. For information contact Steve Iwanowski; phone: 800/2275558 ext. 6124; email:
[email protected].
Tamara Nameroff is Assistant Director for Special Projects of the American Chemical Society Education and International Activities Division, 1155 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036;
[email protected].
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 80 No. 8 August 2003 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
