GCPTA MEETING MINUTES

Brazosport College – Lake Jackson, TX

Date:  Friday, July 30, 2004

Time:  9:00 am – 1:00 pm

 

Ed Stiles, Co-Chair of the Standards and Quality Committee, the host Committee for this meeting, introduced David Stedman with the Economic Development Alliance.  Mr. Stedman welcomed the attendees to the area.  He spoke in particular about the colleges and their roles in supporting business.  He spoke about creating a lasting, solid public private partnership between community, the state, industry, and the national government to help solve problems regarding workforce development. 

 

Ed Stiles introduced Steve Ames, President of the GCPTA.  Steve Ames opened the business meeting and welcomed everyone in attendance.  There were 76 members and guests in attendance. Steve gave an overview of the history of the GCPTA.  He told the audience that the GCPTA had over 100 members with 25 colleges participating.  And, that was not including CAPT who had many more members and colleges.  When people talk about Process Technology, they look to the GCPTA and CAPT.

 

Steve Ames introduced Mike Kukuk with the College of the Mainland who asked everyone to review the minutes of the last meeting.

 

Approval of Last Meeting Minutes –

Minutes of the April 23, 2004 meeting were distributed, read, and approved July 30, 2004.

 

Subcommittee on Rules/By-Laws – Steve Erickson 

The following members were approved by the steering committee:

 

Voting

In District      Bobby Smith, Texas State Technical College, Marshall, TX

            (taking the place of Tommy Edgar)

 

            Mike Tucker, Eastman Chemical Company, Longview, TX

            (taking the place of Martha McKinley)

 

            Tim Carroll, BASF, Geismar, LA

 

            Gary Allison, Valero St. Charles Refinery, Norco, LA

 

            Al Dworsky, Equistar, Victoria, TX

 

            Sam Felts, Unocal, Victoria, TX

 

Non-Voting

In District      Walter Jackson, Baker Energy, Houston, TX

                       

            Dorothy Ortego, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA

            (taking the place of Carol Schulte)

 

Non-Voting

Out-of-District      Dave Young, Simtronics Corporation, Little Silver, NJ

 

            Tommie Broome, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Perkinston, MS

 

            Tim Woodard, BP, Decatur, AL

 

            Ronald Good, Delta College, University Center, MI

 

            Joan Sabourin, Delta College, University Center, MI

 

Mike Gragg introduced the Keynote Speaker, Bob Walker, Vice President, Texas Operations, Dow Chemical.

 

Keynote Address – Bob Walker, Vice President, Texas Operations, Dow Chemical Company

The title of Mr. Walker’s talk was “Skills Advancement as a Competitive Advantage”.  He asked everyone to ponder Better Skills equal Better Decisions, Better Decisions equal Better Results, and Better Results equal Better Future.  He talked about increasing the skills of the workforce being very necessary.  Some of the roadblocks to increasing the skills mentioned were beauracracy, infrastructure, and cuts in training budgets.  Training always has to justify what they are doing.  He spoke about Dow’s restructuring.  Mr. Walker explained that Dow had fifteen layers from the operators to the CEO and they now have five or less.  Skill levels in many part of the world are equivalent to that of America.  Industry must be able to compete with the global workforce and they must run operations in a safe manner.  Education’s roll is critical.  Having a degree without applicable skills doesn’t matter anymore.  He congratulated industry and education for the strides they have made in increasing the skills of the workforce.

                       

Best Practice –Characteristics of Successful Industry/Educational Partnerships-A Case Study – Harry Engelhard (Global Leaning & Six Sigma, Dow M&E), Linda Fields (Director, Center for Business/Industry Training Brazosport College), Gary Hicks, (Program Director, Process Technology, Brazosport College), and Mike Gragg (Learning Leader, Dow Texas Operations)

A mock marriage was held symbolizing the union and partnership between industry and education.  The bride wore a wedding gown and the groom wore a tuxedo.  They walked down the aisle to the stage and stood on a decorated arbor where Mike Gragg performed the ceremony.  Harry Engelhard was the bridegroom and Linda Fields was the bride.    

 

During the ceremony, Mike Gragg emphasized the roles of industry and education: 

Industry

Your core competencies are design/engineering/construction/operation of facilities producing high-quality products.  Be willing to “let go” and understand education is not your core.  Clearly outline needs from content standpoint.  There will be problems.  Your workforce hiring projections will be off or hard to forecast.  Your leadership may resist setting educational hiring requirements.  Employees may need help understanding how academic courses improve their in-plant skills.  Stay in the Dialogue.  Communicate!   Put key measures for success in place—Be Accountable!  If Education builds it—Use it!!  This will contribute to success—cost savings for you, increased enrollment for education.

 

Education

You are charged with preparing minds, both willing and unwilling for productive careers, not individual success.  You must, above all, be flexible and open to change.  Industry moves fast, must be competitive to survive.  Their success today assures long-term success for both.  Industry cannot always operate on semester schedule.  Again, the key is communication.  Stay in the Dialogue……….Don’t tell industry what you can’t do.  Tell ‘em what you can do.  Work with them.  This, again, will assure success for all involved in the partnership.

 

Vows Exchanged:

Industry, do you—

Accept responsibility to clearly identify needs to continually update education on changes that may affect partnership?  To understand and support education’s broader community responsibilities?  Be accountable for mutually set measures of success?

 

Education, do you—

Accept responsibility to understand industry needs?  To work through conflict?  Use your academic strengths for real world success?  Be accountable for mutually set measures of success?

 

At the end of the mock ceremony, Mike asked each attendee to open the ribboned scroll in front of them on their table and read in unison the following:

 

We pledge to understand each other’s needs,

            to keep open minds,

            to uphold standards,

            to pursue creative and flexible answers,

            to keep the lines of communication open,

            to remain current,

            to overcome obstacles,

            to articulate win-win solutions,

            and to foster a skilled workforce.

 

Mike closed the ceremony with these words: 

“Empowered by the interest all present have in improving the skill level of our process technology graduates, I now pronounce you all eligible for delivery of a competitive process technology workforce.

What education can make stronger let no unyielding mindset tear apart.  Go and enlighten all of your colleagues.”

 

Best Practice – Conducting a successful Female Summer Institute – Vicki Rowlett (Instructor-Lamar Institute of Technology and Eric Newby (Training Coordinator, BASF)

Lamar Institute of Technology hosted a High School Female Institute funded by a subaward to GCPTA through National Science Foundation grant funds from CAPT. Vicki Rowlett stated that there were nine high school female participants who took part in the institute.  As she spoke, she presented a slide show on the various activities the girls engaged in.  Vicki related that most of the girls had never heard of process technology or considered it as a career choice.  Throughout the institute, the students asked many questions.  Vicki talked about the different projects the girls were involved with, one of them being identifying chemicals in the different products they use personally and at home.  Vicki said the girls were very interested in talking with the industry female process technicians.  Vicki related that ExxonMobil and Atofina had provided tee shirts and lunch respectively.  Vicki said that several of the girls said they had changed their minds and might possibly consider process technology as a career choice.  Eric Newby with BASF voiced his support for the institute relating how efforts like these are very helpful in recruiting a more diverse and representative workforce.

 

Best Practice – Successful Internship Program – A Case Study – Dennis Link (L&D Manager, BP), John Payne (Operations Training Manager, BP E&P), and George Ayala (BP Training Coordinator)

Dennis Link reported on the benefits for BP by their participation in the Internship Program.  He stressed that it is a great way to evaluate whether an individual will fit into the BP organization.  It provides an opportunity to look at an individual’s attitude, motivation and desire along with the requisite knowledge and skills required to perform the job.  In most cases, the internship generally leads to a job offer.  The program provides the college a great recruiting tool that not only brings students into the classroom, but also provides for additional state funding due to increase in enrollment.  Those participating in the program have the attitude that it’s “my program”.  Everyone seems to take ownership and it helps to provide credibility in the community.  In addition, it provides great hands-on experience for the students who participate in the program.  Dennis went on to explain how the BP Internship Program was structured.  He along with George Ayala, PACE representative, and training coordinator at the BP Texas City site provided information and statistics on the value of participating in an internship program.

 

John Payne explained how the internship program has grown into a very successful program over the last four years.  He provided statistics and numbers to show how BP has participated throughout the United States in providing internship opportunities to students from many of the GCPTA and CAPT partner institutions.  The internship applications grew from 20 in 2001 to 250 in 2004 resulting in the offering of 31 internships in various locations across the United States. 

 

John showed pictures of the students and the different locations in which they were working.  Many of the students were working in different geographic areas from where they live and go to school.  John pointed out that his field managers and superintendents really felt a buy-in to the program because they were not only afforded the opportunity to observe the interns in a real work situation, but they also had the final say in tendering a job offer to the intern.

 

Committee on Curriculum and Education – Gary Hicks and Martha McKinley

The Committee on Curriculum and Education’s main focus, for the summer, has been the Instrumentation textbook.  The Committee has been meeting every week to review book chapters in order to meet the August 31st deadline.  They desperately need industry input!!  Future meetings are scheduled for August 6th and August 20th.  Please contact Gary Hicks or Martha McKinley if you wish to participate in the textbook review.

 

The HAZWOPER training course materials, donated by Bayport Training & Technical Center, are being piloted by Brazosport College during the week of August 16th.  This pilot resulted from discussion and decision by the Committee on Curriculum and Education to review the materials for use by the Alliance member colleges to certify students and incumbent industry employees.

 

Committee on Standards and Quality – Ed Stiles and Kathy Trahan

Kathy informed the attendees that the Committee would be recognizing the endorsed colleges at the next GCPTA meeting in November.  She showed everyone a sample of the plaque that would be awarded and mentioned that any other colleges wishing to become endorsed should go to the GCPTA website www.processtech.org--Standards and Quality Subcommittee. To find out what it takes to become an endorsed college.  Kathy suggested that if their school administrators had an aversion to audits, just call the document a program review or program assessment.  The important thing is to take stock of your current program, identify gaps that need to be addressed and submit a plan to address them.  She mentioned that regardless of where your program is now, as long as you complete the requirements list on the web and demonstrate a willingness to improve your program you could gain endorsement status for your college.  She asked that the endorsed colleges notify their administrators about the presentations so that they have the opportunity to be present when their college is recognized.  The endorsed colleges thus far are:  Baton Rouge Community College, College of the Mainland, Houston Community College, McNeese State University, Louisiana Technical College-River Parishes Campus, San Jacinto College-Central Campus, Sowela Technical Community College, Texas State Technical College-Marshall, Lamar Institute of Technology, and Brazosport College.

 

Kathy reported that the reason the Standards & Quality Committee requested that this meeting sponsored by their committee be held at Brazosport in conjunction with the CBIT because of the high standards they demonstrate in all that they do.  Linda Fields and Larry are prime examples of how successful a college can be when they engage partners such as Dow Chemical and recognize the best use of talented instructors such as Gary Hicks.  Gary’s development of the glass labs is an example of the continuous improvement.  Texas shared the designs with the Louisiana campuses, thus Louisiana is able to create standardized units at several campuses, create tools such as the pocket toolbox to support the glass lab safety an analytical procedures and then go a step further by simulating those models and migrating them to web-based delivery through a partnership with KSSI.

 

Kathy brought copies of information put out by the Homesite Company and a flyer that BRCC has found helpful to their students an faculty as a resource for interacting with area facilities for donations, tours, externships, internships, testing processes and job placement.  For more information go to the website http://chemplants.com.  

 

CAPT Update – Merv Treigle

Merv Treigle provided an update of CAPT activities.  He spoke about curriculum development and the effort current with the Instrumentation textbook.  He pointed out that SME’s from institutions and industry from the many partners of CAPT have provided input and review of the textbook materials. 

 

Under professional development, Merv reported on the success of the Bismarck State College Faculty Power Generation Institute that was held July 19th thru 23rd.  There were 16 participants from across the United States who attended the institute.  Merv reported that 16 faculty were participating in the Faculty Return to Industry Internship Program.  He reported that a HAZWOPER workshop would be held at Brazosport College August 2nd thru August 6th for faculty to certify to teach a 40-hour HAZWOPER certification program.  This is a pilot program being conducted with materials donated to the GCPTA by Bayport Training & Technical Center.  The workshop is being funded by NSF grant funds through a subaward to Brazosport College from CAPT. Merv informed everyone of the Training and Development Pre-conference to be held on September 29th and the Critical Issues and Best Practices conference to be held September 30 and October 1.  He told everyone that the announcement mail out would be mailed the following week. 

 

Merv spoke on Career Awareness and Promotion and stressed the following programs that CAPT had developed.

§         STeP Program for High School Females

§         Virtual World for 5th thru 8th Grade—Math and Science Modules

§         PTEC™ Hispanic Brochure

§         Plans to operate an electronic clearinghouse to disseminate information regarding CAPT products and services, activities, survey findings, regional alliances, and links to other process technology educational resources.

 

Merv spoke on CAPT efforts fostering partnerships between industry, education, and government. 

§         CAPT Mentoring Program

§         Conduct Surveys of CAPT partners to collect and disseminate data about students, graduates, employers, curriculum, instructional resources, and institutions offering process technology programs.

 

Merv spoke about present and future efforts in the following areas:

§         Completing the Skills Standards

Survey online until August 13, 2004

Next meeting September 10th                             

§         Developing a Program Graduate Exit Assessment

§         Promoting career awareness to keep the pipeline full

§         Improving the image of industry

§         Expansion to other process industry sectors

 

Merv spoke about the new PTEC™ logo and how to obtain instructions and permission for its use on the CAPT Website.  He pointed out that CAPT had trademarked the logo to help standardize and insure consistency of its use and recognition throughout the country.

 

For further information…

Merv Treigle

CAPT at College of the Mainland

1200 Amburn Road

Texas City, Texas 77591

(409) 938-1211, x107

mtreigle@com.edu

www.captech.org

 

By-Laws Voting – Steve Erickson

Steve Erickson informed everyone that the revisions to the GCPTA By-Laws had been approved by the Steering Committee.

 

Financial Report

2004 Expenses to-date $35,048.97

2004 Total Income to-date $38,584.99

Bank Balance as of 6/30/04 $46,377.37

 

College Advisory Reports

1.       Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College – Tommie Broome reported the following:

§         9 students enrolled

§         7 expected graduates in 2005

§         Comments:

w        One student offered a summer internship, but turned it down because of travel required (female, married student with children)

w        Instructor (Tommie Broome) participated in Faculty Return in Industry Program.  40+ hour internship on BP VK-989 Platform Pompano in the Gulf of Mexico

w        Instructor (Tommie Broome) attended Power Generation Summer Institute in Bismarck, North Dakota

§         Student Organization Activities:

Students urged to participate in Skills USA

§         New Equipment:

w        Distillation Training Unit by Bayport Training

w        Acrylic Heat Exchanger models, Pump cutaways

w        Simtronics Software

§         Advisory Committee Meetings:

Met March, 2004

Scheduled to meet September, 2004

Hot Topics:

w        Adaptation of CAPT material into Mississippi State Board of Education curriculum

w        Recruiting for program

w        Chevron jobs for graduates, summer internships at Pascagoula Refinery for MGCCC students

§         Upcoming Events:

Fall 2004 registration scheduled for early August.  We expect to register new student.

 

2.       Montana State University-Billings College of Technology – Bob Robertus reported the following:

ConocoPhillips has awarded two full-ride scholarships (books, tuition, fees) for minority students for up to five semesters provided they stay enrolled in the Process Plant Technology Program and maintain a 2.75 (out of 4.00) or above overall GPA.  That amounts to about $2,200 per student per semester.

 

3.       San Jacinto College, Central (Summer Session) – Mike Speegle reported the following:

§         90 students enrolled

§         2 expected graduates

§         1 student in Interns/Coops

Comments:

Tracie Watson at Lyondell-Bayport is working on offering scholarships to San Jacinto students.

A high school summer female institute was offered June 9 and 10th.  Six high school girls applied, 5 showed up.

§         New Equipment:

w        Upgrade of the pilot plant to a Delta-V control system was completed May 21st.  Also installed 20 smart transmitters.  A new vendor is offering to install a small Fieldbus system for free.  David Borque is working with him on that.

w        Oil and Gas Production I was offered this summer.  Oil and Gas Production II will be offered in the fall using a Simtronic’s simulation system.  British Petroleum is donating a working oil and gas separator to the department this fall.  We hope to get it up and running to use in the fall curriculum.

§         Advisory Committee Meetings:

Met April 8, 2004

Scheduled to meet September 2, 2004

Hot Topics:

Internships, externships, equipment donations, curriculum audit

 

4.       Sowela Technical Community College – Linton Lecompte reported the following:

§         90 students enrolled

§         22 expected graduates

§         1 student in Interns/Coops

Comments:

We have one Industry sponsored Intern (we have 3 at BP—however, one is still in school, the other two are graduates).  We have a class of Interns on campus (about 12).  I might add, our on campus Intern Program has been a very successful program for us.

§         Student Organization Activities:

PTEC students participate in The Student Government Association here on campus.

§         High School PTech Programs:

We have a two-day workshop scheduled for the week of July 12, 2004.  We will be reflecting on our successes and failures in this area and how we may improve.

§         New Equipment:

No new equipment, however we have six Glass Labs and assortment of Cutaways, Compressor, pump, and about eight different kind of valves.  We also have a number of valves donated to us by ConocoPhillips and Georgia Gulf.  We are expecting more models like a cutaway of an exchanger (acrylic) and steam turbine, also a Glass (see through) Top Distillation Unit.

§         Advisory Committee Meetings:

Met May 26, 2004

Scheduled to meet July 28, 2004

Hot Topics:

w        HAZWOPER:

w        We are trying to develop a program where our students graduate with a 24 hrs. HAZWOPER Certification.

We are scheduled for Train the Trainer on HAZWOPER August 2 through 6, 2004 at Brazosport Community College in Lake Jackson, TX.

§         New Best Practice:

w        It’s not new, but we keep Safety in the forefront.

w        We track our students from start to graduation to employment (drop outs also).  With this tracking program, we’re always able to contact our students.  This works well when it comes to job placement.

§         Upcoming Events: 

w        LAPTEC audit has been scheduled for the fall 2004.

w        We’ve scheduled a two-day PTEC (Instructors) Train the Trainer for mid August 2004 here at Sowela Campus.

w        News to share:  Employment has really picked up in the Lake Charles, LA area.

 

5.       Louisiana Technical College, Ascension Campus – Cleveland Marchand reported the following:

§         26 students enrolled (spring)

§         2 expected graduates

§         2 student in Interns/Coops

§         6 students on scholarship

§         Comments:

Scholarships from industry.  2 completed internships.

§         Student Organization Activities:

Blood Drive

§         High School PTech Programs:

2 students participating

1 high school participating

Comments:

Will start a PTEC 101 course at our new high school in the fall.  Will be backed by industry.  Have signed contract for 3 additional “glass labs”.

§         New Equipment:

Received Honeywell 3000 system from local plant, will be used in the Ind. Inst. program and with PTEC.

§         Advisory Committee Meetings:

Met June 17, 2004

Hot Topics:

The direction our program is in now and the direction it needs to be in.

§         Upcoming Events:

Summer Professional Development for instructors.

Additional Information:

We offered one P-Tech course this summer.  Some students took Gen Ed courses this summer.  Working with one high school this fall to start a course there.  Still have good industry support.  Met with engineering firm yesterday on our additional “glass labs”.  Doing some IWTP grants with 5 companies.

 

6.       Texas State Technical College, Marshall, TX – Bobby Smith reported the following:

§         A Summer Institute for Females was held at the TSTC campus on June 8 thru June 10.  A total of 11 high school females from 3 different schools attended the institute.  The Institute consisted of 2 plant tours, presentations from female operators, equipment demonstrations, ropes teamwork course and various other activities. 

§         Two process technician co-ops are currently working this summer for Eastman Chemical Company in Longview, TX.

 

7.       Lee College — Charles E. Thomas Ph.D. reported the following:

§         453 students enrolled

§         40 expected graduates (AAS)

§         0 students in Interns/Coops

§         3 students on scholarships

§         Student Organization Activities:

PTSA – Process Technology Student Association – Job Placement

§         High School PTech Programs:

Comments:

5 High School Programs were closed because of State Funding Cuts by new President

§         New Equipment:

We are using:

(1)    Richardson Unit – 26 foot, packed distillation column – PTAC 2438 PT-3 Operations

*New VR Unit – donated by PETRECO Frank Richardson & Daniel Johnson

(2)    DCS computer lab – DEXTER software – PTAC 2420 PT-2 Systems & PTAC 2346 Process Troubleshooting

(3)    Glassware Lab – Eight Work Stations PT-2 & 3

(4)    Instrumentation Pilot Unit – PTAC 2410 PT-1 Equipment & Intro

§         Advisory Committee Meetings:

Met October 2003

Scheduled to Meet Summer 2004

Hot Topics:

w        State Program Review

w        SACS Audit

w        Curriculum Review

w        GCPTA Quality Standards

§         Upcoming Events:

Election of New PTSA officers in Fall 2004

 

8.       McNeese State University – James Dautenhahn reported the following:

Summer 2004 Enrollment (note a full academic term)

§         13 students enrolled

§         4 expected graduates

§         4 students in Interns/Coops

Comments:

PTEC Camp – Just for Girls scheduled for August 2-6 (junior & senior high school)

§         High School PTech Programs:

Have not offered high school classes.

§         New Equipment:

Equipment needed to conduct 24-hour HAZWOPER training in SHE course

§         Advisory Committee Meetings:

Met May 26, 2004

Scheduled to meet July 28, 2004

Hot Topics:

HAZWOPER training in SHE course

§         New Best Practice:

Dorothy Ortego used industrial contacts to get recertified as a HAZWOPER trainer

§         Upcoming Events:

B.S. program has ABET accreditation visit scheduled for November 7-9, 2004

 

9.       Alvin Community College – Mark Demark reported the following for the Summer 2004:

§         4 expected graduates

§         2 students on scholarships

§         2 students in Interns/Coops

Comments:

Two students on summer internships with BP Oil & Gas Production:

June LaChapelle: on-shore, Texas panhandle

Chrystal Bodenhamer:  off-shore, Texas Gulf of Mexico

Summer Enrollment was high and we are teaching a full night schedule.

§         New Equipment:

Advisory Committee members are looking for equipment to donate to the college from their companies.

§         Advisory Committee Meetings

Met June 30, 2004

Scheduled to meet September 8, 2004

Hot Topics:

Review GCPTA audit.  Audit results along with 6-30-2004 Advisory Committee meeting minutes will be available on the advisory committee web page after 8-1-2004.

§         Upcoming Events:

Several Process Technology faculty will be taking professional development courses this summer.

 

10.   Baton Rouge Community College – Kathy Trahan reported the following:

Summer 2004:

§         33 full-time students enrolled

§         10 student Interns

Comments:

·         Internship Program: 

2 Shell, 1 Georgia Gulf, 3 Dow Chemical, 2 Chevron-Phillips, 1 BP, and 1 Helena Chemicals internships.

·         Internship testing for Chevron-Phillips sessions resulted in a 92% pass rate for BRCC students on Phase I testing and an 87.5% pass rate on Phase 2 testing which involved distillation simulation exercises.

·         Lab Implementation Status into Curriculum

Internal Internships will begin summer 2005

Chemistry lab area is to be set up prior to fall 2004

·         Audit Action Plan Gap Closures

Audit date will be set in September 2004—Raymond Fisher will be the audit facilitator for BRCC and will work with industry and LCTCS volunteers on audit assignments.

§         PTEC Instructor/Staff Development:

·         Director attended Skills USA National Championships on June 23-24, 2004 to assess opportunities for PTEC competition.

·         Richard Cox participated in the CAPT Knowledge and Skills Validation at Brazosport College on July 8th and 9th.

·         Carrie Braud facilitated BRCC Summer Camp – PTEC …Just for Girls July 12-16th.

·         Richard Cox and Kathy Trahan to attend CAPT sponsored Summer Institute on Power Generating in Bismarck, North Dakota July 19th through the 23rd.

·         Jerry Layne and Ken Goins will be participating in CAPT Return to Industry Internship August 2004

§         Advisory Committee Meetings:

Hot Topics:

Audit planning, PET unit progress, ACS VIS database validation and SkillsUSA technical committee

§         New Best Practices/Successes to Share:

·         ExxonMobil just awarded BRCC $25,000 to fund PTEC scholarships.  Scholarship breakfast September 2, 2004

·         BRCC was awarded $35,880 for a PLC Trainer with Fieldbus module add-on capability.  This will be used to enhance the Instrumentation concentration under the PTEC program.  These funds were part of the Governor’s Technology Initiative.

·         Through the efforts of Dr. Myrtle Dorsey and Executive Assistant to the Chancellor, Misty O’Connell, BRCC was awarded Perkins funding.  BRCC’s PTEC program will be receiving curriculum software and training aids to support the fluid mechanics course.  In addition, ATR’s Dexter unit will also be added to the program.

·         Web lab area is still under construction.

§         Upcoming Events:

·         Technical committee is forming for SkillsUSA PTEC demonstration competition. 

·         Special Topics courses are being developed for college credit.  These can run for three semesters after which time they must become a credit course or be eliminated from course offering.

 

11.   Lamar Institute of Technology—Harry Wood reported the following:

§         No Summer Classes

§         3 expected graduates for summer

§         2 students in Interns/Coops

§         34 students on Scholarships

Comments:

ExxonMobil is spending more than $25,000 for Process Technology scholarships.  Three of these are full scholarships and nine are for $500.  After a summer working odd jobs in the Beaumont refinery, the students will enroll at Lamar Institute of Technology.

 

LIT had nine students enrolled in the CAPT’s SteP summer workshop for females in the 11th and 12th grades.  We have prepared a PowerPoint presentation for the GCPTA meeting in Lake Jackson.  Activities included plant tour, visits with company officials, orientation on LIT’s distillation laboratory and DCS system.

§         New Equipment:

Entergy donated a distillation-training unit, which is being refurbished by the faculty this summer for use in the lab this fall.

 

12.   College of the Mainland – Mike Cobb reported the following:

§         200 students enrolled

§         20 expected graduates

§         4 students in Interns/Coops

Comments:

w        Conducted the “Summer Institute for High School Women”.  This 5-day seminar was put on by local industry and COM women.  The students declared it to be quite a success!

w        BP Internship Night held on July 20th.  35 students attended with 4 being selected for the Fall 2004 Internship.

§         High School PTech Programs:

The COM Collegiate High School program begins this fall.  Enrollment is currently underway.

§         New Equipment:

w        The PTEC Instrument II Special project class is installing conduit, wiring and equipment required to bring a number of process variable indications from the Lattner Boiler, the GSU chiller and the new Nash Liquid Seal Vacuum Pump to the Procidia DCS system.  Mike O’day is providing mentoring.

w        The BP Glass Distillation Training Column has been sent to Bayport Training for a revamp and chiller installation.  Thanks to Woody Anderson of BP for helping to cover a significant portion of the cost!

§         Advisory Committee Meetings

Met June 15th

Scheduled to meet August 17th

Hot Topics:

Tech Math revamp, Vertical piping manifold, BP Still revamp, SH&E/Hazmat revamp

§         Upcoming Events:

PTEC Night August 3rd

Collegiate High School Grand Opening August 21st

 

13.   Del Mar College – Denise Rector reported the following:

§         60 students enrolled

§         4 Associates graduates expected

4 Certificate graduates expected

§         3 students in Interns/Coops (summer)

Comments:

We had three interns with Valero Refining during the summer semester.  The students reported how much they learned and experienced during their internship.  Operators in the plant gave the students very good or excellent evaluations upon completion of the required hours.

§         New Equipment:

We are adding a new chiller and refurbishing the DTU-2 Distillation trainer.  Bayport Training and Technical Center are performing the work.

§         Advisory Committee Meetings:

Met July 13, 2004

Scheduled to meet October 19, 2004

Hot Topics:

The discussion focused on the requirements of the Committee on Standards and Quality and worked on an audit tool for the program.  The information should be complete during August, with the advisory committee’s approval and submitted to the GCPTA with other necessary paperwork.

 

Bob Felty, ACT, Inc.

Bob explained that ACT, Inc., a non-profit organization, is best known for the ACT college entrance exam.  ACT, Inc. provides educational career planning for students and teachers at every level.  Their Workforce Productivity Solutions offer training, testing, consulting, and learning management services to meet your needs—from hiring to retiring.  They are EEOC compliant and union friendly.  For more information contact ACT, Inc. at www.act.org.    

 

ACT, Inc. donated the cost of this meeting’s lunch to the GCPTA.  Mike Gragg thanked Bob and ACT, Inc. for this generous donation. 

 

New Business

Steve Ames reminded everyone that there was a form in their packet for them to fill out if they wanted information on the GCPTA or if they wanted to become members of the GCPTA. 

 

The November meeting is in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  The Critical Issues and Best Practices meeting is September 29, 30 and October 1.

 

Mike Gragg asked the attendees to evaluate the meeting using a 1-10 rating, 10 being the highest.  They were to evaluate (1) Keynote Address, (2) Characteristics of Successful Industry/Educational Partnerships-A Case Study, (3) Conducting a Successful Female Summer Institute, and (4) Successful Internship Programs-A Case Study.  For each one of these they were to evaluate (1) content, (2) length, and (3) delivery.  These evaluations were turned in to Mike Gragg.    

 

Alliance Website

§         Website www.processtech.org is fully active and maintained by Bob Kosar of Grand Isle Group Information Delivery Specialists.  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 gcpta@msn.com.

 

Future GCPTA Meetings

Lake Charles, Louisiana                        Friday, November 12, 2004

 

***Other Events***

(CAPT) Critical Issues & Best Practices Conference

South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center

September 29, 30 & October 1, 2004

September 29 Training and Development Pre-Conference

                      “Improving Business Results thru People Development”

September 30 & October 1 Critical Issues and Best Practices Conference                   

                                                                                               

Meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Lisa Arnold, Secretary

Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance

 

LA/at