Advanced Manufacturing and Automation Flexible Delivery

Online lectures and simulations make lab assignments straightforward.

Students take advantage of a six-day, 10-hour open lab schedule to complete assignments.

To generate the workforce necessary for the continued prosperity of the region, the Advanced Manufacturing and Automation Flexible Delivery (AMAFD) project at Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) will create easy to use, flexible courses that it hopes will appeal to incumbent workers, lower skilled workers, and workers with non-traditional schedules. This approach may enable students who are unable to attend traditional classes to enroll in the courses necessary to complete programs. In turn, these programs have the potential to provide these students with employability skills, access to a stackable degree program leading toward the completion of an Associate of Applied Science with Production Technician emphasis, and upward mobility.

The goals of the project are to:

1. Provide an educated workforce using industry-validated curriculum to meet regional needs.
2. Provide students easier access to course material online.
3. Use a scheduling application to reserve lab stations for student use.

To achieve these goals, TMCC proposes to:

• Conduct DACUM analyses with industry employees.
• Provide students easier access to course content online using uniform course design and Quality Matters standards.
• Research and install a lab scheduling application that will allow distant learners to reserve lab stations before commuting to campus.

Additionally, TMCC students will have the opportunity to participate in the Tesla and Panasonic Registered Apprenticeship Programs. The project results will be disseminated at regional and national conferences. In addition, the flexible scheduling model is expected to be adaptable to other industries nationally supporting both traditional students and those incumbent workers seeking upskilling or re-skilling.

Flexible Delivery Addresses Students Needs

AMAFD allows Truckee Meadows Community College students to complete course readings, view videos of lectures, and take quizzes online, and then attend open labs on campus at their convenience.

The lab station reservation program, devised as part of this project, is particularly helpful for rural students. By reserving lab stations during open labs, students are assured of immediate access to space in the lab at times that fit their schedules. Instructors staff the lab to help students with questions or problems.

More than 500 advanced manufacturing students benefited from the reconfigured, industry-aligned curriculum in 2018-2019.

The Advanced Manufacturing and Automation Flexible Delivery project is based at Truckee Meadows Community College. TMCC is located in Reno, Nevada and serves more than 25,000 students each year at five locations. The college offers associate degrees, university transfer programs, certificates, and career development classes and workshops.