02-04-2024 EDU - Flipbook - Page 3
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, February 4, 2024 3
Support for students
Programs designed with success in mind
Carroll Community College's Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems program taps into the growing fascination with drones.
By E. Rose Scarff, Contributing Writer
C
arroll Community College has
two new programs designed with
the needs of students and industry in mind. Its program in Small
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS)
(drones) began as a certificate program to
provide the experience and knowledge needed to pass the examinations for the FAA
Remote Pilot in Command and USI sUAS
Safety Certification. Later it was developed
into an associate of applied science degree for
traditional students who needed the general
education classes to make them competitive in
the workplace.
Carroll’s digital design and fabrication
(DFAB) program began along the same lines.
It started with coursework in 3D printing with
the goal of acquiring SolidWorks certification.
Looking at the needs of industry, the college
designed their coursework and equipped its
state-of-the-arts classrooms to fill those needs.
“If a student wants to pursue sUAS and
they are working a daytime job,” says Maria
Barness, program director, sUAS, “they can
take the courses concurrently.” Courses are
offered after 5 p.m. during the week and on
Saturdays.
The same is true of the DFAB program.
“The program is designed to be flexible and
allows me to balance my school and work,”
says Logan Freter, a digital fabrication and
design student, who loves how engaging the
professors are. Both programs are designed
with a low student-to-faculty ratio so that students receive individual attention.
Most recently both programs have received
Maryland Higher Education Commission
approval so that students throughout the
state can attend these programs for in-county
tuition. “No other community college in the
state had the types of curriculums, the learning
objectives, the technology and the end results,”
says Scott Gore, program director, DFAB.
Equipment available for student use
includes an excellent drone inventory, so if a
student does not have their own drone, they
can use one belonging to the school. The
DFAB labs contain state-of-the-art fabrication
equipment, which can lead to jobs in 3D scanning and printing, industrial design, Fablab
management, machine shop applications and
many other industries. Community advisor
boards for each program indicate what is
needed in the working environment and provide leads for student employment.
At the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County, it all started during the pandemic
when the school had to quickly move from
in-person teaching to online classes. Once
most classes were online, they realized there
was another opportunity in the offering.
Statistically, many students began but did not
finish their degrees for many different reasons.
Now that classes were offered online, perhaps
these students could graduate.
UMBC began by looking through its
records and reaching out to former students
with this opportunity. They named the program Finish Line and created a conciergetype experience to guide students through the
admission and advising process all the way to
graduation.
This was the key dynamic for people to
move forward toward graduation since most
of these students had job and family commitments. "Give them a very clear answer on
what it would take, how long would it take,
and how they would go about it,” says Kenneth
Baron, Ph.D., assistant vice provost for academic advising and student success at UMBC.
Students would not have to go from place to
place around the campus to accomplish this.
Everything was made as seamless as possible
for these returning students.
Samantha Drummond, a senior at UMBC,
cites her advising team as being a great help
with reaching her goals. She is pursuing a
Bachelor of Arts in individualized studies
on the multidisciplinary studies track with a
minor in information systems. “The Finish
Line program has helped me in finishing my
degree by offering online and evening classes
to fit my busy schedule,” says Drummond. She
works full-time and has a young child.
Students who have moved away from the
area also are now able to finish their degree
at UMBC through the Finish Line program.
Because it is multi-disciplinary, the program
can be tailored to a student’s needs and goals.
It is their bridge to the future. So far, over 200
students have graduated through this program.
At the University of Maryland’s college
of behavioral and social sciences, the Feller
Center for Advising and Career Planning conducts classes in interview practice, networking
and other workshops to help students get jobs
or internships. During this process it was discovered that many of their students could not
afford to buy clothing for professional events
such as conferences, networking events and
job interviews.
Student support,
continued on page 7
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