Industrial Plant Technology has had a history of service to the mining community for the past fourteen years by providing entry-level skilled workers for their gold extraction process and by providing customized on-site training for their current workforce. The program has also started providing the opportunity for employees in the industry to seek a degree in Industrial Plant Technology during a time frame that accommodates their work schedule. The instructor is piloting an interactive video delivery for Lund, Nevada, high school students.

At this point, the program faces two formidable barriers. First, the mining industry is not currently hiring plant technicians and, second, the trade is not well known or understood and lacks charisma—making it difficult to attract young people to the training. However, the demand for plant technicians will change in the near future; many workers are close to retirement, not only in mining but in other industries as well.

Faculty. The one teaching member in the department has a degree from Fresno State University. Instructor Ralph Siler has ten years of teaching experience in junior high school math and science, seven seasons logging on the north coast of California with Hyatt logging, and ten years of experience in the mining industry in Nevada as a plant mechanic.

Resources. The program has been housed at four different locations on campus over the past fourteen years. None of these sites has been adequate for the job at hand. The Industrial Plant Technology program has the smallest budget of the occupational/technical department. Although there have been recent equipment purchases and some upgrading of the facilities, the training program does require considerable investment in equipment and facilities. The department has received $25,000 for equipment from the Perkins grant. Two used lathes were purchased along with some support equipment for pumping, failure analysis, and boiler operation. New electrical wiring was installed in the old diesel shop. Equipment is now needed for vibration analysis. A fully-equipped industrial plant program is very expensive.

Significant Changes
Program redesign. In 2000 the name of the department was changed from Mill Maintenance to Industrial Plant Technology in the belief that the decline in enrollment was partly due to prospective students thinking that “maintenance” meant “janitorial.”

In 2001, the instructor felt that the program needed a new direction that would open new employment potential for the students of the program. Many of the old courses in the program were rewritten and new courses and training areas were added. Among the changes were the addition of machining, electrical, heating/cooling and boilers, metallurgy, inventory and planning, and advanced industrial welding processes.

Enrollment trends. In Fall Semester 2000, the program had no students enrolled. After the evaluation and reorganization of the program in Spring 2001, the enrollment jumped to 23 (which included mining company employees). The enrollment stabilized at 14 for the remainder of the year. Spring 2002 had an enrollment of 11 students. Again, there are no regular students enrolled Fall 2002.

Pilot interactive video. The program will offer two courses on interactive video for Fall 2002. Lectures will be delivered through interactive video with labs delivered on site at the various centers. Much of the lab equipment will be transported to the centers by the instructor. Labs will be conducted on Saturdays. Nine high school students from Lund, Nevada, are enrolled for Fall 2002.

Analysis
Assessment. Updating and keeping the program current is accomplished through regular advisory board meetings. Instructor Siler feels that the program of faculty internships suggested in the past program review needs to be implemented. This will allow the instructor to receive hands-on training in the field to stay current with industry needs.

In the past most students completed the program. Some of the students that did not complete the program had a variety of reasons from early employment to discovering that this was not a profession they wanted to follow. Retention is not a great problem of the program. Placement has always been excellent in the program, and many of the students of the program go on to leadership roles in the industrial community. Past advisory board members have graduated from the program and are now pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the College.

STRENGTHS
• Experienced, qualified instructor.
• Updated curriculum in 2001/2002 through revised courses and new courses to include areas broader than mining.

CHALLENGES
• Inadequate facilities and equipment to meet changing industry demands.
• Difficulty of finding time for staff development and student recruitment in a one-instructor department.
• Continued lack of knowledge among prospective students, parents, school people, and the public at large on industrial plant technology as a vocation.

RECOMMENDATIONS/ACTION ITEMS
• Continue and improve lecture/demonstrations to regional (and beyond) high school students as a recruiting method.
• Improve facilities and purchase equipment.
• Implement faculty internships.
• Successfully implement interactive video and off-campus lab program.