LCCC teacher and alum Johnathon Alexander demonstrates how a Fenuc robot arm operates with processing standard tasks such as creating. (Lauren Hoffman — The Morning Journal)

Lorain County Neighborhood College has grown as a workhorse in the applied bachelor of science degrees in current years, anything that will continue as the institution announced new applications March 16 for the duration of a Board of Trustees meeting.

Kelly Zelesnik, dean of the Engineering, Organization and Technologies Division at LCCC, mentioned the continuation of the system will introduce a third applied bachelor’s degree in sciences as properly as teacher and higher college applications to streamline the approach.

“Our newest applied bachelor’s, which is in the final stages of getting authorized, is set to marry each the microelectronic manufacturing, MEMs, and cyber safety to continue to aid students make a profession in engineering and manufacturing,” Zelesnik mentioned.

Identified as the Trusted and Assured Microelectronics Options, or TAMS, this applied science bachelor’s degree system at the moment is below improvement but must be provided to students by the 2024-25 college year.

The current bachelor’s degree in applied sciences provided at LCCC, having said that, could aid students earn up to $48.07 an hour with numerous going on to six figure jobs inside a handful of years of graduation with the system, officials mentioned.

Currently the field has five,383 projected annual job openings with 1,399 degree earners projected to perform in Ohio, they mentioned.

And the education does not commence just when students get to college.

Emily Graven, a graduate of Marion L. Steele Higher College in Amherst, is 1 of the 1st students in the system to take benefit of the curriculum whilst nonetheless in higher college.

“I got a job functioning in engineering whilst I was a junior,” Graven mentioned. “Now, with this system in MEMs that I am taking now, I am understanding what we are at the moment functioning on with consumers in class, so the payoff has been quick.”

LCCC also has constructed a partnership with Firelands Schools in the kind of a pre-apprenticeship system that launched in January.

So far, 43 students are enrolled in the Profession Connections classes and are set to earn a certified manufacturing associate certification as properly as 12 points that can apply toward graduation.

Robots like this 1 are applied on numerous factory floors currently, assisting make something from automobiles to processing packaging. (Lauren Hoffman — The Morning Journal)

“Under this partnership, the students have the capability to go to LCCC Robotics and Automation, MEMS and other employer websites with a kickstart toward their personal location in the system,” Zelesnik mentioned. “Essentially what we are undertaking, is offering these students, and the nation, with possibilities to see employers and providing them exposure to all the distinct fields of the certification.”

In addition to the higher college apprenticeship, LCCC introduced teacher education profession pathways offering totally free teacher education on Fanuc robots as a way to expose higher college teachers to instructing the applications.

“What this does is, it enables us to offer education and certification of higher college teachers as properly as neighborhood college instructors, and even university instructors, so that these teachers can turn about and teach their personal students as properly,” Zelesnik mentioned.

A single of the key techniques that the system operates is by way of the use of a Lending Library of Fanuc robots that schools can borrow to teach students.

By means of these applications, students can earn a robotic operator certificate whilst in higher college, which then stacks on to the profession pathway in engineering and manufacturing currently provided at the college level.

“This is just the most current in an thrilling new chapter for LCCC,” Zelesnik mentioned. “Through these applications and with our new applied bachelor’s, we can continue to develop the regional workforce which in turn grows our economy.”