Resources for Students and Instructors
ITS
PCB
Virtual Community College Workshop Series
June 30-August 12, 2020
The ITS PCB Community College Virtual Workshop Series was a multi-week collaborative event where educators and practitioners defined current and emerging entry-level ITS technician needs (and current solutions for acquiring those skills within the DOT workforce), discussed the technical skills taught at community college programs, and evaluated the potential for bridging the current knowledge, skills, and abilities gaps through community college partnerships. The workshop built on previous workshops and featured presentations and panel sessions to highlight the best practices, lessons learned, potential barriers, and the collaborative potential between transportation agencies and community colleges and practices. The ITS PCB Program will use workshop findings to inform a framework for community college and DOT partnerships and workshops to develop those partnerships.
The series, which consisted of seven 90-minute virtual sessions, replaced the in-person Community College ITS Workshop, originally scheduled for April 30-May 1 at FHWA’s Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC). In the first three sessions, educators and employers convened to identify needed knowledge, skills, and abilities; discuss relevant learning objectives taught by select community colleges/technical schools; and, review successful school/employer partnerships in ITS. In sessions four through six, the ITS PCB Academic team partnered with TFHRC to provide demonstrations of their cutting-edge technologies for ITS instruction and information on how community colleges can get involved. The final session summarized the six prior sessions, presented next steps that the ITS PCB Program will follow-up with, and offered community colleges options for staying involved with the program to grow and enhance ITS education. Each session reached between 40 and 65 attendees. Registrants represented 36 community colleges, 5 four-year academic institutions, 10 state DOTs, 5 private firms, 2 professional organizations, and 5 FHWA Program Offices.
Workshop Objectives
- Provide an overview of ongoing support programs offered through the ITS PCB Program.
- Define the current and future knowledge and skills required of an ITS technician, and compare them to the knowledge and skills taught through community college programs.
- Collaboratively explore how community colleges can (and have) added value to agencies through collaborations and partnerships.
- Discuss the potential for a workforce pipeline between community colleges and DOTs to address the growing staffing needs in the field of ITS.
- Identify and discuss ways the ITS PCB Program can support coordination between community colleges and potential employers for their ITS-related programs.
- Define actionable steps for community colleges, transportation agencies, and the USDOT, that will help build a competent and complete ITS workforce through community colleges.
- Provide educators and practitioners with a peer-to-peer network to exchange best practices in ITS education.
HTML versions of the presentation slides are in development and will be posted as they are completed.
Session 1 Materials (June 30, 2020)
Session 2 Materials (July 2, 2020)
Session 3 Materials (July 8, 2020)
Session 4 Materials (July 15, 2020)
Session 5 (July 22, 2020): Canceled
Session 6 Materials (July 29, 2020)
Session 7 Materials (August 5, 2020)
Session 8 Materials (August 12, 2020)
United States Department of Transportation
