Applied Baccalaureate Degrees in STEM and Technician Education: Program Implementation in Five Regions of the United States
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Applied Baccalaureate Degrees in STEM and Technician Education: Program Implementation in Five Regions of the United States Technical Report Julia Panke Makela Debra D. Bragg Erica Harwell Office of Community College Research and Leadership University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign October 2015 The Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) was established in 1989 at the Abstract University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Our primary mission is to provide research, leadership, and service and assist in improving the quality of community college education for all learners. The contents The report provides a collection of five macro-level case studies, with each case including one to four of our publications do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of our sponsors or the University institutional case studies. In total, 11 institutional case studies are included, with the first two describing of Illinois. Comments or inquiries about our publications are welcome and should be directed to occrl@ 2-year institutions that implemented the community college baccalaureate (CCB) degree and three illinois.edu. This document can be found on the web at: http://occrl.illinois.edu/files/Projects/ab/ab- describing partnerships that involve community colleges and universities that confer either or both implementation.pdf associate of applied science (AAS) and applied baccalaureate (AB) degrees. The five macro cases are focused on the following regions of the country: Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and the 2-state We want to thank the colleges and universities that opened their doors to our research team to enable region of Maryland and Delaware. The AB degree programs emphasize various areas of STEM and us to better understand the implementation and potential impact of Applied Baccalaureate (AB) degree technician education, including biotechnology, biotechnology sciences, energy management, engineering programs. We are also grateful to our funder, the National Science Foundation (NSF), Advanced technology, cybersecurity, computer and network security, networking and cyber security, information Technological Education (ATE) program. We also express our gratitude to Mark Combs, Carol Chen, security, and information technology. Each case is analyzed from a program implementation perspective, and Collin Ruud who served as members of our AB research team at various points during the 5-year including institutional context, program goals, key components (curriculum and instruction, support project. We are proud that our collective work has informed the nation’s evolving conversation on AB services, etc.) and intended outcomes. In addition, each case is analyzed using the Sharing What Works degrees. criteria to offer insights into program quality, educational significance, evidence of effectiveness, and replicability. Read together, this collection of macro-level cases provides insights into the diverse and This publication was prepared pursuant to a grant from the National Science Foundation, Advanced complex ways in which AB degree programs are implemented, sustained and sometimes also scaled in Technological Education program (NSF DUE 10-03297). five regions of the United States. Recommended Citation: Makela, J. P., Bragg, D. D., & Harwell, E. (2015, October). Applied baccalaureate degrees in STEM and technician education: Program implementation in five regions of the United States.Champaign, IL: Office of Community College Research and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved from http://occrl.illinois.edu/files/Projects/ab/ab-implementation.pdf. © 2015 Board of Trustees, University of Illinois ii APPLIED BACCALAUREATE DEGREES IN STEM AND TECHNICIAN EDUCATION OCTOBER 2015 iii APPLIED BACCALAUREATE DEGREES IN STEM AND TECHNICIAN EDUCATION OCTOBER 2015 INTRODUCTION Table of Contents Policymakers are paying close attention to the community college as an economic driver, especially INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 as pertains to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) program represents an important METHODS ............................................................................................................................................. 2 commitment of the federal government toward technician education, encouraging innovative curriculum and professional development in wide range of technical and technological education programs of study ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT ................................................................................................... 3 that culminate in a degree at the associate’s or bachelor’s level. This targeted-research on technician education was dedicated to documenting and evaluating NSF-ATE’s impact on technician education in the BISMARCK STATE COLLEGE’S: BACHELORS OF APPLIED SCIENCE IN ENERGY form of new and emerging applied baccalaureate (AB) degree programs at precisely the same the time as MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................................... 5 when the federal government was shining a bright light on the community college. Proposed in spring 2009, the Obama administration recognized the critical role that community colleges CYBERWATCH CENTER AND PARTNER APPLIED BACCALAUREATES ................................ 29 could play in driving economic development and enhancing workforce skills among new and incumbent workers, especially among the large number of citizens who had been impacted by the Great Recession. The CyberWatch Center ................................................................................................................. 29 Specifically, the Obama administration’s proposal to create the American Graduation Initiative (AGI) sought unprecedented federal support for community colleges update curriculum and engage faculty in Prince George’s Community College’s Associate of Applied Science in Information Security .... 46 professional development to promote STEM education. Of paramount importance to the AGI and all subsequent requests for support for community colleges from the Obama administration was widening University of Maryland-University College’s Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity ................... 60 access to the community college, but also emphasizing college completion. Credentialing of all forms, ranging from very short-term certificates to traditional degrees such as the associate’s and baccalaureate, Wilmington University’s: Bachelor of Science in Computer and Network Security ..................... 74 occurred since college completion become a high priority. DAYTONA STATE COLLEGE’S BACHELORS OF SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING As many experts and policymakers note, the U.S. lags other nations in enrollment as well as completion TECHNOLOGY ................................................................................................................................... 99 of STEM fields. The National Academy of Sciences’ report (2006), Rising Above the Gathering Storm, famously lamented the falling position of the U.S. on the world stage, highlighting the fact that women LAKELAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND PARTNER APPLIED BACCALAUREATES ....... 120 and minorities are significantly underrepresented in STEM majors and careers.This lose of talent is a serious problem for a improving and sustaining a national healthy economy. To address this problem, Lakeland Community College’s: Associate of Applied Science in Biotechnology Sciences ...... 120 Malcom (2008) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recommended that universities partner with community colleges to ensure that students make smooth transitions to Ursuline College’s: Bachelors of Arts in Biotechnology ............................................................. 150 the baccalaureate degree while simultaneously increasing enrollment by underserved students. This recommendation recognized the role of community college-university partnerships in enhancing college OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND PARTNER access and success. Community college-university partnerships that involve the articulation of applied APPLIED BACCALAUREATES ...................................................................................................... 167 associate coursework into baccalaureate degree, called the applied baccalaureate (AB), represent a means of potentially expanding both college access and completion in accordance with the nation’s push for Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology’s: Bachelor’s of Technology in increased enrollment in community college STEM education, including technician education. Information Technology, Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science in Information Technologies ............................................................................................................. 167 Why Applied Baccalaureate (AB) Degrees? Rose State College’s: Associate of Applied Science in Networking and Cyber Security ........... 195 Community colleges and 4-year colleges and universities are important engines for workforce development in the U.S., making it incumbent upon these institutions to partner together, as a system, Tulsa Community College’s: Associate of Applied Science in Information