1. CREATING A NEW DEGREE OUT OF THIN AIR Meeting the needs of the community Presenters: R. Briggs, D. Gifford and J. Moravek Western Iowa Tech Community College

2. WHY ADDICTIONS COUNSELING?  Over time several potential students asked if we had an Addictions Counseling Program  Enough people asked we decided to try it  Pitched idea to Division Chair and got green light  Considered making it a “program” rather than AA degree  Decided AA degree for several reasons

3. WE ARE GOING TO TRY IT – NOW WHAT?  Searched out who was already doing it  DMACC had similar program since the 1970s  Contacted IBC, the certifying organization http://www.iowabc.org/ http://www.iowabc.org/  IBC staff worked with us to design the first curriculum ensuring alignment with certification requirements  Path to Certified Addictions & Drug Counselor (CADC)  First students in Fall 2010  Created new courses, but mostly able to use existing

4. CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT  Learning as we go & continue to revise curriculum  Changes in internship hours  Addition of SDV 108 course for all WIT degrees  Partnered with University of South Dakota  USD offering Bachelors & Masters in Addictions Studies http://www.usd.edu/health-sciences/addiction-studies  USD & WIT working to create 2+2 articulation agreement  To satisfy the articulation agreement we created two courses and deleted two courses at WIT

5. LESSONS LEARNED & CHALLENGES  Unique student population demographics  Felony  Misdemeanors  Responsibilities of internship  DMACC had similar experiences  Finding unique sites for internships

6. THANKS TO:  Debbie Gilbert and ICB staff http://www.iowabc.org/  DMACC Faculty  Graciously shared information and their experience  Jackson Recovery Center http://jacksonrecovery.com/http://jacksonrecovery.com/  Continual willingness to open their doors and show us the real world view of what our students can expect on the job  Child and Adolescent Recovery Hospital - State of the art facility http://www.jacksonrecovery.com/TourOurFacility http://www.jacksonrecovery.com/TourOurFacility  University of South Dakota  Partnering with their BA in Addictions Studies for clear transfer path http://www.usd.edu/health-sciences/addiction-studies/undergraduate

7. PRESENTERS  Jill Moravek, Ph.D. Sociology  Deb Gifford, MA Counseling  Rhonda Briggs, Ed.D. Education and Psychology