PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS: Lake County High Schools Technical Campus (LCHSTC) Indian Hills Community College in Iowa National Center for Optics and Photonics Education (OP-TEC)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION The College of Lake County (CLC) is developing a regional Photonics program for a Laser/Optics/Photonics Associates degree in Applied Science (AAS). The program offers innovative instruction, delivery and scheduling; relying on a modular curriculum that is delivered through a hybrid, early entry/early exit system to reduce the time a student needs to complete a degree. It seeks to solve the problem of student recruitment into technical workforce education by creating a new pipeline of students from Lake County High Schools Technical Campus, which is located on the college campus. Students are able to complete a Photonics Certificate at their high school in two years (obtaining full college credit), also having a career pathway built into the AAS degree at CLC.
This initiative first provides students with a hands-on experience with Class 1, 2 and 3 lasers until they are able to operate them in a safe environment. Students are then trained on class 3b and 4 powered lasers for applications such as interferometry, holography, and spectroscopy, and finally on high powered lasers used in the military and manufacturing applications. They are exposed to lasers using different lasing media and are provided with opportunities to explore biomedical applications to understand the context of laser utilization. The effort is creating an integrated pipeline from technical high school to community college and from community college to four-year institutions, all with emphasis on completion of degrees and certificates achieved through unconventional and innovative delivery methods. In addition, the project is examining the possibility of creating an AB degree with 4-year transfer institutions that support such an option.
BROADER SIGNIFICANCE This project takes advantage of the co-location of a technical high school and a community college to add value to both, creating a pathway to high-wage, high growth technical jobs for high school and community college students. The CLC Photonics Initiative provides a pathway to available jobs in the area hardest hit by the economic downturn by offering an innovative approach to STEM education. The project offers broad applicability for the nation and Midwest, particularly in preparing students for Photonics careers. The team is creating a Regional Photonics Program in collaboration with Indian Hills Community College and OP-TEC. CLC is also part of OP-TEC's Photonics College Network, which can obtain community equipment that would be difficult for one school to purchase alone - offering students access to state-of-the-art equipment (e.g., a fiber laser and articulating robot). The program offers a model that can be replicated elsewhere, further providing widespread access to high-tech education and training.
