National Science Foundation
HOME | TOPICS | REGION/STATES | RESOURCES | ABOUT PROTOTYPE | SEARCH
REGIONAL HIGHLIGHT
SCATE Strategies Help Increase the Number of Well-Prepared Students in the Pipeline for Technician Careers
Highlight ID 13443_html_63d55bcd.jpg

SCATE student technicians use a robot for materials testing.

Credit: Tress Gardner
Permission Granted
 

The South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center of Excellence (SCATE) enhances the nation’s high tech workforce by improving high school-to-college transitions in technology fields, increasing first-year student success and graduation rates, and enhancing career opportunities for technicians. SCATE has completely transformed the way highly skilled technicians are prepared to increase the quantity, quality and diversity of technician graduates. A large industry consortium provides scholarships and paid internships for students. Technical and scientific competence, teamwork, problem solving and communication skills are hallmarks of a SCATE graduate. Graduation rates have tripled; programs now enroll nearly 50% previously underrepresented minorities; and the average time-to-graduation for engineering technicians has been reduced from 3.6 to 2.3 years. The SCATE model has impacted more than 4500 students in South Carolina and is now being implemented in high schools and community colleges in more than 10 states.

More Photos:
Highlight ID 13443_html_ab1bc90.jpg

SCATE Student

Credit: Tress Gardner
Permission Granted

  Web Policies and Important Links | Privacy | FOIA | Help | SiteMap  
Bridging NSF Science Research, Education, and Innovation, Copyright 2008 TERC.
Funded by NSF #0737174.
Opinions expressed on this site are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the National Science Foundation.
NSF funding for this project ended in 2008. At this time the site has been archived.