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"Recruitment and Retention of Chemistry Students" was the theme of the conference of the 2-Year College Chemistry Consortium (2YC3), held at San Antonio College in
November 1996. The keynote speaker at the Friday night banquet was Robert Krienke, who is the current president of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Krienke is well known,
especially in 2-year colleges that have chemistry technician training programs. He is a chemist with 8 years of industrial experience and has spent 28 years in technical education, including an assignment as a chemical technology instructor at the Texas State Technical College in Waco, Texas. He has long list of service positions on his resume, including public school boards, JTPA (Job Training Partnership Act, a federal workforce training act), Tech Prep, quality work force planning, and school-to-work. He has recently been appointed to the Southeast Texas Work Force Development Board. Krienke's presentation dealt specifically with the issue of quality of 2-year college programs, since, as he stated, quality is the most important factor in student recruitment and retention. He also made some comments regarding
education in general in the United States.
Regarding quality, Krienke stated that conclusions he has drawn over the years as a result of his personal experience with over 100 technical programs in 2-year colleges match the conclusions of a U.S. Department of Education study undertaken in 1989. The purpose of the study was to define the quality of postsecondary vocational education programs. The study used employers' ratings to identify quality programs nationwide and examined over 100 manufacturing programs at 2-year colleges. The conclusions were as follows.
1. A program must have a clear vision and mission. Faculty must be involved in program planning and in defining the mission of the college/department and a statement of the mission must be clearly articulated.
2. A program must have a core of senior, full-time faculty. The leadership such faculty members provide is critical.
3. A program must provide for faculty development opportunities. It is absolutely essential that faculty keep up-to-date technologically.
4. A program must possess current and varied equipment. This is essential, and perhaps represents the biggest challenge to science and technology programs.
5. A program must provide extensive hands-on lab time to the students. Academic principles must be taught in an applied, contextual manner and lab experiences must be closely tied to classroom instruction.
6. A program must have strong industrial contacts. Industrial contacts through plant tours, internships, cooperative education, etc., are a strong factor in student retention.
7. Better programs have a strong job placement program. In quality programs, job placement and follow-up are used extensively to maintain a finger on the pulse of industry and job changes.
8. Quality programs have good promotional publications. Information about the program must be given to the public in straightforward manner without excessive "hype".
Regarding education in general in the United States, Krienke expressed deep concern over the myriad reports that show that education in this country is not at a competitive level. He cited a report by Marshall Loeb, editor of Fortune Magazine, who says that, compared to other countries, the U.S. ranks dead last in math test scores and third from the last in science test scores, surpassing only Ireland and Jordan. He said that in Texas, Texas Instruments has moved most of its computer programming operations to India because of a lack of a trained work force in Dallas. He also said that although Motorola spends 4% of its budget on employee training, after 6 years they have only been able to raise their average worker in Austin, Texas, to the 8th grade level in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
However, he says that all is not doom and gloom. The 1995 Condition of Education Report from the National Center for Education reports steady progress since
A Nation at Risk was published in 1983 ( http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CondOfEd_95/; also available from U. S. GPO, P. O.
Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA, Stock No. 065-000-00791-6). More students are taking difficult courses, test scores are up, and the dropout rate is declining. The percentage of high
school graduates that took chemistry increased from 32 to 56%. Despite these gains, Krienke says that, for survival, business and industry must be involved in education.
He cited the European model for success. In Texas,
the Commissioner of Education stated that 40% of high
school graduates are qualified for neither college nor work, and
are thus branded as failures. In Europe, such students
are trained and become successful technicians by completing
an apprenticeship program. Business is involved in
education. The need for technicians and paraprofessionals to run
industrial operations is ever-present. He says there needs
to be a better connection between business and education in
this country.
Regarding this need for technicians, an article in
Fortune Magazine (Richman, L. S. Aug. 22, 1994, pp 56 - 66) stated that the technician is becoming the core employee of the digital information age.
The article also stated that the average starting salary for
technicians in 1992 was $28,600 per year, which is much
higher than the average starting salary for B.S. degree graduates.
In conclusion, Krienke said that all of us in
education are planting seeds for the future. While we may not see
the fruits of our efforts immediately, we should not be
discouraged. As a famous hockey player once said: "You miss
100% of the shots you don't take." Krienke encouraged us to
take lots of shots.
See Letter re: this article.
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