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Show 1 y An College helps students sail in to careers By Maria Villasenor editor in chief The Signpost The College of Applied Science and Technology specializes in courses that set students into well-paying careers with a two-year degree and into high-paying positions with two more years. "We run pretty close to 90, 90-plus percent," said Warren Hill, dean of COAST, about job placement for graduates. Hill said students should consider COAST programs for three reasons: Technology graduates are in high demand, COAST students get among the highest pay of WSU bachelor's graduates, and women and ethnic minority graduates are in particularly high demand. The computer science program has the highest enrollment; it's easy to see when "computers are everywhere," Hill said. "People are still looking for graduates that have expertise and background in computing. It isn't going to go away." The college has degrees ranging in more than 1 7 areas from computer science to pre-engineering to interior design technology. Many of those areas are modeled under the "2 2" program structure. The structure lets students earn an associate's degree they can work with, and when, they decide to return to school, they can pick up on a bachelor's degree without any added prerequisites. Bill Clapp, Computer and Electronics Engineering Technology chairman, said the "2 2" program is beneficial to students looking for high-paying jobs. 7 I 3-J "We're really catering to the students who have to put food on the table and work full days." - Bill Clapp, Computer and Electronics Engineering Technology Chairman Bill Clapp (left), chair of the CEET program, answers some of Dale McCrary's (right) questions. He even tells students to postpone their degrees to get work experience. "You can have a degree and not any experience, and you're not going to get hired," Clapp said. "Or you can have a lot of experience but no degree you're not going to get hired. It's a combination of the two." The CEET program is designed especially for students who can't attend full time. Clapp said he instituted several unique measures for the 80 percent of students in the program who can only be part-time students because they have full-time careers, marriages and families. Half of the courses in CEET are taught at night each semester. Tenured faculty are required to teach half of their courses as night classes. Also, the classes were adapted from four hour-long classes per week to two classes each week in a two-hour block Clapp said the compressed classes were structured around a working student's schedule. A daily round to WSU was difficult to many students working as far away as Provo. . "We're really catering to the students who have to put food on the table and work full days," Clapp said. Dale McCrary talked with Clapp on Aug. 17 about the Electronics Engineering ' Technology half of the CEET. The married student plans on taking a part-time load of night classes, since he currentiy works at a legal office. "Because this is where my heart is," McCrary said of the change to electronics, i hope it opens up some doors for me on what I can do, things more interesting than law." 'Clapp said many local organizations, including Hill Air Force Base, hire WSU graduates because this is the only university offering CEET bachelor's degrees in computer engineering technology and electronics engineering technology. More information about the COAST is available at weber.eduCOAST or by calling 626-6303. "They look promising," McCrary said of his prospects in electronics. "I'm excited." You can reach reporter Maria Villasenor by calling 626-7121. ( WEBER STATE V V A ON-CAfYiPUS 2005 w$u We have beautiful communities, with low rental rates that include local telephone, extended basic cable television and a fitness center all centered around a college environment! |