New certificate and degree programs come to WCC

Eight programs including communication, management and more

Alice McGuire
Staff Writer

Recently, Interim Vice President of Instruction Brandon Tucker proposed new programs that received approval from the board and are on track to be introduced at Washtenaw Community College.

While some await approval from the Higher Learning Commission, a group that guides the community college’s operations, they are all still worth keeping in mind while planning upcoming semesters as many utilize existing courses, which can be applied to the programs once they are available for students to declare as their majors.

The new programs and the divisions and departments which they are associated with are as follows:

Associates Degrees:

• Elementary Education Transfer – Advanced Technologies & Public Service Careers Division – Public Service Careers Department
• Marketing – Business and Computer Technologies Division – Business Department

Certificates:

• Social Media Management – Business and Computer Technologies Division – Business Department
• Cultural Resource Management – Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences Division – Social Sciences Department
• Marketing Essentials – Business and Computer Technologies Division – Business Department
• Esports Management – Business and Computer Technologies Division – Business Department
• EV Service Technician – Advanced Technologies & Public Service Careers Division – Transportation Technologies Department
• EV Safety & Fundamentals – Advanced Technologies & Public Service Careers Division – Transportation Technologies Department

“Any new program comes from faculty, through the department chair, through the dean, and then goes to a curriculum and assessment committee that approves all new curriculum or curriculum changes that happen at the college. After it goes through the committee and is approved, it comes to my office, the president’s office, and then the board for approval,” Tucker said about the approval process to develop a new certificate and associate’s degree program.

Tucker went on to highlight two upcoming certificates from the Advanced Technologies & Public Service Careers Division with relation to Electric Vehicles (EV)–EV Service Technician and EV Safety & Fundamentals–as examples.

“All of our occupational programs have advisory boards that are made up of industry leaders that give advice to the college on our curriculum, our future opportunities for growth, and EV–specifically–has been something that the college has been involved in,” he said.

“It’s an expansion of what we started nearly ten years ago via our advanced transportation center,” emphasizing that these programs are designed to serve both new and established professionals.

“We’re a lifelong learning institution. Whether it’s reskilling, upskilling, or–for some people–following an interest you’ve always had–at Washtenaw we have it, across different disciplines and many programs,” said Tucker.

Tucker further explained that all of WCC’s certificates and associate’s degrees are created with existing jobs in mind and that they are designed to be responsive to the needs of the present day as well as the next five to 10 years–both locally, and nationally.

“Esports is a prime example of something that has continued to grow. We started an esports club here a number of years ago and then we decided that we would have an esports arena–which we now have–and now we’re finding out that esports arenas are things that people have to manage. So that is a direct response to growth,” said Tucker. 

Anthony Terry is a faculty member in the Business & Computer Technologies department, and he was involved in the development of the proposed Social Media Management certificate.

Terry describes the certificate as focusing on the “behind the scenes” aspects of social media management, such as Google analytics, branding, and identifying and reaching potential customers. Additionally, the courses are designed to accommodate students’ individualized entrepreneurial goals. 

While the three courses which make up the proposed certificate–BMG 202 Social Media Storytelling, BMG 203 Social Media Management, and BMG 204 Social Media Analytics–are geared towards “enhancing business strategies,” Terry emphasizes that many of the skills which they teach are beneficial for individuals who might not necessarily see themselves as entrepreneurs or business majors.

“With businesses, you’ve got stories to tell–you’ve got passions!” said Terry, adding, “We want to try to help them get those stories put together and understand how to put them out there on social media. That means understanding the right platform, understanding particular target markets, and where to reach them at.”

Professor Julia Joblinski and Professor Christopher Barrette are faculty members in the Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences department, who were involved in the development of the Cultural Resource Management Certificate (CRM.) The program will be available in the fall of 2024 and consists of sixteen credits, with the goal of preparing students to enter the workforce and do field archaeology upon graduation.

“A lot of people don’t know that CRM is one of the fastest growing sorts of job descriptions. Any time that people are building a new road or building, they’re required to do an archaeological survey. We’re training people to be able to do that. Right now there are more jobs than people able to take them. We’re hoping that having experienced graduates means that they’re gonna be able to get a fairly good income,” said Barrette.

“I think the general assumption is that if you are in one of the subfields or in anthropology in general you’re kinda making a beeline towards an academic career and that’s really not the case–especially with archaeology,” said Joblinski, adding, “Trying to get students employed almost immediately upon graduation is really important and helpful for students to get real world life experience–getting paid to do what you learned to do in school.”

Comments

comments