Monday, November 23, 2009 East Central Illinois
The Answer Book 2005
|
Previous 2005 Answerbook story |
The Answer Book |
Next 2005 Answerbook story |
|
Parkland keeping up with change BY ANNE COOK © 2009 THE NEWS-GAZETTE CHAMPAIGN – Parkland College faculty members made an early commitment to prepare students to become valuable employees. "Parkland programs are designed to meet the needs of employers and our constituents," said Rich Lake, dean of career programs. "We talk to employers through advisory committees and surveys and we pay close attention to what they say. And we can respond relatively quickly usually less than a year and sometimes quicker than that to what they need. We stay in touch with the community." Maria Mobasseri, head of the Computer Sciences and Technology Department, said she and department teachers have changed and combined some courses so students have more options in the field.
"The industry expects information technology people to have more than one expertise," she said. "In another program, we're combining animation, computer graphics and a Web program into one and calling it digital media." Also in response to job demand, Mobasseri's department and Parkland's Health Professions Department are planning a new medical transcription program. "Students will have knowledge in health as well as computers," she said. The Fine and Applied Arts Department cooperates in the digital media program. Lake said several career programs have grown dramatically the last few years. "Our newest program is an associate's degree for dietetic technician," Lake said of a proposal introduced at the June board meeting for a class that will prepare graduates to take an exam to become registered dietetic technicians to work in hospitals or for community organizations. The class will include 600 hours of clinical practice. He said Parkland now has nine different one-year certificate programs that fit trade union apprenticeship requirements so students get credits for work they do to join unions. They can also extend their studies for a second year and earn associate's degrees. Lake said the 3-year-old massage therapy program is going "great guns" and so are the diesel and automotive programs. Parkland is expanding space for the automotive program to accommodate more students and offer more training options. Bruce Henrikson, head of Parkland's Business and Agri-industries Department, said the hospitality program has grown so quickly, the college is expanding its laboratory /kitchen. "Enrollment's probably up 30 percent in two years," Henrikson said. "You have to look at the job opportunities. We've already had good student success." He said potential employers like Bill Myers of Franchise Management Systems Inc. have helped the program grow by donating equipment and supplies. Myers serves on a department advisory committee. Another hot area in Henrikson's department is horticulture, and he said that this summer the college was to start construction of two greenhouses plus classroom space that will expand its classroom and laboratory options. Landscape design enrollment is also growing. "We want to move toward more turf courses and preparation of potential golf course management curriculum," Henrikson said. He said one area for potential expansion is the department's geographic information systems and global positioning systems curriculum. "It can help people improve skills for their current jobs," Henrikson said. Collegewide, Parkland students study a variety of academic and practical skills. About a third of the college's 10,661 credit-seeking students in fall 2004 planned to transfer to another college to complete their education. About 22 percent were enrolled in occupational programs, a third were continuing education course enrollees, and about 9 percent were seeking general science degrees. Ethnically, the student population is thoroughly mixed. Census data from fall 2004 say about 16 percent were black, 5 percent were Hispanic, and 72 percent were white; 46 percent were men and 54 percent were women. About 300 different businesses hired Parkland graduates last year, but about 23 percent of them went to work for four major employers. Carle Foundation Hospital and Carle Clinic hired 14 percent of those graduates, Provena Covenant Medical Center hired 3 percent, and Parkland and the University of Illinois each hired about 2.5 percent of the graduates. The college is wired. There are 1,250 computers in labs for student use. Mobasseri's department alone has 16 laboratories. Officials say there are 1,050 computers on campus and at off-site locations and 100 percent of administrative, faculty and staff offices are networked. There's wireless access in specific wings and the library, and student e-mail accounts are available. |
||
|
Previous 2005 Answerbook story |
The Answer Book |
Next 2005 Answerbook story |