Pilot program shortens time to get 2-year degree
The process technology program at South Central Technical College in Reserve has long been a pipeline for those interested in getting jobs with local industry. Now, the school will help even more people achieve their PTEC certification with a 16-week accelerated program for college graduates.
For many, an associate’s degree in process technology has been the point of entry into high paying jobs in the local refineries and chemical industry. In fact, the average starting wage for such a degree is between $55,000 and $60,000 and nearly all students find steady jobs soon after graduation from the two-year program.
This spring, South Central Technical College will host a pilot program that will allow college graduates to attain their PTEC associate’s degree in only 16 weeks.
The program is being funded by a $100,000 grant that will mostly go toward hiring instructors to assist the 20 students that are expected to enroll through the accelerated program.
Campus Dean Cindy Poskey said the accelerated course is based off of one that began at Sowela Technical Community College in Lake Charles this spring.
Poskey said of the 18 students who completed the accelerated program at Sowela last semester, one had a doctorate, one had an associate’s degree and the others were evenly split with bachelor’s degree and master’s degrees.
She said it is the level of academic success that these students have already experienced that makes them naturals for an accelerated program.
“The success of the program is due to the type of student. They have already been through demanding rigor,” she said. “This is not foreign to them.”
Despite the students having already earned degrees, they will still have to meet all requirements to earn the associate’s PTEC degree and some supplementary classes may have to be taken in addition to the intensive PTEC coursework.
“Not everyone goes through a B.A. and M.A. and takes economics or technical writing. They take literature or English, but not technical writing,” Poskey said. “We may offer the courses they need in a compressed fashion or do it at night or in an online course. We are going to work with them because we want them to get the degree.”
When South Central Technical College presented the idea of an accelerated program to local industrial partners who are expected to hire the graduates, Poskey said they were excited at the potential, but also wanted to make certain those candidates would be suitable for the industry following graduation.
“When we presented it to the industry they said we need them quick, but you have better put out a good product. We pride ourselves on putting out a good product and we don’t want to jeopardize that,” Poskey said.
To learn more about the accelerated PTEC program, call admissions at (985) 536-4418 or visit www.scl.edu.
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