SANFORD - Central Carolina Community College has been awarded a $199,612 grant from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Small Grant program that will allow the college to expand the curricula of its Sustainability Technologies and Building Construction Technologies programs. The award starts June 1, 2017, and ends May 31, 2020.

The goal of the project is to provide technician skills, competencies, and hands-on experiences needed for employment in the fields of energy efficiency verification and building performance analysis. The project will include the recruitment of underrepresented populations into the program, the bolstering of existing curriculum to incorporate industry recognized third-party credentials, and internships and field experiences for students.

"We are grateful to the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program for choosing Central Carolina for this opportunity," said Dr. Brian S. Merritt, CCCC Vice President of Student Learning. "As we strive to be a world-class leader in education for our local communities, I am confident that our faculty leadership will enhance the curriculum and train a more diverse student population who will contribute to the building and energy workforce."

This project will directly benefit three groups -- students, CCCC, and local industry. For student technicians, they will receive a value added educational experience with both institutional and third party credentialing, multiple avenues for success through educational pathways and stackable credentialing, and increased field experience. CCCC will update curricula to better educate students interested in energy analysis and performance verification, strengthen connections between the college and local industry, and address technical education needs of underrepresented populations in the college's service area. The benefit of this approach to industry will be the increased pool of well-trained new employees, and the increased ease of hiring new employees with college credit training and industry specific, nationally recognized credentials.

This project, titled "Technician Training in Advanced Building Performance Analysis and Verification," is under the direction of CCCC Department of Sustainability Chair Andrew McMahan (Principal Investigator) and Jeff Gannon (Co-Principal Investigator).

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the National Science Foundation, and we think this project will have a tremendous impact on our students and our program," said McMahan.

"We feel the goals of the project -- aligning our curriculum with nationally recognized certifications, strengthening our relationships with local industries, and creating new educational pathways -- will all contribute to the success of our graduates. And that's what we're most excited about."

For more information on Central Carolina Community College, visit the college website at www.cccc.edu.