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Hi-TECCC
Coalition Celebrates First-year Milestones
November 7, 2005
 The High-Technology Education
Coalition of Collin County (Hi-TECCC) is pleased to announce its
one-year anniversary and accomplishments to date.
The mission of
the coalition is focused on the promotion of a high-quality science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for North Texas
students.
The group, chartered in October 2004, includes the following partners:
- Plano
Independent School District (PISD)
- Collin County Community College
District (CCCCD)
- The University of Texas at Dallas
(UTD)
- Lockheed Martin
- Nortel
- Raytheon
- Texas Instruments
Inaugural year milestones
Results of these first-year initiatives were announced at an October
27 event held at the UTD School of Management.
- An Advanced Placement Physics camp for 47 PISD junior and senior
girls, where they attended a two-week summer camp aimed at strengthening
their understanding of physics concepts and exposing them to
new careers and mentors in high-tech careers;
- Summer research
internships for 13 PISD students who worked alongside
faculty and students on high level projects on the UTD campus;
- Full
scholarships for three CCCCD faculty to pursue doctoral at UTD;
- Dual
admissions agreement to allow students to transfer seamlessly
from CCCCD to UTD with credits intact;
- SMART (Science, Math, Advanced
Research and Technology) scholarships for 19 current students
pursuing high-tech degrees, with two
already transferring to UTD;
- Executive Principal Coaching Program that has paired
ten PISD principals with community business leaders to mentor,
provide guidance and
teach business processes that could lead to better overall
school performance.
According to a 2005 report titled “The Looming Workforce
Crisis,” the United States should expect to see more than
2 million available jobs in computer science, mathematics, engineering
and physical science by 2012, yet recent statistics show a downward
trend in the number of engineering graduates.
At the same time,
more than half of all science and engineering workers in our
country are over 40 and 26 percent are older than 50, which could
further
accelerate the shortage.
US-wide, 8th grade students are ranked 19th overall in their math
ability behind such countries as Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Bulgaria
and Slovenia according to the International Association for the
Evaluation of Educational Achievement.
The goal of the coalition is to combat these trends in the North
Texas region, create synergy among the institutions and members
and increase the number of local students pursuing math and science
based careers.
Second year objectives
- Expand and improve on existing programs;
- Develop programs in
STEM disciplines to increase preparation and achievement in under-represented
populations;
- Retention rate improvements in first-year college
engineering majors;
- Implement a longitudinal assessment of program
effectiveness;
- Effective articulation to community, parents and
educators on the real need and value of STEM skills in the workplace;
- Increase
in passing percentage of students taking advanced placement math
and science exit exams;
- Addition of other industry partners.
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