Faculty Enhancement and Curriculum Development Activities to Improve Advanced Technology Education - Phase II Rapid advances in technology have made it difficult for faculty in disciplines driven by advanced technologies to remain current. At the same time manufacturers recognize the importance of modernizing their processes to remain competitive in the global marketplace. The highly skilled workers that are needed to meet the changing demands of industries will have to be trained by community colleges or by industry itself. In response to this need, the proposed project seeks to improve the quality of advanced technological education provided by a consortium of five community colleges in southwestern Virginia The primary goal of the project is to enhance skills and knowledge of the faculty. The project consists of four primary activities including "Back to Practice" experiences for community college faculty, a "Back to Practice" regional study and dissemination conference, Conference/Workshop participation, and faculty development summer workshops focused on enhancing the curriculum development and student assessment skills of technical college faculty. The project will demonstrate that the individual strategies described in this proposal can be welded into a fully integrated process which assesses industry needs, relates these needs to required employee skills, defines the curricular material which establishes those skills, and provides quality training for students and industrial technicians in a timely fashion.
