March 28, 2014--Optical Systems Technology

Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY offers the certificate programs listed below. 



These are typical of those offered by nearly 1,000 community college nationwide. The only significant differences one finds when comparing Monroe's offerings with, say, West Los Angeles Community College's is that a few of the programs reflect their local economies and potential employment prospects.



Pretty much everywhere there is at least some need for dental assistants, restaurant workers, and security guards. But considering that Xerox and Corning are located near Monroe, custom-designed for these companies, the college offers courses in Optical Fabrication and Optical Systems Technology while at WLACC they offer a program in Aviation (the college is located near LAX airport) and Real Estate (we know about LA real estate!).

Monroe Community College Certificate Programs

Addictions Counseling

Automotive Training Apprentice Program

Computer Aided Design and Drafting

Criminal Justice: Corrections Administration

Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement

Culinary Arts

Dental Assisting

Early Care

Electronics Technology

Emergency Medical Services

Food Management

Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning

Hotel Management

Human Services

Interior Design

Law Enforcement

Mathematics

Office Technology Specialist

Office Technology: Medical Office Assistant

Optical Systems Technology

Paralegal Studies

Paramedic Certificate

Precision Machining: Optical Fabrication

Precision Tooling

Small Business Management

Solar Thermal Technology

Sustainability

Teaching Assistant: Adolescent

Teaching Assistant: Early Childhood/Childhood

Teaching Assistant: Technology

Tooling and Machining

Travel and Tourism

All things being equal, considering the state of the economy, and as a reflection of the kinds of offerings and training that Guest-Blogger Sharon suggested yesterday should be available for the non-college-bound student (a position I in many ways share), this would make a lot of sense and should receive the resources needed to assure that these programs are of high quality.


Sadly, far from in every case are things equal. 



At Monroe and WLACC, which is unfortunately typical, very few of these programs have ever been rigorously evaluated. We do not know, for example, how up-to-date they are in regard to the latest technologies or methodologies; and, perhaps more important for programs that are designed to prepare students for the world of work, beyond anecdotes, we do not know if graduates get the jobs they have been trained for and how well these courses and programs prepare them for the work that actually exists.



At Monroe, for example, if you click on Optical Systems Technology and look to see how graduates fare when it comes to employment, there is an asterisks (*) that states in effect that the college is "not required" to offer this data and thus they do not. One suspects that if the employment data were positive, the college would be eager to trumpet them. And why they are not required to see how well public money is being spent on these programs is a whole other story.



This does not blunt Guest-Blogger's main argument. She is right to call for high-quality programs of the sort that exist in Germany. 

We know that people enroll in and pay for these career programs, but we do not know if they work. This in spite of the resources that have been directed toward our community colleges and high school career programs.