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Schenectady County Community College Announces New Academic Programs

June 17, 2010

Schenectady County Community College will be offering four new academic programs for Fall 2010: Air Traffic Control A.A.S., Alternative Energy Technology A.A.S., Criminal Justice A.S., and Storage Battery Technology Certificate. In addition, the College’s Computer Networking and Systems A.A.S. degree program has been renamed and revised and is now Computer Networking Systems and Cyber Security A.A.S.
degree program.

“SCCC is committed to being responsive to the education and workforce training needs of the County and Capital Region. We are very excited about the new program offerings and the new opportunities that these programs will provide throughout the County and Capital Region,” said Dr. Quintin Bullock, President of SCCC.

“As sponsor of the Community College, Schenectady County believes in the transformational power of education and how important it is to prepare our students for the jobs of the future,” said Susan Savage, Chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature. “These new programs will ensure that our college is meeting the needs of our students and the needs of our entire community.”

“The new programs exemplify the College’s role in partnering with local business and industry, such as GE, and remaining on the cutting edge of new opportunities in the workforce. We are working directly with local industry to offer programs in emerging fields benefitting our students, the community and the economy,” said Denise Murphy McGraw, Chairwoman of the SCCC Board of Trustees.

“These programs are examples of collaborative efforts between SCCC faculty and professionals in the field that result in quality academic programs,” said Dr. Penny A. Haynes, SCCC Dean of Academic Affairs.

SCCC Introduces New Academic Programs for Fall 2010

According to Dan Lance, Global Training Leader for GE’s Renewable Energy business, regarding the Alternative Energy Technology A.A.S. degree program, “Future Technicians need a solid, fundamental understanding of power generation, which this program was designed to provide. This degree program from SCCC offers opportunities for students to go into the battery, solar or wind businesses, and gives them a solid foundation for gas or steam turbine as well. These graduates will be solid candidates for entry level positions, where they will build upon this educational foundation and learn the specifics of the particular technology from the training programs of the companies they hire into.”

“Energy storage development and manufacturing require a variety of specialized skill sets that are not widely available,” said Tim Baechle, Manufacturing Leader for GE Energy Storage, referring to the Storage Battery Technology Certificate. “GE is excited to work with SCCC to develop the knowledge and skill sets needed in our community for next generation energy storage technology.”

Air Traffic Control A.A.S.

The Air Traffic Control A.A.S. degree program will provide students with a foundation in air traffic control basics and skills for the continuous safe flow of aircraft in the airspace system. Students will effectively handle normal and emergency situations through simulated scenarios and actual control of live aircraft traffic Schenectady County Airport Control Tower.

The College developed this new program to help fill a need locally and nationally for qualified air traffic controllers as identified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with an expected shortage of qualified controllers over the next decade.

Students enrolled in the program will receive instruction to prepare for the: the FAA Control Tower Operator written exam, Schenectady Airport FAA Facility Rating, and

FAA Air Traffic Aptitude Test (AT-SAT) entrance exam to the FAA ATC Training

Facility in Oklahoma City, Okla. Graduates of the program will be qualified to immediately seek ATC positions at non-FAA facilities.

In order to complete the program requirements for the A.A.S. program at SCCC, students will be required to successfully complete their Facility Rating for Schenectady County Non-Federal Control Tower (NFCT) and/or successfully complete the FAA AT-SAT exam with a score of 85% or higher.

Alternative Energy Technology A.A.S. degree program

The Alternative Energy Technology A.A.S. degree program will provide students with both a theoretical and hands-on foundation in the core principles of the design, operation, and maintenance required to work in the production and technical areas of renewable energies. Graduates of the program will be prepared for employment as qualified technicians in the emerging energy fields of solar and wind energy technology or battery and fuel cell energy technology.

The College developed the Alternative Energy Technology degree in response to the need for trained technicians to work in the emerging renewable energy technologies. Students will choose one of two focus areas: Wind Power and Solar Energy or Storage Battery and Fuel Cell Technology. The program was developed in consultation with GE’s Renewable Energy business, based in Schenectady.

Computer Networking Systems and Cyber Security A.A.S. degree program

The College’s Computer Networking and Systems A.A.S. degree program has been renamed and revised and is now Computer Networking Systems and Cyber Security

A.A.S. degree program. The revamped program addresses increased concerns about network and computer security and provides both a theoretical and hands-on foundation in these areas using industry-standard hardware and software, including computer forensics. The program will continue to prepare students for employment as a network and systems administrator.

Criminal Justice A.S. degree program

The Criminal Justice A.S. degree program will prepare students for transfer into related programs at a four-year college or university. The College currently offers a Criminal Justice A.A.S. program. The program provides introductory level instruction in the six course areas recommended by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences: administration of justice, corrections, criminological theory, law adjudication, law enforcement, and research and analytic methods. The College consulted with members of the Zone 5 Law Enforcement Training Police Academy, the SCCC Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, and SUNY Delhi to develop this program.

Storage Battery Technology Certificate

The Storage Battery Technology Certificate program was developed to produce qualified technicians for General Electric’s new sodium storage battery plant in Schenectady.  The company has a need for 350 technicians to work in this facility that will build sodium metal halide batteries needed for the emerging renewable energy technologies. The program will provide students with a foundation in the battery technology, electric circuits, fuel storage principles and mathematics. All course work will be applicable tothe proposed Alternative Energy Technology A.A.S. program in the Storage Battery and Fuel Cell focus area. Students who decide to continue their studies in this program will be able to pursue the A.A.S. degree with no loss of credit.

During the Inauguration of College President Dr. Quintin Bullock in April 2010, GE presented College officials with a $50,000 grant to in support of the institution’s emerging efforts in advanced battery technologies and alternative energy. The funds will be used to support the acquisition of equipment and other resources for the new initiatives.

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