Technology and Innovation
in Postsecondary Career Preparation:
Hagerstown Junior College, Hagerstown, MD
An American Youth Policy Forum Field Trip — July 25, 1997
Across the country, innovative community colleges are searching for ways to go beyond simply providing educational services for postsecondary students and play a larger role in their community. Hagerstown Junior College (HJC), in Hagerstown, MD, is one of the community college system's leaders in connecting its postsecondary education and training programs to broader economic, workforce and community development. In addition to offering high level academic courses, HJC provides an array of vocational training and encourages and supports the creation of high-tech and innovative new technologies. Notes Dr. Mike Parsons, Dean of Instruction, "we see ourselves as an agent for economic development, taking technology to the 21st Century."
Since its founding in 1946, HJC has been committed to assessing the needs of its community and adapting programming to fit these needs. Established primarily to educate returning World War II veterans, HJC has in recent years developed and implemented an Advanced Technology Center to support curriculum design to meet the specific needs of local employers; extensive distance learning and continuing education programs; a High Performance Manufacturing Curriculum to build SCANS and other foundation skills through real-world applications; and a Technical Innovation Center to foster the development of small manufacturing and technology-based firms.
Today, manufacturing firms are becoming more productive with fewer workers, notes Doug Leather, Advanced Technology Center Director, and HJC prepares its students for this emerging reality. Located in Western Maryland, HJC serves parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia along the I-81 corridor. To ensure that its students are prepared for such high-productivity work, HJC collaborates extensively with community and government organizations, other postsecondary institutions and local employers from across this region. HJC receives substantial funding from the city and state government and is working with state economic development officials to examine other potential areas of support. HJC also has transfer and/or articulation agreements with other institutions in the region, including Hagerstown Business College, Pennsylvania State University-Mt. Alto, Frostburg State University and other vocational-technical centers.
Advanced Technology Center
HJC's collaborative efforts with local and regional employers is driven largely by the Advanced Technology Center (ATC). Notes Richard Ammon, Manufacturing Programs Coordinator, HJC and the ATC provide state-of-the-art education and training to the local workforce and strive to ensure "that whatever we provide to the community will make their lives better." ATC does this by meeting with and talking to representatives of manufacturing firms to identify their specific needs. Working with these firms, ATC develops programs that help students directly meet these needs and obtain jobs that promote growth and development in the manufacturing sector and, as a result, their economy and community.
Technology is ubiquitous at the ATC, with students spending much of their time on computers and other hi-tech equipment. The Center for Microprocessor Applications provides hands-on training opportunities in programming computer-operated devices, such as traffic lights and remote controls. The Computer-Aided Drafting, Computer-Aided Manufacturing and Applied Computer Science laboratories allow students to work on the equipment used by employers in these fields. ATC also operates hi-tech electronics, photonics, automated manufacturing and robotics laboratories for further hands-on training in these growing technical fields.
In addition to HJC students, the community has access to the ATC's equipment through its "Shared Flexible Computer Integrated Manufacturing System." Recognizing that smaller and growing firms cannot afford or maintain high levels of technology, the ATC allows individuals and businesses to use its over $1 million worth of equipment. Individuals and firms pay usage fees to "rent" time on the equipment, which allow them to remain competitive with firms outside of the region by avoiding significant capital investment. While firms must pay "rent" before using the machines, individuals are only charged once they have developed and begin marketing a product. The ATC also offers customized training to firms that rely on technology but cannot keep pace with the economy's changing technological demands.
According to Ammon, these programs and services provide multiple avenues for the community to benefit from what HJC and the ATC have to offer. "The reason we're so strong today is that we're partnering with as many people as we can." These partnerships are evident in training programs designed in consultation with area employers and manufacturers to the usage of ATC equipment by local individuals and firms. This customer service-based approach is central to HJC's mission of meeting the needs of its community.
Distance Learning and Continuing Education
While targeted to different populations with different needs, HJC's distance learning and continuing education programs achieve the goal of providing education and training to all sectors of its diverse community. The centerpiece of its distance learning efforts involves telecommunications equipment run by the ATC. The large "Bell Atlantic" room, which holds up to 200 people, is used by businesses and other professional groups to host meetings and teleconferences. Two smaller telecommunications rooms, which hold between 30 and 50, are connected to the University of Maryland Instructional Television System, and HJC students attend "classes" conducted by teachers at a remote site. The technology allows teachers and students to interact through both an audio and video interface. As HJC increases the capacity and scope of its distance learning services, local residents will gain access to even more resources.
Continuing education programs at HJC also provide services once unavailable to local residents, notes Ann Shipway, Director of Continuing Education. As the workforce changes, HJC serves as a resource for cost-effective training, responding to the needs of businesses and the economy-at-large. As with other HJC initiatives, courses and training are developed in consultation with local employers to ensure that students are prepared for jobs that are both available and substantive. HJC also works directly with employers to develop programs for its employees that support the needs of the firms. As a long-standing education and training institution, HJC is better equipped to provide training to incumbent workers than a firm working on its own to train its workers.
High Performance Manufacturing Curriculum
In addition to connecting students to resources outside of the community, HJC has made extensive efforts to bring additional resources into HJC. Building on its commitment to connecting education and workforce training, HJC has collaborated with Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to develop and implement the High Performance Manufacturing Curriculum, a CD-ROM program which integrates lessons in core subject areas with a workplace simulation.
Designed by cross-disciplinary JHU and HJC faculty teams, the curriculum is designed to prepare community college graduates for the workplace. In one simulation, for example, the student is cast as a representative of a firm that is planning to build a power plant in a small town. The student/worker moves into the town and meets with representatives of various civic and government organizations, such as the mayor, tourism agency and parents organizations, to gauge public opinion concerning the plant. After meeting with these representatives, the student/worker examines the plant from an economic aspect, considering three alternative sites across town and their impact on costs and revenues.
The program was tested by two HJC physics classes and, according to Dr. Liz Mathias of JHU, the students "really dove into it." After analyzing the situation and the data, teams of students presented their recommendation for the power plant. All three potential sites for the plant were selected by at least one group, and each justified the reason for their selection. Mathias contends that such outcomes should be expected, as the decision-making process is more important than the actual decision. Through this curriculum, students not only learn math and physics, but also discover "that a company functions as part of a larger system and what they do has a large effect" on that system. This is a critical lesson for all students who will need to apply their academic and occupational skills at work and in the economy.
Technical Innovation Center
In its commitment to local and regional economic and community development, HJC goes beyond providing education and training to individuals and firms. Its Technical Innovation Center (TIC) is designed as an "incubator" for small light manufacturing or technological firms without the capacity to operate their own plants. The firms, which generally consist of one or a few employees, pay rent for use of the space in the TIC, technical assistance and access to the ATC's hi-tech equipment. Firms are also provided office space and share a conference room above the "factory" floor.
According to Chris Marschner, Manager, the TIC is "a natural fit" for HJC as its focus continues to shift toward economic development. Through initiatives like the TIC, HJC is becoming "not just a place where you go to class but a community center. It is becoming a much more active participant in the economic development process, and the TIC is just one more way of doing that." The TIC is particularly important in that it spurs the development of local firms, a strategy which Marschner claims grows the economy faster than encouraging existing firms to relocate to the region. In addition, in an economy where the majority of new businesses fail, the TIC gives local community members a stronger chance to survive by greatly reducing its start-up capital costs.
Conclusions
HJC demonstrates that community colleges are in many cases uniquely situated to drive local and regional economic development. As a postsecondary institution, it has the ability to prepare recent high school graduates for meaningful and productive careers in high-wage, high-skill manufacturing jobs or for additional levels of higher education. As a community organization, it can respond to the diverse education and training needs to all of community members. Such flexibility is critical as the economy continues to change rapidly and dramatically.
Much of HJC's success is the result of its willingness to embrace, rather than avoid, such changes. The partnerships it has developed with both public and private organizations have helped HJC effectively assess its community's needs while its ability to keep pace with changing technologies has benefited HJC and all of its students and partners. As a result, HJC is serving the diverse needs of its entire community, helping to foster continued growth and development.
Contact Information
The following Hagerstown Junior College Staff can all be contacted at:
Hagerstown Junior College
11400 Robinwood Drive
Hagerstown, MD 21742-6590
Phone: 301-790-2800
Dr. Mike Parsons, Dean of Instruction
Doug Leather, Director, Advanced Technology Center
Richard Ammon, Manufacturing Programs Coordinator
Ann Shipway, Director of Continuing Education
Chris Marschner, Manager, Technical Innovation Center
Dr. Liz Mathias
Johns Hopkins University
Institute for Policy Studies
3400 N. Charles Street, 5th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21218-2696