New educational opportunities offered in South County to meet industry need
January 29, 2018Ribbon cutting ceremony held for expanded Informatics building at AWC San Luis Technology Institute
San Luis, AZ (January 26, 2018) – The expansion and renovation of the Informatics building at the Arizona Western College San Luis Technology Institute was unveiled to the community during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Jan. 26.
Housed on San Luis Middle School’s campus, the updated facility will enable residents to earn a Bachelors in Applied Science (BAS) degree in Informatics through the University of Arizona without ever leaving South Yuma County. An Informatics degree focuses on computers, computing problems and solutions, and applications to a variety of database situations.
The expansion and renovation of the Informatics building are the result of a five-year Federal Title III STEM Grant awarded to AWC: Informatics STeming Into New Careers for Today and Tomorrow (INSTINCT2). Grant dollars paid for the addition of two active learning classrooms, a Discovery Lab, and an open student work area called the Student Success Area. Each of these spaces will be equipped with the latest technology and hands-on computer and network equipment for students to gain real-world experience. Technology assistants and supplemental instruction leaders are also in the process of being hired to support students as part of the grant.
Students recruited for the freshman cohort of the program began in the fall of 2017 and are currently working to earn their Associates in Applied Science (AAS) degree before transferring seamlessly to University of Arizona South to receive their BAS degree through in-person and ITN video courses. The AAS degree pathway incorporates curriculum with an emphasis in four different degree areas: (1) System Administration, (2) Software Development/Information Management, (3) Cyber Operations, and (4) Digital Design.
Dawn Ponce, INSTINCT2 grant director, shared that this pathway was deliberately designed to address both the needs of local students and industry.
“Right now there’s a need in industry for people in computer science bachelor’s degrees and they’re having to recruit from out of Yuma County, because we’re not producing them. So this is going to enable AWC, in collaboration with the University of Arizona, to produce those employees with bachelor’s degrees that can work in four different focus areas,” said Ponce.
Potential job opportunities in this field include research analyst, information specialist, clinical informatics, technical support engineer, software developer, digital designer, and business systems analyst. At the bachelor’s degree level, students will have an opportunity to see these jobs in action through internships at businesses in the community.
Students can also take classes at the AWC Yuma Main campus, where classroom renovations will begin in the spring of 2018 as part of the third year of the INSTINCT2 grant.
GRANT INFORMATION:
This project is in part supported under a Title III, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) grant from the U.S. Department of Education; Hispanic Serving Institutes Division. $861,655 toward this renovation will be derived from Federal grant dollars; which is 94.2% of the total project costs. Arizona Western College will contribute $53,000 which is 5.8% of the total project costs.
Contact:
Dawn Ponce
Director of Instinct2 Grant
Arizona Western College|
(928) 314-7659
Dawn.Ponce@azwestern.edu
###