RichmondCC Programs Discuss Changes to programs during Fall Advisory Committee Meeting

Dec. 2, 2021 - Richmond Community College held its Fall Advisory Committee meeting on Monday, Oct. 25 at the Cole Auditorium. During this time, many of RichmondCC’s faculty, staff and community members from Richmond and Scotland County came together to discuss new and upcoming changes to the college’s programs for 2022. At the meeting, dinner was served and shortly after, individual groups met in designated committees to recap what has been taking place at the college and in the community in regards to their specific programs.

In the Mechanical Engineering Technology program, students learn about engineering graphics, engineering fundamentals, materials and manufacturing processes, mathematics and physics, computer applications, critical thinking and problem solving.

“This program prepares students for high-paying jobs in a variety of industries,” Mechanical Engineering Program Coordinator & Department Chair, Annie Harden said. “Behind every product that is manufactured is a prototype that was designed and developed by a mechanical engineer.

During the meeting, the committee discussed the major changes that are taking place in the Mechanical Engineering field and the increasing number of remote positions as CAD drafters, and mechanical drafters due to the pandemic. As a result, Fusion 360, a cloud-based software which operates around the world is allowing access to institutions to manipulate 3-Dimensional models from any location.

“I found this opportunity during a search for CAD positions for students in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program. We are fortunate to have been offered this opportunity because registration was filling up quickly by other institutions,” said Harden.

For the Nursing program, only few a changes are taking place. Fall and spring 8-week classes are transitioning to 16-week classes; in turn, this allows students enrolled in the program to have more time to master course materials.

The Human Services Technology  Advisory Committee had a very productive dialogue. “We discussed the new pathway between continuing education and curriculum and the upcoming name change from Human Services Technology Substance Abuse to Human Services Technology Addiction and Recovery Services,” said Joni Thomas, Human Services Technology Program Coordinator.

Also new to the Human Services Technology program, is the program orientation offered each fall, soft skills have been added to the Introduction to Human Services class, Mental Health First Aid training is now available to all students in the program, a resource board is available for all college students and staff, new articulation agreements with several four-year colleges, and a departmental Facebook page were shared with the advisory committee.  

“Many things to build on for the future were discussed such as new employment opportunities for students and work-based learning sites and partnerships with community agencies in Scotland and Richmond Counties”, said Thomas.

The Office Administration program has several possible upcoming changes including putting more focus on soft skills, adding a business communications class instead of a second English and students would take Introduction to Interpersonal Communications. In addition, the program is considering adding a Human Resources Management certification where students could earn this certification and their Associate in Applied Science in Office Administration at the same time.  This program is also seeking to add TOSA certifications to the program, were all possibilities discusses with the advisory committee.

“TOSA is globally recognized for their certification tests. Through collaborating with EMC Publishing, we will be offering certifications through TOSA. Students who complete the Associate in Science in Office Administration will be certified in Word, Excel, & PowerPoint,” said Lori McLaughlin, Office Administration Program Coordinator.

RichmondCC’s Information Technology program has some different items in the works with a lot of focus on Cybersecurity. The IT program is collaborating with the college’s continuing education division to offer a Cybersecurity class again in January. This class is a boot camp style designed to teach computer networking and security skills people need to begin a career in Information Technology. Those who are interested in taking this class must have an associate’s degree or 60 hours of college credit; this program is designed for individuals considering a career change to IT or to meet employer certification credentials.

“The course prepares students for the industry-recognized CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications, and uses a curriculum developed by CompTIA themselves. This class will begin Jan. 15, 2022 and ending on April 23 and will meet at the brand new Robinette Building in downtown Rockingham” said Lance Barber, Information Technology Program Coordination.

The Associate in Arts program at RichmondCC shared new classes with their advisory committee they will offer in spring 2022. The college will offer Ceramics for the very first time. This class will be offered at the Arts Richmond Building in downtown Rockingham. The college has partnered with Arts Richmond for several years to showcase student artwork.

“We have completely redesigned our developmental English and math to help students who may be struggling academically because of the pandemic, we also have a brand new chemistry lab on campus that has been completely redesigned and updated,” said Lee Ballenger, Dean of Arts & Science at RichmondCC.

The advisory committees at RichmondCC provides an efficient and logical way to regularly review the college’s programs. The program committees provide input in planning and revising curriculum, which continually reflect changes and advancement in technology and job requirements. These committees are an essential interface between the community and the College.

Richmond Community College is now registering for spring semester 2022. To learn more about Richmond Community College contact us at (910) 410-1700 or www.richmondcc.edu. Spring semester starts January 13.