General Grant Information
Funding Source: National Science Foundation—Advanced Technological Education
Special Note: First NSF-ATE grant funded in Louisiana
Grant Name: Pathways to Careers in Information and Communication Technology
Background
The Louisiana Technical College (LTC) has been charged with advancing technical–career education and providing life long learning opportunities for the citizens of Louisiana. With more than forty campuses across the state, LTC is readily accessible to most residents in the state and provides the state’s lowest cost publicly funded access to higher education.
Increasing the capacity of Louisiana residents to gain knowledge and skills throughout their lifetimes is key to the economic development of the state and key to helping many of our residents escape poverty. The associate degree program targeted in this project—Information and Communication Technology: Computer Networking Support—emphasizes a strong academic and knowledge base, but also provides technicians with real-world industry based work experiences and courses geared toward preparation for a variety of industry certifications such as IC3, A+, MCDST, Wireless Technologies, HTI, and MCSA.
Three LTC regions, Region 2 in southeast Louisiana, Region 4 in southwest Louisiana, and Region 8 in northeast Louisiana have partnered to provide industry-based certification training for secondary and LTC faculty from across the state to ensure quality programs and greater access and success for students. Educators will work closely with industry and community partners to develop a model for long-term change in how students at the secondary and post-secondary level are educated in the technical-career setting to insure training that is relevant, timely and challenging.
The dynamic and comprehensive educational model developed through this grant will provide technicians with skills essential to survive and advance in the workplace.
Goals and Objectives
The primary goal of this project is to develop and implement a dynamic model for technical-career education to better prepare individuals to enter and advance in the IT field. The project will:
- Form partnerships with business and industry to provide strengthened programs for high-technology fields that drive the nation’s economy. Business partners will provide internships, field experiences, and mentorship for students.
- Provide professional development for post-secondary faculty and secondary teachers to integrate industry standards and workplace competencies into the curriculum and to earn industry certifications.
- Develop online courses for the entire targeted degree program: Information and Communication Technology: Computer/Networking Support.
Contacts
Region 8
Glen Deas
NSF-ATE Principal Investigator
gdeas@ltc.edu
Phone: 318.397.6115
Ellen Hill
NSF-ATE Co-Principal Investigator
ehill@ltc.edu
Phone: 318.397.6141
Brent Wallace
NSF-ATE Coordinator, Full-time
bwallace@ltc.edu
Phone: 318.397.6174
Octavia Turner
NSF-ATE Coordinator, Part-time
oturner@ltc.edu
Phone: 318.397.6118
Region 2
Sue Grigg, MCSE, MCT, A+
NSF-ATE Site Coordinator
sgrigg@ltc.edu
Phone: 225.359.9391
Chris Coleman
NSF-ATE Assistant to Coordinator
chris.coleman@ltc.edu
Phone: 225.359.9391
Region 4
Annette Faulk, CCNA, CCDA, CCNP, A+, iNet+
NSF-ATE Site Coordinator
afaulk@ltc.edu
Phone: 337.373.0011
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DUE-0603439.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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