In this issue:

Events:

National Connections

American Association of Community
     Colleges

Association for Career and
    Technical Education (ACTE)

National Association of Manufacturers

National Association of State
    Directors of Career Technical
    Education

National Energy Education
     Development (NEED)

National Manufacturing Week 2005

National Tech Prep Network (NTPN)

USA Today

Articles

"Process technicians needed in plants" Houston Chronicle, Jobs section, Sunday, January 16, 2005

"CAPT Bringing Industry, Educators Together for Stronger Workforce" World Refining, November/December 2004

"Education, industry professionals discuss building skilled work force" BIC Alliance, November 2004

"CAPT to host annual Critical Issues, Best Practices Conference" Brazoria County Business Journal, August 26, 2004

"BC's Chemical, Process Tech programs gear up for future" Brazoria County Business Journal, August 26, 2004

"Colleges team with industry, business to prepare, enhance workforce" Brazoria County Business Journal, August 26, 2004

"PTEC helps grads get high-wage jobs" WBRZ, the advocate.com, Baton Rouge, LA (online)

"Public News Room stories on CIBP Conference and Phyllis Eisen (from NAM) as keynote speaker" KUHF88.7 FM Houston Public RadioOctober 6, 2004

"Center's process technology program trains future industry leaders" BIC Alliance, February 2005

Advisory Committee Presentations

Texas Workforce Investment
Council Meeting
June 18, 2004

Gulf Coast Process
Technology Alliance
July 30, 2004

Montana State University,
Billings College of Technology
August 23, 2004.

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Conference
September 20, 2004

Gulf Coast Process
Technology Alliance
November 12, 2004

Louisiana Technical Colleges - Lafourche Parish
January 25, 2005

Gulf Coast Process
Technology Alliance
January 28, 2005

Publications

Instrumentation Textbook

Introduction to Process Technology facilitator guide

Skill standards completed

The Chemical and Refining Process Technician and Oil and Gas Process Technician skill standards are complete and will be available online by February 24. Meanwhile, the work-oriented information for the Pharmaceutical Process Technician skill standards has been collected at a number of companies in Michigan and Puerto Rico. Work on these standards continues.

The National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) has been awarded the contract to develop the program graduate exit assessments for the Chemical/Refining Process Technician and the Oil and Gas Production Technician. Both the Oil and Gas and Chemical Refining exit assessments will be piloted in August 2005.

Order the PTEC™ Instrumentation student textbook

The Process Technology Instrumentation textbook can now be ordered directly through Pearson Custom Publishing using the online address: www.pearsoncustom.com/database/engineering.html. Select the Process Technology Instrumentation link on this page to go directly to the full text description and order information. Orders can be placed by phone or by e-mail. In addition, instructors can request a sample desk copy at no charge by clicking on the link "Instructor Exam Copy" found on the same page. The ISBN for the textbook is 0-536-85949-3. More...

Introduction to PTEC web-based course revised

A panel of ten process technology instructors and industry experts, teamed with CAPT instructional design and web learning specialists, have spent over six months reviewing and updating the Introduction to Process Technology web-based course and its Facilitator Guide.

Each of the twenty-four modules has been updated to present more accurate information and illustrations, read more easily, and provide more thorough content. Real-world knowledge and experience is blended with sound web learning techniques to improve the course and provide students with a more realistic overview of the life of a process technician.

The panel also contributed a variety of tested exercises and resources to the Facilitator Guide, which now features 3 to 4 exercises that correspond to each of the twenty-four modules.

Visit the interactive Virtual Chemical Plant

The Virtual Chemical Plant (VCP) is up and running! Visit www.captech.org/vcp.htm to experience math and science activities for middle school students. New VCP activities include:

•  Four Basic Process Variables
•  Physical and Chemical Properties
•  From Fossil Fuels to Products
•  A-Head in Math

Encourage students to apply for scholarships

It is time once again for students to apply for 2005 PTEC scholarships. BP Exploration and Production, Inc., The Dow Chemical Company, the Producer's Assistance Corporation, and Shell Oil are offering up to $2000 for each individual scholarship awarded.

Applications and further details are available on the CAPT website at www.captech.org/careers/scholarship.htm. All student applications and required documentation must be received by April 1, 2005. Educators can download a flyer and student newsletter from the CAPT website to promote scholarships on campus.

New process to apply for 2005 BP student internships

Do you know a student planning to be a process or instrumentation technician who would like to intern this summer? BP Exploration and Production, Inc. is offering sixty internships between May and August 2005, with opportunities to intern both onshore and offshore. All instructors and advisors are asked to encourage students to visit the CAPT website at www.captech.org/internship/internship2005.pdf and learn how to qualify and apply online for an internship.

Students will be able to apply directly with BP this year for consideration. The deadline for applying online is March 15, 2005. Upon completing the online application, BP will screen all candidates and the top candidates will then be scheduled for interviews, which will be conducted during April.

Intern opportunities will be for both offshore and onshore locations. Just as they were last year, onshore locations will be in several states and will include oilfield experience. This year, for the first time, internships will also be offered in Texas City, Texas and Los Angeles, California.

Announcing the 2005 STeP institutes

The CAPT Science and Technology Preview (STeP) Summer Institutes have been a popular recruitment tool for high school females during the past two summers. The STeP Summer Institutes for 2005 are scheduled and partners are beginning to recruit! The institutes scheduled to date are:

•  University of Alaska - May, 2005
•  Brazosport College - June 6 - 10, 2005
•  Bismarck State College Campus - June 20 - 24
•  Delaware Technical College - June 20 - 24, 2005
•  Middlesex County College - June 27 - July 1, 2005
•  Lamar Institute of Technology - Late June

Faculty institutes set for this summer

Two faculty institutes will be held this summer. The first, Pulp and Paper Process Technology, will be held June 13-17 at Alabama Southern Community College (ASCC) in Thomasville, Alabama. Community college and high school educators will have an opportunity to learn from pulp and paper industry representatives about the products and processes associated with the industry. Participants will gain hands-on experience in ASCC's world-class Pulp and Paper Technology Laboratories and will see the processes first-hand through site visits to several pulp and paper production facilities. Funding for the institute is provided by NSF grant funds from CAPT through a sub award to ASCC.

The BP Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Faculty Summer Institute will be held in Alaska from July 11-16. Participants will travel from their home destination to Anchorage Alaska, and will tour facilities on the Kenai Peninsula and the North Slope, the Alaska pipeline, the Kincross Fort Knox gold mine, and a coal mining operations facility. CAPT will sponsor the institute through funding from BP Oil and Gas Exploration and Production.

Learn more about both institutes at:
www.captech.org/profdev/facinst2005.htm

Faculty return-to-industry internships

CAPT will again sponsor a summer Faculty Internship program for university, community college and high school faculty from CAPT partner institutions who teach process technology. The internships are a weeklong, return-to-industry experience to learn about new technology and to update knowledge of the industry practices and processes.

Faculty will participate in a 40-hour internship in a local petrochemical, refining or oil and gas exploration and production facility. This program will assist faculty members in delivering information and materials that help students connect academics with real-world experiences. More...

Articulations anyone?

Have you developed new, articulated courses or agreements since Spring 2002? If so, please send this information to jperkins@com.edu to keep the website articulation section up-to-date.

New workshops for middle school teachers and counselors

Career Awareness Workshops are new this year and will be offered to middle school teachers and counselors. These workshops will exhibit various ways for educators to incorporate career awareness into their everyday curriculum. The focus of the workshop will be a detailed tour of CAPT's new Virtual Chemical Plant and the interactive math and science activities it contains. Each participant will receive a User's Guide as well as a hands-on tour of the site! The Career Awareness Workshops scheduled to date are:

•  Bismarck State College - June 1 - 2, 2005
•  Brazosport College - June 14 - 15, 2005
•  Houston Community College Northeast - May 12 - 13, 2005
•  Lamar Institute of Technology - Late July, 2005
•  University of Alaska, Anchorage - May, 2005

Introduction to PTEC student textbook under development

This textbook is currently under development, with plans to publish it in late August 2005, making it available to purchase for Spring 2006 classes. Topics will include the history of the process industry, overviews of the various process industries, the career of a process technician, basic physics and chemistry, SHE, and a review of basic equipment such as pumps, compressors, heat exchangers, etc.

Chapter sponsors are still being recruited, particularly from industry. Each sponsor is assigned one chapter from the textbook to review and redline. Industry and education subject matter expert reviewers are needed for the following chapters:

•  History of the Process Industry (industry only)
•  Basic Physics (industry only)
•  Basic Chemistry (industry only)
•  Pumps (both education and industry)
•  Tanks, Drums and Vessels (both education and industry)
•  Compressors (both education and industry)
•  Steam Turbines (both education and industry)
•  Electricity and Motors (both education and industry)

To learn more about this opportunity and to volunteer, contact Melissa Collins by e-mail at mcollins@com.edu or by phone at 409/938-1211 x163. Volunteers ensure the CAPT curriculum provides needed knowledge and skills for student success.

Meet the CAPT WebCT Coordinator

Steve Newsome has joined the CAPT staff as the WebCT Coordinator. Steve was previously the WebCT Coordinator on another NSF funded grant at Del Mar College, the South Texas Advanced Technology Education project (STATE), where he integrated STATE web-based training modules into the WebCT course environment and provided technical support. He also brings experience in management consulting and the natural gas production industry to his position at CAPT.

Steve will provide tech support for the WebCT courses, the online job bank, the educator's community, and the CAPT website. He will also adapt the WebCT modules into a more user-friendly presentation. In addition, Steve will be the point of contact for individuals, educators, and students to answer WebCT questions and provide guidance.

Educator learning community in development

An educator's learning community for the website is under development. At this location, educators will be able to upload material that they have personally developed to be shared with other instructors teaching the same course. Material featured in the learning community will not be copyrighted, making it available for CAPT partners to use.