Clark College’s popular mechatronics program combines electronics with mechanized processes to prepare students for jobs in today’s high-tech manufacturing.

Clark College has received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to create a new Rural Access Mechatronics Program (RAMP) that will help students in rural areas become skilled technicians in the high-demand field of advanced manufacturing.

“Thanks to this funding, Clark College will be able to provide greater access to our highly regarded Mechatronics program to students living anywhere in Clark’s service district,” said Clark College Dean of Workforce, Career and Technical Education Genevieve Howard. Clark’s service district includes Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat counties.

During the grant’s first year, Clark College faculty will develop a curriculum of seven “hybrid” classes that compose a Certificate of Completion in Mechatronics Fundamentals. Hybrid classes are taught partially in a face-to-face classroom, and partially online, allowing students in remote locations to attend classes without commuting long distances each day to a college campus.

Many regional employers have expressed a need for additional technicians trained in mechatronics, a discipline that focuses on the integration of mechanical and electronic components in modern manufacturing and utility environments. Employers who wrote letters in support of this project include Boeing, Insitu, NORPAC, Silicon Forest Electronics, Vancouver Energy, the Columbia River Economic Development Council, and the Southwest Washington STEM Network.

“The RAMP program is another example of how Clark College is addressing the workforce needs of advanced manufacturing businesses,” said Jeanne Bennett, CEO of the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council, which also supports the project. “The hybrid/online program will enable more students to receive training, and this will increase our region’s pool of skilled mechatronics technicians.”

The program will begin accepting its pilot cohort of students in the fall quarter of 2017. Given Clark’s strong focus on hands-on learning, the college is currently examining potential options for bringing lab facilities to students in remote areas of its service district. These could include anything from suitcase-sized training modules to a traveling “lab” on wheels.

Clark College received this grant through the NSF’s Advanced Technical Education program, which was created to improve and expand educational programs for technicians to work in high-tech, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. The grant proposal was developed by mechatronics professors Chris Lewis and Ken Luchini with Director of Grant Development Lori Silverman and Howard.

“The RAMP grant is exciting because it validates the ability of Clark College faculty and staff to develop a grant proposal that is competitive on a national scale in an academically rigorous process,” said Howard. “Our hope is that we can replicate this hybrid model in other areas of career and technical education, potentially with further NSF assistance.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Bingen, Wash., is the site of a new Clark College facility offering educational opportunity to the residents of the Columbia River Gorge.

Less than a year after establishing a location in the Columbia River Gorge, Clark College is expanding its academic and technical offerings and moving into a new, larger facility.

The new location in Bingen, Wash., which is still being negotiated, would house both new classes designed for the needs of local employers as well as existing classes currently run out of Clark’s facility at the Wind River Education Center in nearby Carson. That facility was opened in fall 2013 in response to widespread interest from Columbia Gorge residents and school districts in having access to affordable, college-level classes; it will close when the Bingen facility opens in order to house all Clark programs in one convenient location.

The expansion is made possible in part by a $315,000 grant received by the college from the State of Washington to increase enrollment in aerospace education, approximately half of which is going to provide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education at the Bingen facility. The grant is part of an $8 million, statewide program to help two-year and technical colleges prepare future employees in the aerospace field.

The new Bingen location will include a computer lab and classroom space for classes in Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD), a skill that many regional employers cited as in high demand. The college will also be hiring a full-time employee in the Columbia River Gorge. The college is on an aggressive timeline, and will be ready to offer classes in the fall of 2014.

The college is also moving its Transitional Studies (basic education, GED preparation, and ESL) programs and other academic offerings previously provided at Wind River to the new Bingen facility. These other offerings include classes taken by area high school students through Washington State’s Running Start program, which allows students to take college-level classes while still enrolled in high school for little or no tuition—potentially earning their associate degree while still in high school.

Additionally, Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education (CCE) will use the new facility to continue and expand its specialized training for local employers. Beginning in fall 2014, CCE will also begin providing professional-development courses to the public, including LEAN, blueprint reading, Excel, Word, Outlook, Business Writing, email etiquette and communication, and essentials of supervision.

A full list of courses and activities in the Columbia River Gorge will be available on the Clark College website later this summer.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Left to right, Associate Vice President of Corporate & Continuing Education Kevin Kussman, Vice President of Student Affairs Bill Belden and Vice President of Instruction Dr. Tim Cook meet with the residents of White Salmon to discuss potential course offerings in a satellite location.

As the economy of the Columbia River Gorge has developed, so have its needs for a more highly trained workforce. Recently members of two Gorge school districts reached out to Clark College to help meet those needs.

Representatives from Clark College recently attended two public meetings in the Columbia River Gorge to hear public input and gauge interest in offering college-level classes to the communities of Klickitat and Skamania counties. The public meetings were hosted by the Stevenson-Carson School District and the White Salmon Valley School District. Held at the Wind River Education Center in Carson and at the Columbia High School Library in White Salmon during February and March, the meetings were well attended by a cross-section of prospective students, business leaders, educators and economic development advocates.

More than 200 people attended the meeting in Carson, indicating the interest was there for college-level classes. Although there was a smaller number in attendance in White Salmon, the participants there clearly stated the need for educational programming to train for workforce needs, particularly for the growing high-tech sector in the Gorge. What Clark College officials still need to determine is how many and what types of classes to offer.

“Clark has explored the option of offering for-credit classes in the Gorge before, but we know that demands change with changing economic times,” said Clark College President Bob Knight. “We really needed to hear that the interest was there for a model that we could fiscally maintain and one that would be sustainable for the workforce needs of these communities.”

Columbia High School principal Troy Whittle gives Clark College insight into the high school population in White Salmon.

Clark College is already offering adult basic education and ESL classes through the WorkSource offices in Stevenson and White Salmon and will continue those classes. The proposed expansion would bring general education offerings to the region–classes that would have broad appeal and that also could be taken by Running Start students.

“White Salmon Valley School District is excited about developing partnerships with Clark College and Stevenson-Carson School District for expanding college-level course opportunities that will better meet the growing needs of our students, adult learners, and communities,” said Dr. Jerry A. Lewis, Superintendent of White Salmon Valley School District.

Clark College may begin offering a limited number of classes this summer; the formal kickoff is scheduled for fall quarter in September. Classes in Skamania County will be offered at the Wind River Education Center, formerly the middle school for the Stevenson-Carson school district. A location for White Salmon classes is being discussed.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley