Tennessee Exemplary Faculty for Telecommunications Technology To prepare faculty to create a work-based learning environment that supports the telecommunications industry, a consortium of six community colleges in Tennessee, together with industrial, four-year college and secondary school partners, implement a professional development project. The project creates a network and a process that encourages faculty from different disciplines to develop and disseminate a communications technology curriculum framework. The faculty obtain an understanding of curriculum development techniques and practices. The teams, at each college, consist of seven to ten members including faculty from different departments and representatives from industry, four year universities and secondary schools. The teams encourage the faculty to consider cross disciplinary needs of the curriculum and provide direct access to industrial and four year college input. In addition, the faculty members are provided industrial internships. The outcomes include a system with strong linkages among secondary schools, colleges, industry, and government within the communications technology discipline that educates students in the future needs of the industries served.
