The Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing (AAM) program at Everett Community College, consisting of Engineering Technology, Machining Technology, Composites Technology and Welding and Fabrication, are being housed in one location to allow students to experience the different processes that occur in the manufacturing world from the stages of ideation to the final assembly of a product. In each of these programs, students are encouraged to broaden their perspectives by taking electives from the different disciplines in the AAM program. A twelve-credit Manufacturing Cycle Curriculum, leading to a certificate in Advanced Manufacturing Essentials, is to be developed. The Curriculum, required of all AAM students, teaches them the full process and essential job duties of manufacturing from the design phase to quality assurance. Students are expected to work on projects that can be feasibly produced in one program and be able to communicate the issues that occur during manufacturing to students in other disciplines. In addition, the AAM faculty work with faculty in mathematics and English to create AAM-context based modules for developmental courses so that students are prepared for the technical courses. In professional development workshops, high school and community college faculty develop modules to engage high school students in learning the STEM content needed for technical programs.
The project funds career coaches to assist high school students and their parents to become aware of technical careers and pathways that include community college. The project also funds a Navigator position to guide at-risk community college students to appropriate services. The evaluation measures the effectiveness of these strategies to recruit, retain and place AAM students and determines their preparation for the requirements of the workplace.
Worker productivity requires that workers not only have technical operation skills, but a broader understanding of how their task relates to both the quantity and quality of the final product. Workers' knowledge of the full manufacturing cycle puts their work in context of not only what they do, but why they do it and how their work relates to the company's purpose. The idea of the AAM program is to have the different departments work together to ensure that students understand the entire manufacturing and life cycle processes.
