TCCTA Report - Reflection on What's Happening

I promised to report to you about the happenings at the Texas Community College Teacher's Association Electronics meeting this month. Here is a summary.

At this big state-wide conference, there is usually an Electronics specific set of meetings each year. This year it was on Feb 22 at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin. Only a handful showed up for the meeting this year. Total attendance was about 25 by my count. A few said that with the meeting on Thursday, it was difficult for many instructors to attend because of class responsibilities as well as the really long drive times typical of traveling in Texas. I agree. It should have been on Friday.

I suspect the word did not get around as widely as hoped since the program coordinator this year, Rickey McFadden of Paris Junior College, had by-pass surgery. He is doing fine but Scott Williams of Texarkana College did a great job of filling in.

I spoke on the requirements of a 21st century curriculum and the low enrollment problem. Tom McGlew of Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center in Tempe, AZ talked about their NSF- funded Work-Ready Electronics program which is going well. If you ever need up-to-date supplements to your courses, go to www.work-readyelectronics.org and download their online modules.

The remainder of the talks were vendors of lab equipment like Heathkit and Nida. The only publisher attending was Michelle Cannnistraci of Delmar/Thomson. Of course, McGraw Hill and Prentice Hall were at the exhibits.

The relevant issues and problems of the day are really discussed at the traditional Saturday breakfast. Most schools are still suffering the low enrollment syndrome. Lots of jobs available but few students interested in learning electronics. The reasons are many as this blog has rehashed many times. Only two schools reported increases, Austin CC where I teach part time and Amarillo College. Both schools did extensive recruiting, curriculum revisions, local employer contacts, grants and new programs over the past two years. That's is what you have to do today not only if you want to survive but also to grow.

The prevailing attitude of many is still "I am an instructor and it is not my job to recruit, meet with industry, or update curriculum". Of course that is not true as most schools, and states, mandate this but the instructors just hate to do it.

The only suggestions I heard were to find a way to get more grants and to write to our state legislators who supposedly might give the schools money to survive if they find out that the source of technicians will go away if they do not. Nowhere was there any indication of the schools or professors doing anything themselves. No wonder these schools are down. Hey you guys, things change. You have to change too. Quit whining and complaining and do something about it. And that starts with working with the local employers or at least taking an in-depth look at the local job situation and that extends up to 100 miles away.

The final recommendation was to attend the SAME-TEC conference sponsored by MATEC this year in Dallas on July 25-29. The goal is to meet again to discuss issues and to potentially start up a state wide Electronics Instructors Association. California has had one for many years (California Council of Electronic Instructors). The possibility of forming a national electronic teachers association will also be discussed. It is really needed as there is no organization devoted to this. Certainly not ASEE. As good as they are, they almost ignore the CCs.

SAME-TEC has become THE conference covering electronics and related subjects at the CC level. It was in Albuquerque last year and the attendance was about 300. Very focused and relevant. Go to the MATEC website at www.matec.org for details. Be there......

Comments

There has been a rash of spam comments to this blog recently. Where on earth does this stuff come from? Some of it is just stupid and undecipherable. Some are profane. I have removed this stuff so hopefully none of you saw it. Not good.

However, your comments are always welcome. That is why I started this blog. It is a place to exchange ideas. I have never removed a valid related comment even though it may conflict with my opinions. It is an open blog so we can figure out how to boost enrollments and improve the curriculum in our AAS degree programs in electronics technology. So share your knowledge and experiences here.

I am speaking at the Texas Community College Teachers Association meeting in Austin on Feb 22. They have a full day program devoted to Electronics. I will let you know what I said and what was said at the various sessions. It should be interesting. Stay tuned.