The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
LCCC gets approval for first applied bachelor degree program
Lorain County Community College announced March 20 it has received final approval from the Ohio Department of Higher Education to offer Ohio’s first bachelor of applied science in microelectronic manufacturing.
“As the first community college in Ohio, we are incredibly excited and thankful to Gov. John Kasich to now also be the first to offer an applied bachelor’s degree in our region,” said LCCC President Marcia J. Ballinger. “This is something we have been working toward for nearly two decades.”
LCCC becomes one of only three community colleges in the state to offer bachelor degrees, joining 20 other states following the creation of an associate degree program in 2014 in mechatronics technology with a focus in microelectromechanical systems, also known as MEMS, according to a news release.
The program is based on the “learn and earn model” where students will complete paid internships with local industry partners while obtaining a degree, the release said.
With tuition likely less than $15,000 for the degree, Ballinger called the program one of the best values in the state of Ohio with graduates earning average starting salaries of $65,000.
“The authority to deliver applied bachelor’s degrees, especially in fields like this, expands upon our commitment to our community to keep access to higher education affordable and relevant to the job market,” she said. “This is the return on investment our community expects and deserves.”
The college has offered bachelor’s and master’s degrees on its campus since 1995 through the University Partnership, however, the microelectronic manufacturing program is the first bachelor’s degree offered entirely by LCCC.
Johnny Vanderford, an LCCC associate professor and project manager for the MEMS program, said the program was a local response to industry needs.
Beginning with the associate degree, Vanderford said the program started only with three students and eight local partners and quickly expanded to 20 partners in the first year to today where 40 industry partners work with LCCC in helping train students.
“These companies tailored this program,” he said. “They said we are in need of people who can work with the skills that it takes to manufacture these products; to work with the small tiny, micro-scale size components, the tiny microchips, in clean rooms, in print circuit board assembly floors.
“LCCC listens and we responded first with microelectronic manufacturing. A bachelor’s degree that is entirely based on the needs of the local industry.”
Vanderford said initial plans are to begin with an annual enrollment of 18 students and eventually increase to 24.
With the current 100 percent placement rate for the current mechatronics technology associate degree, the addition of a bachelor degree program is another opportunity to offer students a pathway into an in-demand and highly specialized field, he said.
Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy said the announcement was another example of LCCC’s leadership and innovation in the community.
“We always talk about the skills gap in Ohio and how we fill that skills gap and that’s where Lorain County Community College plays a very vital role,” Lundy said. “Not every county has its own community college.
“But the college has always kept up with employers who are in need of talent and talent with skills to fill that skills gap.”
According to a news release, the field of microelectronic manufacturing is an interdisciplinary filed that combines mechanical and electrical engineering technology with science, mathematics and communications.
This emerging field helps companies make products and processes “smart” by embedding sensors and microelectromechanical systems.
Ballinger anticipates the program could begin enrolling students as soon as fall 2018. The next step in the process is the accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission in a concurrent process with the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Ballinger anticipates the program could begin enrolling students as soon as fall 2018.