GCPTA MEETING MINUTES

Holiday Inn Express, Sulphur, LA

Date:  Friday, August 2, 2002

Time:  9:00 am – 1:00 pm

 

Steve Ames, President, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone in attendance.  The participants introduced themselves.  There were 33 members and guests in attendance.

 

Approval of Last Meeting Minutes – Minutes of the May 17, 2002 meeting were distributed, read, and approved August 2, 2002.  There was one change made. 

 

Subcommittee on Rules/By-Laws – Ed Stiles

The following members were approved by the steering committee.

 

Voting— Dr. Kirby Lowery, Wharton County Jr. College, Wharton, TX                       

              Anita Riley, Victoria College, Victoria, TX

 

Non-Voting—Frank Henry, Baker Energy, Houston, TX 

            Mark Huth, Uhai Publishing, Inc., Berne, NY 

            Paul Summers, Dow Chemical Company, Deer Park, TX 

            Marty Yost, Rohm and Haas, Deer Park, TX

     

Executive Director Report – Merv Treigle – Merv announced that he had accepted the offer as the Assistant Director for the Center of Process Technology at the College of the Mainland.  With the offer, Merv announced effective August 9, 2002; he would resign as Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance.  Merv thanked all with whom he had worked for all of their efforts in making his job as Executive Director most enjoyable and for helping to make the GCPTA a stronger organization.  Merv also announced that Ann Treigle would continue as the Administrative Assistant for the GCPTA and that she would be the contact for those in need of information regarding the GCPTA.  With Merv and Ann’s subsequent move to Houston, TX, the GCPTA can now be contacted at 281-286-8858.  The e-mail address will remain the same, i.e. atgcpta@msn.com.

 

Subcommittee – Funding – John Payne – John reported on funding and subscriptions and the fact that the GCPTA had collected 60% of the current projected budget for the year 2002.  He urged all who have yet to contribute their subscriptions to do so.

 

Subcommittee on Education – Martha McKinley  Martha reported that the efforts of the Education Subcommittee dealing with internships was in need of SME’s to provide information to help finalize the efforts to provide some standard guidelines for companies wishing to participate in an internship program with their respective colleges.  Mike Kukuk is coordinating the internship efforts.  She reported that the web-based course Instrumentation I was set to pilot this fall. 

 

NSF and LAAP Grants Update – Joanna Kile  Joanna reported that the Center for Advancement of Process Technology at the College of the Mainland in partnership with the GCPTA had been awarded a 3 million dollar National Science Foundation grant as a National Center of Excellence for Process Technology.  Joanna reported that the following new curriculum pilots for the fall of 2002 would be: 

§         Instrumentation I-Classroom; Alvin Community College and San Jacinto College Central

§         Instrumentation II-Classroom; Alvin Community College and College of the Mainland

§         Exploration and Production-Classroom; Alvin Community College

§         Instrumentation I Web-Based; Alvin Community College and San Jacinto College Central

 

Leslie Hunt reported that a Job Task Analysis to finalize last year’s DACUM on Exploration and Production to identify the objectives for the curriculum had been completed on May 31, 2002.  To cover all the objectives, two courses will be developed.  With these two courses, a new exit option for an AAS degree in PTech might be created.  These two new courses have not yet been through the WECM process in Texas. 

 

John Payne reported that a number of large projects for increasing oil production in the Gulf of Mexico would be creating a need for a lot of additional technicians.  The numbers he projected were approximately 300 jobs in the Gulf for just BP.  John said that ideal candidates for these jobs would be those with PTech degrees having taken the new Exploration and Production courses and/or Instrument Techs haven taken Exploration and Production courses.

 

Frank Henry with Baker Energy said that there were approximately 140 different companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.  He reported they too would be in need of an upgraded workforce as attrition takes place.

 

John Payne reported that BP had interned five students over the summer offshore.  Three were from Texas and two were from Louisiana.  All the reports on the job performance were positive and every evaluation was excellent.  He also reported that Chevron Texaco was participating in the internship program offshore. 

 

Joanna reported that the Center would be hiring the following personnel for the Center for the Advancement of Process Technology:

§         Outreach Coordinator

§         Secretary

§         Publicist

§         Web Designer

§         Instructional Designer/Developer

§         Graphic Artist/Multimedia Developer

Job Descriptions for the above jobs were made available and are available on the Website.

 

Joanna reported that the Texas Skills Standards for Process Technology were complete and would be reviewed by the Texas Skills Standards Board (TSSB) beginning the following week.  After acceptance by the TSSB a validation questionnaire will be completed at a number of industry sites in Texas.  The GCPTA will identify the SME qualifications to answer the validation questionnaire.

 

Joanna spoke about the upcoming Critical Issues and Best Practices Conference (formerly IPTA) and encouraged college participants to apply for available scholarships to the conference.  The scholarship application and requirements are listed on the CAPT Website www.captech.org.  These scholarships will be issued on a first come first serve basis.

 

Joanna passed out a newly created brochure for the upcoming Critical Issues and Best Practices Conference.  This brochure was mailed out to all GCPTA members along with past IPTA attendees and other individuals and alliances associated with the process industries.  The brochure contained the program agenda along with hotel information and a registration form for the conference.      

 

Joanna reported that under the new Center of Excellence Grant, the GCPTA would be involved in curriculum development for Oil and Gas production (Exploration/Production) and student resource materials.  The GCPTA would also be sponsoring an Industrial Technology Summer Institute for High School Females and a Faculty Institute at Brazosport College.

 

Joanna passed out CAPT shirts to members of the Executive Subcommittee and Officers of the GCPTA who were in attendance with her thanks and that of Dr. Butch Hayes of COM for their work with the grant activities.

 

Subcommittee on Standards and Quality – Ed Stiles – Ed Stiles reported on the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Standards and Quality.  He went over a draft copy of the Mission, Vision and Vision Elements that the subcommittee had created.  Members of the subcommittee are Ed Stiles, Kathy Trahan, Harry Wood and Bob Kosar.  If anyone else would like to participate on this committee, please let Ed know.  

 

The following is a draft of his presentation:

 

Subcommittee on Standards and Quality

****DRAFT****

Mission

This committee exists to develop standards for curriculum delivery and evaluation by member colleges and to act in an oversight capacity to ensure that the colleges are following them.

Vision

Curriculum delivery and evaluation standards are implemented and being followed, enabling member colleges to produce graduates that meet the process technician personnel needs of their industry partners.

Vision Elements

 

·         All member colleges have Advisory Committees which are actively involved in providing direction and assistance to their colleges’ programs

·         All member colleges have implemented a recurring auditing process, involving their Advisory Committee members when possible

·         All identified deficiencies from audits are being promptly addressed

·         Member colleges are using standardized evaluation methods and/or materials when developed and required by the GCPTA/CAPT 

·         College faculty are communicating expeditiously with the GCPTA/CAPT on needed revisions of curriculum materials, in order to keep them in an evergreen state 

·        The GCPTA Executive Committee is being kept informed about compliance with the standards by regular updates from member colleges submitted to this Committee


Subcommittee – Public Relations – Steve Ames 
Steve reported that they were discussing creating a new page for the GCPTA Website for parents and students to tell them where to go to obtain more information about a Process Technology career.  The committee is also reviewing a number of PTech videos in order to create a new video aimed to interest high school students in Process Technology.

 

Steve stated that John Payne is now chairman of the Industrial Instrumentation Controls Technology Alliance (IICTA).  Anyone wishing to participate with this alliance should contact John Payne at paynejh1@bp.com.

 

Financial Report – Mike Gragg  Mike reported that to-date in 2002; we have $43,538.19 in Income and $30,761.13 in Expenses.  The bank balance at the end of June 2002 was $59,553.99.  Anyone wishing to review these figures should contact Mike.

 

Special Presentation – Larry Rabalais-Skills USA – Larry made a presentation on how colleges can get involved in establishing Skills USA chapters on their campuses.  These programs along with the competition it sponsors provides a means for the students to showcase the talents they have acquired through education.  Larry went on to say that over 50 million skilled jobs were projected to be available over the next 10 years.  Business leaders from many various industry sectors point out that the highest needed skills for those seeking employment are teamwork, communications, leadership and problem solving abilities.  As part of his presentation, Larry showed a 10-minute video produced by Skills USA showcasing what the organization was all about.  At the end of his presentation, Larry fielded questions from the audience.  Steve thanked Larry for coming and making a presentation to the GCPTA.

 

Dr. Krienke with Lamar Institute of Technology stated that they had been involved with Skills USA for the past 15 to 20 years. 

 

College Advisory Committees

§         College of the Mainland – Fred Moldofsky reported that 135 students were enrolled in the summer PTech courses.  This was their second highest summer enrollment ever.  Placement rate for students graduating is running between 95 and 98%.  Process Technology hosted a 2-day training program for Dow employees using the Glycol Distillation Unit.

 

§         Baton Rouge Community College  – Richard Cox reported that they had placed 15 interns this summer.  He reported that two interns were hired by Shell in Geismar.  Approximately 20 new students were expected to enroll this fall, which would bring the number of students in the PTech program to approximately 200. 

 

§         LTC River Parishes – George Foret reported they will have approximately 100 to 125 students this fall in the program with about 35 to 40 evening students.  He also reported that 20 high school students would be participating in Introduction to Process Technology for dual credit.  They had eight internships this summer, one of which was with BP in Exploration and Production.  Their glass modular labs were near completion.  They are involved in Skills USA and the majority of their students are members.

 

§         LTC Ascension Parish – Cleveland Marchand reported that they would again be offering the 2-Year PTech program at LTC Ascension Parish this fall.

 

§         McNeese State University – Dorothy Ortego reported that they have approval for a 4-year degree program in Engineering Technology, which is a 2 plus 2 program.  Fifteen students completed the program this summer in technical and management.  They are currently looking to establish an internship for this program.

 

§         LTC Sowella – Linton Lecompte reported their program is two years old.  Eighteen students have graduated with a 50% placement rate.  Thirteen will graduate this fall.  He reported that their ABC & D lab units were up and running.  They have Intro to Process Technology in several area high schools with 30 to 40 students enrolled.  There are 91 students enrolled in the PTech program at Sowella.  They are currently offering two web-based programs, Intro to PTech and SH&E.  They will be participating in a job fair with McNeese on September 20, 2002.  He invited everyone to attend.  Valero and Dow have hired some of their students and BP has provided a scholarship.

 

§         Lamar Institute of Technology – Harry Wood reported that they would have 19 graduates in August.  He also reported that ExxonMobil had provided $35,000 to the college, $20,000 for scholarships and $15,000 to be spent on the distillation unit under construction.

 

§         Lee College – Charles Thomas reported that they have approximately 500 students in their program and approximately 150 enrolled this summer.  They have three fulltime instructors, one tech prep instructor and 9 adjunct instructors.  They had a new expansion, Tech Center, and they have two pilot plants.  They have 26% females in their program.  They have a 100% placement rate of graduates.    

 

New Business –Steve Ames

§         Everyone was reminded of the Critical Issues and Best Practices Conference (formerly IPTA) to be held October 10th and 11th at the Nassau Bay Hilton.  Make your reservations at the hotel by September 10th so that you are guaranteed the Critical Issues/GCPTA rate of $119.  The hotel is only holding the block of rooms until September 10th.  After that, rooms are available at market rate.  All were encouraged to submit their registrations and applications for scholarships ASAP.

 

§         The office of Secretary for the GCPTA will be voted on at the November 1, 2002 business meeting.

 

Alliance Website

§         Website www.processtech.org is fully active and maintained by Bob Kosar of Grand Isle Group. If your school or company has a Website and it is not accessible by just a click, contact the Webmaster by e-mail bobkosar@hal-pc.org. 

 

§         Center for the Advancement of Process Technology (CAPT) Website www.captech.org.

 

§         Contact the GCPTA at atgcpta@msn.com.

 

Future GCPTA Meetings

Nassau Bay, TX                                                            Friday, November 1, 2002

 

***Other Events***

Critical Issues & Best Practices Conference                   October 10 & 11, 2002

(Formally IPTA Conference)

Nassau Bay Hilton, Nassau Bay, TX

                                                                                               

Meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Ed Stiles, Secretary

Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance

 

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