Undergraduate Biology Education July 16, 2009 Elaine A. Johnson, PhD, Bio-Link Director

Is Education the Answer ? In today’s global, knowledge-driven economy, a world-class education system is clearly necessary for competitive success It is not sufficient A college degree is no guarantee of a good, secure job David Finegold, Dean, Rutgers’ School of Management and Labor Relations

Community Colleges Play Central Economic Role in the Changing Economy “And I think that it is crucially important for us to reduce the income inequality in this county. And I the way that one has to do that, by any means that I can see, is through education. And I must say to you, the community colleges in this country have been in the forefront of a major change in the quality of what we are doing with respect to re-establishing skills.” Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, Feb, 2004

U.S. Post-secondary Students More than 70% of all post-secondary students are non-traditional. National Chamber of Commerce Non-traditional –Over the age of 23 –Independent of parental financial support –Seeking additional training to enter workforce

ATE Advanced Technological Education Mandate from US Congress in 1992 Two-year college emphasis Focus on education of technicians High technology fields that drive economy Involves partnerships –Academic –Employers Career pathways: K-12  CC  University

Bio-Link NSF ATE National Center Building a network that strengthen and expand biotechnology technician education at community and technical colleges to: 1.Enlarge and diversify the technician workforce 2.Meet industry’s growing needs for trained technicians 3.Make high-quality training in all aspects of biotechnology available to all students

Bio-Link Resources Nearly 3,000 participated in Bio-Link workshops All regions of nation for community college & high school teachers, counselors, & industry professionals. Impact on over 280,000 students Website with Curriculum & Instructional Materials, Listserv, job posting, career information Faculty & student internships Summer Fellows & BIO Conference Industry instructors in many programs $ 2.6 million in distribution of equipment & supplies

Need for Change Shift in the industry changes the type of workforce National trends in technician education From traditional academic to include skills From defined disciplines to cross disciplinary From traditional classrooms to experiential situations such as internships

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Bio-Link Depot Happy Teachers

Elaine Johnson, Ph.D. Bio-Link Principal Investigator and Director City College of San Francisco