Provides window into future potential creative community college Verde Valley development

The June 1, 2017 article in Time magazine written by Josh Sanburn entitled, “The Case for Community College,” provides insight into the need for creative approaches to developing career and technical education programs as a part of Yavapai College’s responsibility to the Verde Valley. It explains why several Community College CTE programs have been so successful. At a time when Yavapai College has developed a state-of-the-art career and technical education Center on the West side of the County while leaving the East side of the County struggling and well behind in CTE development and training opportunities, the Time article is extremely relevant.

You may read the entire Time article online by clicking here.   The Blog encourages everyone to read the article.  

Valley Academy high school students and College students to take classes together on East side of the County; College to count students in enrollment and charge substantial fees

Under an Intergovernmental agreement between Yavapai College and the Valley Academy for Career & Technical Education high school and Community College students will be taking nine classes together (concurrently) in the 2017-2018 academic year. The agreement was unanimously approved at the June 13, 2017 Governing Board meeting.

Under the agreement, the College and the Valley Academy will simultaneously offer the courses.  The College will count the high school students as College students and they will receive college credit for successfully completing a course.  Fees for each course are from $300 to $400, depending on whether it is a three or four credit course.

This arrangement differs from dual enrollment classes where high school students can obtain both high school and college credit in a particular course.  First, the fee in a dual enrollment class is $10 per credit.  Second, dual enrollment classes are taught at high schools by qualified high school faculty.  Third, adults are normally not allowed in dual enrollment classes.

Both dual enrollment and the concurrent classes are counted in the College’s annual report on students taking credit courses.  With the decline in traditional students over the past years, the College needs the dual enrollment and concurrent enrolled students to try and stem the enrollment decline.

What follows below is a list of concurrent courses approved at the District Governing Board meeting.

Unlike West Valley high school students, Verde Valley High School Students do not have access to the program

The Career and Technical Education Center reports that the  Electric Utility Technology program is thriving.  This spring is enrolled six high school JTED students from the Mountain Institute and 15 adults.

The students have been busy rebuilding the pole training field where they continue to refine their Skills. CTEC reports they are prepping for First Aid and CPR certification ahead of the application process for Arizona utility jobs in February.

Unfortunately, all of the CTEC programs, including the lineworker program,  completely leave out high school students on the East side of the County while providing learning opportunities for high school students on the West side of the Valley. From the Blog’s perspective, it is  incredible that students from the East side of the County do not have these career training opportunities.

In 2012, Yavapai College received $1.87 million of a $13,477,799 grant awarded to a consortium of five Arizona community colleges to train people for high-skill, high-wage employment and advancement in energy and mining industries. The Colleged used portion of the grant to create an electrical lineworker program with Arizona Public Service (APS), to expand the College’s mining program, to strengthen the College’s electrical instrumentation and pre-engineering programs and to enhance its welding training program.

“The grant complements the very strong electrical programs that we already have,” John Morgan, Dean of Career and Technical Education, said during an interview with Prescott Enews in 2015. “It gives our students the opportunity to seek gainful employment at several major power companies throughout Arizona, particularly in heavy electrical jobs. These are jobs that pay very good wages.”

“We currently have five CTEC graduates working at Cobham Prescott,” said David Sagor, Cobham Prescott electronics production manager to Enews. “All are being utilized on benches where their new skill sets are enabling them to efficiently troubleshoot down to the component level. With its relevant content and high level of hands on student participation, CTEC has had a very positive impact on our company.”

“We have interviewed graduates of your E&I technology program and extended offers to several,” David J. Boyd, electrical manager for Drake Cement, LLC, wrote in a note to the college. “We have been quite pleased with the knowledge and professionalism these young men have brought to our E&I department. The level of training at Yavapai College is some of the finest I’ve seen anywhere. Our community is fortunate to have this program available, and we look forward to a lasting professional relationship with the school.”

Sources:  District Governing Board Agenda, May 2017; Prescott Enews, which can be accessed by clicking here. 

What explains the success of CTE on the West side of the County?  What explains the failure on the East side of the County?

A new 30-page booklet provides a detailed analysis of the ten-year history of the development of the Community College  Career and Technical Education (CTE) successes on the West side of Yavapai County is now available.  It also  recounts the failures on the East side of the County to create a  CTE offering for high school students and residents like that on the West side.

The booklet contains several suggestions for achieving greater success on the East side of the County. The suggestions are based on the experiences over the past ten years of developing CTE on the West side.

You may download a free complete pdf copy of the booklet by clicking here.COMPLETE SPECIAL CH 10 PUBLISHED MARCH 22 2017.

College offering two different summer robot camps for middle school age students

Yavapai Community College is offering FREE robotic programs that will take place at two Yavapai campus locations. The programs are for middle school age students.  The two locations are:

• CTEC Campus next to Prescott Airport

• Verde Valley Campus Clarkdale

To apply for a camp you must do the following: Complete the application, student essay, and teacher recommendation forms that you will find below.

Submit all three of these via FAX to Stephanie Wiltcher-Sproul at (928) 777-3142, or send them to her by email by April 7, 2017 to be considered.  (APRIL 7 is a deadline.)

Selected students will be notified by April 14, 2017.

• 2017 RoboCamp
  Application Forms

  • 2017 Robot Camp Application
  • 2017 Robot Camp Teacher Letter
  • 2017 Summer Robotics Camps Flyer

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Doors close without explanation

It was less than a year ago that the Arizona Technical College opened its doors at 154 S. Main St. in Cottonwood. The grand opening was April 2, 2016. The aim of the new private technical college was to offer courses and classes of from 4 to 10 students. Today, the college is closed.

The College President Dennis Willis said in April, 2016 that he hoped to fill the need for technical post-secondary education in the Verde Valley. Unfortunately, that expectation was not met.

A January 17, 2017 story in the Verde independent newspaper written by Bill Helm indicated that the Valley Academy for Career and Technical Education (V’ACTE) would purchase some of the equipment from the Technical College and offers some of the courses it had started.

You may read Mr. Helm’s story about the collapse of the technical college after less than one year by clicking here.

Electrical Lineworker and Electrical Instrumentation Technician (E & I) program have high placement success; $24 per hour to start

Yavapai Community College reported in June, 2016 that it is having great job placement success in its  Electrical Lineworker and Electrical Instrumentation Technician (E & I) program.  It says that its  graduates “continued to have high placement success this spring in local and Phoenix based companies.”

According to the College, the average starting salary for its graduates was $24.00 per hour. Five of the line-worker graduates were hired by Arizona Public Service (APS) in various parts of the state including Yuma, Douglas, Paradise Valley, and Phoenix. Other lineworker graduates were hired by subcontractors around the state.

The programs continue to place over 90% of its E & I graduates within the first three months of graduation.

These programs are not open at CTEC to East County high school students.

Internships on West side of the County and more

A $250,000 grant from the Kemper-Ethel Marley Foundation was received in June by Yavapai Community College.  It will pay for six interns per semester for the next two years with local companies such as Toro, Ruger, Whipstone Farms, Bent River Machine, and Cobham.  

Bent River, the only business on the East side of the County listed by the College as using interns in its brief announcement,  is located in Clarkdale. Norela Harrington is listed as the corporate president by the Arizona Corporation Commission.  Former Governing Board member Herold Harrington, who was trounced in 2014 by Deb McCasland for his seat on the Board,  is listed as secretary and treasurer.  The Harringtons’ are listed by  the Arizona Corporation Commission as the only two directors of the corporation.

The grant also adds equipment to programs at CTEC.

It will fund the robotics and GEEK youth camps in both the Verde Valley and Prescott areas for the next two summers.

YC students benefit from new drone rules

You may recall that in August, 2014 the Blog reported that a new program was under development at the Chino Valley campus of Yavapai Community College that involves drones and a partnership with SWIFT Radio planes.  Swift Radio planes is a local Prescott business that manufactures unmanned aircraft. The unmanned aircraft systems, known as drones, would be used for safety programs, “including fire sciences, emergency management and agricultural studies.”

The drone program began in the Spring of 2015.

In June, 2016 the Federal Government promulgated regulations regarding the operation of drones.  According to a press release from Yavapai Community College, “the rules – Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations – are a major step toward opening the nation’s airspace to drones. The new regulations will help students move quickly through the operator testing process, positioning them well for employment.”

Drones “are going to be replacing all kinds of manned aircraft and doing things manned aircraft never did in the first place,” said Yavapai College Associate Professor of Aviation, Matt Mintzmyer. “The industry is pretty wide open. Students will have job opportunities and be able to go out in the industry, or create their own business from the ground up.”

The college’s drone program was launched in the spring, capitalizing both on emerging markets for drone technology and increased interest in drone operation. Mintzmyer envisions the program growing as a result of the FAA essentially clearing the way for small, unmanned aircraft.

The drone program at Yavapai Community College is “at the forefront of the industry and comprehensive – more so than other colleges and universities that have jumped on the UAS bandwagon,” Mintzmyer said. “We train on everything you need to know for the operator certificate,” including building and operating drones, operational safety, rules and regulations and entrepreneurship. “We’ve got a really solid program.”

The CTEC program is not available to high school students on the East side of the County.

You may read the press release from Yavapai College by clicking here.