| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | April 7, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | November 9, 2022 |
| Award Number: | 1955139 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Keith Sverdrup
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $285,489.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $285,489.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
19600 MOLALLA AVE OREGON CITY OR US 97045-8980 (503)657-6958 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
19600 Molalla Ave. Oregon City OR US 97045-8980 |
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Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Advanced Tech Education Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
Access to clean water is uniquely crucial for health and economic prosperity of all human communities. Efficient production of enough potable water for an increasing population requires technicians with specialized knowledge and skills. Well over 90% of US public water systems serve fewer than 10,000 people and are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as Rural Small Water Systems. Because of retirements and use of new technologies, the rural water industry has a growing need for new technicians who are skilled in these new technologies. Filling this need is complicated by chronic challenges in providing equitable education and training opportunities to rural residents. This project will address the need for Rural Small Water Systems technicians by providing an educational model that is designed to serve a rural population. Specifically, this project plans to develop online instructional modules to educate rural water technicians who have the knowledge and skills required by a modernizing industry. Through distance learning strategies, the project will also enable practicing rural technicians to build or update their skills. The rural small water system curriculum will cover the spectrum of knowledge and skills needed to ensure the proper installation, inspection, maintenance, repair, management, and operation of successful small public water systems.
The project will develop 20 online instructional modules that address advanced knowledge and skills not currently fully covered in the existing Water and Environmental Technology program. These modules will be integrated into six current Water and Environmental courses and fully online versions of the courses will be developed. These changes are expected to better serve students who live and work beyond commuting reach, as well as working technicians who seek additional education from rural locations. The modules will include video presentations, technical documents, and virtual field experiences. This work will be done in consultation with industry partners, the Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center, and the Regional Center for Nuclear Education and Training, thus leveraging existing knowledge and resources that include expertise in online and virtual education. All modules will be available nationwide to other educational programs and to industries for training purposes. Representatives of the region?s water industries have agreed to work with the project personnel to ensure that the modules address their needs for technical knowledge and skills. It is expected that this online module-based training platform can serve as a model for other programs interested in reaching rural students and meeting rural needs. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 97% of the 151,010 public water systems in the USA serve fewer than 10,000 people, which classifies them as Rural Small Water Systems (RSWSs) (EPA, 2019). These RSWSs were established with the Clean Water Act in the 1970s; 50 years later the Water and Environmental Technology (WET) Rural Technician Education project will help maintain a critical workforce that is experiencing depletion due to retirements and challenges filling positions in rural areas nationwide.
This project developed and incorporated hybrid instructional modules into the Water & Environmental Technology curriculum that enable the Clackamas Community College WET Program to (1) meet the growing demand for RSWS technicians who have the knowledge and skills required by a modernizing industry and (2) enable rural technicians who do not have access to classroom instruction to build or update their skills. These modules focus on industry requirements, specifically, state Water Treatment and Water Distribution certification required to work on all potable water systems. This accessible and updated curriculum also addresses advanced knowledge and skills that go beyond what is currently offered in the WET program. The curriculum is accessible via a learning management system and also integrated into the online WET curriculum, successfully keeping with the Clackamas’ plans for making instruction more accessible through online access. Workers trained in modern technologies will be better able to meet the increasing challenges of ensuring clean water. The project is helping educate future technicians, who will bring up-to-date knowledge and skills to water industries in and beyond our service area, enable other institutions to modernize their own WET programs, and, ultimately help ensure clean water in other rural regions nationwide. This will enable industries across the country to provide on-the-job training in new WET technologies. The online courses and individual modules will enable more students and more working technicians to access the training required for effective and modernizing RSWS operations. The project is succesfully addressing a critical nationwide workforce that is experiencing depletion due to retirements and challenges filling positions in rural areas (AWWA, 2019)
Last Modified: 10/29/2024
Modified by: James T Nurmi
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