Students learn in trains, planes and police automobiles
by Maria Carter, reporter

(Part Three in a five-part series on TCC specialty programs)

Whether one needs to update existing skills or find a new career, NW Campus offers several specialized programs from fire technology to aviation.

Aviation maintenance technology is a hands-on program covering every aspect of aviation maintenance from classroom computer instruction to the latest in high technology.

Students receive an Associate in Applied Science degree and Federal Aviation Technology certificates upon completion.

Graduates may choose from many companies in the aviation industry.

Students usually obtain employment with Delta, American or Southwest airlines before finishing the program. Starting pay is $16-$19 an hour.

"Our aviation maintenance program has been extremely successful since 1968, and we have thousands of successful students,” Floyd Curtis, division chair of aeronautical industrial technology, said.

“TCC has the best program in Texas and has been awarded the Aircraft Technician Safety Award,” he said.

The railroad operations management program trains students in dispatching and moving trains efficiently and safely to their destinations.

The program consists of four semesters of course work.

The first three semesters cover safety, quality, history and operations. Admission to the fourth semester is made on a selective basis and is for training as a train dispatcher.

The program primarily prepares students for these positions with Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Starting salaries are $45,000-$50,000 per year.

“The train dispatch program at NW is the only formal program in the United States today,” Jim Spaulding, department chair of railroad operations management, said.

Upon completion, students receive a two-year Associate in Applied Science degree. Returning students who already have a four-year degree or at least 30 college hours can petition for the railroad dispatcher 15-hour certificate program.

“The years I spent as a train dispatcher and night chief train dispatcher were the most enjoyable of my railroad career,” he said.
In horticulture, a mixture of science, art and business, students learn plant science terminology. Students also study plant diseases, shrubs, vines and groundcovers, landscape design and landscape management.

Horticulture is a broad field with an endless list of job opportunities, such as with home improvement stores, garden centers, greenhouses and maintenance centers.

Students in the horticulture program can choose a two-year associate’s degree or a certificate of completion.

“Students get a good, solid horticultural education,” Jim Schusler, assistant professor, said.

“It is a great program; we are well respected. The TCC horticultural department continues to grow through referrals of past students,” he said.

Entry-level salaries at $11-$12 an hour also depend on experience.

The sign language interpreter program gives students skills and experience.

Students learn core sign vocabulary in American Sign Language (ASL) and Manual Code English (MCE). Students are given the opportunity to develop receptive finger spelling and non-verbal communications.

“It is a great program for students to broaden their teaching abilities,” Larry Rogers, program coordinator, said.

“In the Fort Worth School District, there is a shortage of interpreters for the deaf,” he said.

Job opportunities include schools, churches, hospitals and self-employment. Starting salaries of $20,000-$35,000 depend on previous work and experience.

Criminal justice-law enforcement prepares students for various areas in private and public sectors.

Police Academy students are trained in pistol range, defensive driving and self-defense.

The program offers a two-year associate’s degree or a Basic Peace Officer Certificate program.

The programs are structured to prepare students for a four-year degree or a Public Safety Commu-nication Certificate.

Job opportunities in the area include police officers, probation officers, public and private investigators, criminologists, crime laboratory specialists and court administrators.

“If students are thinking about becoming a police officer, I would recommend the TCC Police Academy because we have an excellent training program,” Mike Meador, coordinator of the Police Academy, said.

“The quality of the staff who put on the training is the best part of the program,” he said.

Fire technology is designed to assist students in career advancement.

The program covers many aspects, including industrial fire protection, strategies and techniques as well as public education.

Firefighter students learn about obtaining and mastering equipment, extinguishing compounds and using specialized equipment.

Students in this speciality program also learn new and more effective fire protection programs to inform the community.

Fire technology consists of three different programs: a certificate for individuals who wish to become firefighters and two-year associate degrees in fire protection or in fire investigation for individual advancement in the fire technology field.

Currently, there is a demand for fire technology and fire fighters in public and private sectors. Entry level salaries are $30,000-$35,000.

“The success of the program is dependent upon the quality of our instructors; most of them are graduates of the TCC Fire Academy and are able to bring experience and knowledge.

“They can instill confidence in the Fire Academy students,” Rodney Smith, academy coordinator, said.

Small business management is a two-year applied science degree and is different from a regular business degree because it specializes in small business, management and entrepreneurship.

The program has three-core classes: small business management, small business financing and small business operations.

The small business operations course is a capstone class. In this particular class, students take all the information they have learned in their other courses and use it in an actual project.

All three classes are taught through instructional television (ITV) and computer-delivered instruction (CDI).

Salaries for jobs in small business management vary. A certificate of completion is also available.

“Our enrollments have dramatically increased in all the small business programs because we are teaching through ITV and CDI. Distance learning allows the student to be self-paced to meet his or her needs,” Truitt Leake, associate director of business services, said.

“This degree offers the students a focused associate’s degree in small business management because these students may have family-owned businesses, want to work for themselves or already work in business and want help,” he said.

Postal service administration offers a two-year degree or certificate of completion.

The program is designed for students preparing for a career in the postal service or looking for career advancement in the postal service.

TCC has seven specialized courses including the history of the postal service, distribution, problem solving, functional knowledge, revenues and operating costs, management skills and unions and labor laws.

As with many fields, salaries for postal service depend on position and experience.

“A degree or certificate in the postal program at TCC opens doors of opportunity for employment with the postal service,” Alicia Lupinacci, department chair and professor of management and marketing, said.