NSF Award Abstract - #0402625

The National Center for Pulp and Paper Technology

Abstract

Alabama Southern Community College, Auburn University, and the Charter Member Colleges are developing an ATE National Center of Excellence called the National Center for Pulp and Paper Technology. The Charter Member Colleges include: (1) Kennebec Valley Community College (Fairfield, Maine); (2) Mid-State Technical College (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin); and (3) Lower Columbia College (Longview, Washington). The mission of the National Center, with the support of other two-year colleges, universities, and a national array of pulp and paper companies and mills and national organizations, is to establish and perpetuate a technology program to give students around the nation exciting and effective education and training opportunities and to provide the pulp and paper sector of the United States forest products industry with a globally competitive, technologically advanced workforce (TAW). In turn, the mission of the National Center is being conducted through 8 goals and 36 objectives. The broad array of services to be provided through the National Center has been identified as critical for the pulp and paper workforce by a comprehensive consortium of industry, trade and professional organizations, colleges, universities, and governmental entities under the auspices of Agenda 2020. The intellectual merit of the Center includes continuous contributions to advancing knowledge in the areas of education and training for technicians and operations in the pulp and paper industry through several elements that may be applied to other disciplines and industries. These elements include: (1) a broad collaborative model that serves as the prototypical schematic for industry-education-government collaboration to show other industries and educational organizations how to move toward the goal of having a TAW so they too can successfully compete in global economy, (2) an education and training model that through the National Pulp and Paper Technician and Operator Certification Program incorporates skills standardization and verification based on international standards, (3) an ongoing research based analysis that helps colleges, universities, and the pulp and paper industry measure the effectiveness of education and training programs through return on investment model, and (4) education and training research that is reported through monthly journals and an annual book series published in paper and e-book formats. By providing an array of services, the broader impacts of the Center include: standardized and certified programs, outcomes-based instruction, advanced training and education methods and delivery, research and application of new teaching methods, academic- industry-government partnerships, dual focus on entry level and incumbent workers, quantitative measurement of effectiveness, labor-management cooperation, community college-university linkages, and outreach to K-12 teachers and students. Also, the developers are working to ensure that the activities have provisions to recruit and help students enter the workforce from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the pulp and paper industry.