04-26-2020 Education - Flipbook - Page 1
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020 |
EDUCATION
A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF THE BALTIMORE SUN • SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020
| THE BALTIMORE SUN
1
INSIDE:
2 Dual degrees tailored
for each student
2 Business programs
for specific careers
3 Patient-focused
education
4 Continuing ed tackles
workforce needs
5 Learning outside
the classroom
6 Programs for
successful careers
7 Registration Directory
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November.
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© 2020 Baltimore Sun Media
Na’Kya Goode, seated, an eighth-grade student at Magnolia Middle School, signs a letter of commitment to join the P-TECH program at Joppatowne High School starting this
fall. Joining her at the signing, from left, are Ruby Burchett, Harford Community College’s director of enrollment and manager for the Test Center; Adam Milanoski, assistant
principal of Joppatowne High School; Desmond McCleod, Na’Kya’s father; Patrick Elliott, associate vice president for enrollment services at HCC; Erica McCleod, Na’Kya’s
mother; and Kris Marzullo, P-TECH Coordinator at Joppatowne High School. Photo by Robert M. Limpert, courtesy of Harford County Public Schools.
Dual degrees in cybersecurity
New options to fill employment shortages
By E. Rose Scarff, Contributing Writer
B
ecause of the need for cybersecurity professionals from entry level on up, several
schools in Maryland will be offering dual
degree programs in the fall of 2020 to
help fill the gap.
Entry level cybersecurity education is being
addressed by the P-TECH program through the
combined efforts of Joppatowne High School
(JHS), Harford Community College (HCC)
and U.S. Army Communications-Electronics
(C-COM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG).
Students completing the P-TECH program graduate with both a high school diploma and an
associate degree.
Next fall the first group of 30 ninth graders
at JHS will start in the P-TECH program. This
exciting opportunity is designed for students who
might not otherwise be able to attend college and
to help fill the labor demand at the same time. A
grant from the State of Maryland made possible
the building out of classrooms at JHS to match the
computer labs on the HCC campus. There will be
no cost to students in P-TECH program.
“There are two degrees students can get,” says
Rob Limpert, supervisor of business, technology and magnet programs with HCPS. “One is
in cybersecurity, and the other is in computer
information systems.” All classes will be held at
JHS, with the opportunity to take summer classes
at HCC.
“They will get the exact same classes with the
exact same technology access that they would have
if they were on campus,” says Kelly Koermer, dean
of community education, business and applied
technology at HCC. The students will be registered college students and can take advantage of
other resources and classes on the HCC campus
if they want, but it is not mandatory. Students
will have from four to six years to complete the
combined program.
HCPS and HCC have worked together to
make sure the content of the classes offered at JHS
meets the requirements of HCC, not only for the
computer classes, but also for the general education requirements as well. “One of the advantages of working with C-COM all these years,” says
Koermer, “is we get employer feedback. So we are
integrating communications and critical thinking
skills into the program.” This is in addition to the
computer classes covering the technical skills they
will be using in the workplace.
C-COM’s initial role with these young students will be as mentors. “Our intention is to have
two professionals from C-COM mentor five students,” says Larry Muzzelo, deputy to commanding general for U.S. Army C-COM. “That way we
can give every student a mentoring opportunity
and if one of the mentors has to travel the students
won’t be left with no one.” This early mentoring
might be sharing perspective on what happens in
the workplace, or workplace etiquette and other
“soft skills.”
Cybersecurity, continued on page 8
Colleges and corporations merge goals
New partnerships are creating a network of win-wins
By Tracy M. Fitzgerald, Contributing Writer
J
ust shy of two years ago, Al Delia was
hired to serve as vice president for
regional development and engagement
at Frostburg State University. Coming in,
his charter was to identify opportunities
for the college to partner with local organizations
mutually interested in research, technology and
innovation. Working in his favor was the availability of a vacant 6,000-square-foot building on
campus, packed with impressive technical capabilities and offering wide open spaces to launch
new partnership-based projects.
“We wanted to facilitate research projects
on our campus that could engage our staff and
students, allow us to build meaningful relationships with community partners, and ultimately
have some impact the real world,” said Delia.
“We opened the Center for Applied Research and
Innovation (CARI) building in May 2019, and
soon after, launched our first project in partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural
Resources.”
The project is one that is low tech, yet it has
the potential for high impact. It involves creating a system of sustainability for a species of
salamanders, endangered in the state of Maryland.
Students and faculty are collaborating to build
and place concrete nesting boxes, sturdy enough
to withstand the rush of river water that is otherwise washing the species away. It’s giving the sala-
Jim Dickinson, Ph.D., assistant vice president for career services, and Eileen Hiebler, director, career connections, interact with a group of students in the Career Center lobby. Photo courtesy of Loyola University Maryland.
manders a stable environment to nest, procreate
and gradually build a new generation.
“There is nothing especially earth-shattering
about this project. But it’s important because it’s
allowing us to protect and potentially save an
endangered species, while also challenging us to
come up with innovative ideas that may eventually have value in the commercial marketplace,”
said Delia.
It’s also forming opportunities for Frostburg
students to gain practical, hands-on experience.
“The project is a good example of how
Frostburg State University is fostering a wellrounded educational experience for our students,”
Partnerships, continued on page 6
STEVENSON
UNIVERSITY
Above: Baltimore County Public School students
work with Towson University’s Childcare Center students as part of the College of Education’s TU Teacher
Scholars Summer Institute. Photo courtesy of Towson
University. See article on page 4.
Ask Margit
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
mbweisgal@gmail.com
Workplace shortages:
A great opportunity
In an article published in Forbes at the
end of last year, Nicholas Wyman, CEO
of The Institute for Workplace Skills &
Innovation (www.iwsiamerica.org), wrote
about one of his favorite topics: the skills
shortage that U.S. companies face. He cited
some interesting statistics to buttress this
claim.
• 75% across industry sectors reported a
shortage of skilled workers.
• 60% were dissatisfied with the preparation
of entry-level job applicants.
• 90% reported the skills shortage is negatively impacting productivity and employee
satisfaction and is exacerbating staff turnover.
• A survey among U.S. manufacturers indicated that the positions most difficult to fill
are often essential to their growth plans.
Wyman is not alone in sounding this
alarm. When I consulted with the Society
of the Plastics Industry (SPI), then CEO
Bill Carteaux spoke about this association’s
one million employees and then said, “We
have a huge shortage of employees. Right
now, there are well over 75,000 jobs available.” That gap has grown and that’s just the
beginning. Other industry sectors are facing
similar shortages, desperate to find capable
workers, with many employers creating –
building, really – their own programs to
educate applicants in order to satisfy their
lack of qualified personnel.
The other side of the question is where
can prospective employees find the training
and learning they need to apply for and fill
these job openings? The answer is in developing apprenticeships, formalized training
in specific trades eager to recruit and hire
them. Sadly, the United States is far behind
other countries that recognize the advantages apprenticeships provide and where they
Ask Margit, continued on page 4
adds career
direction to your
college degree
Imagine your future at stevenson.edu
