Stackable Training for Laboratory Science and Quality Technicians in Biopharmaceutical and Biomedical Manufacturing

Working with a team of industry partners, this project is developing four competency-based stackable credentials that lead to a new Associate Degree in Analytical and Quality Technology (AQT) at Mount Wachusett Community College. The project is preparing diverse, rural community college students for employment in quality-related jobs in biopharmaceutical and biomedical device manufacturing. Products being developed include curriculum modules, stackable certificates, and a capstone course. Through short duration programs with contextualized and successively increasing levels of content that ultimately stack into certificate and Associate degree programs, the stackable approach provides flexible technical education entry points to students with varying levels of preparation.

The AQT curriculum is being established in a modular format and incorporated into credit-bearing courses and is also being prepared for integration into non-credit workforce training courses to meet specific needs of students and incumbent workers. Students who complete non-credit training receive credit when all modules associated with a credit-bearing course are satisfactorily completed. A capstone course is being developed that integrates time spent in class and industry-based experiences. This course reinforces student competencies and enhances job opportunities for graduates through industry internships and exposure to the workplace via industry guest speakers, industry tours, trade shows and professional meetings, and targeted industry research.

This project is establishing an integrated technical education and workforce training program that responds to critical employment demands in a region of the country with an exceptionally high concentration of biopharmaceutical and biomedical device manufacturing. This effort builds on the Ohio Stackable Certificates Initiative and utilizes the modular curriculum delivery process developed therein. The evaluation effort employs the Kirkpatrick four levels model of evaluation to monitor the processes and outcomes of project objectives.

The industry-informed curriculum development is designed to meet the technical workforce demands of regional employers, including the need to advance incumbent worker skills. It will promote diversity in the technical workforce by creating opportunities for diverse, rural students and unemployed workers in need of educational opportunities to reenter the workforce. The curriculum developed for the AQT associate degree program serves as a model for other institutions to adopt and implement. Dissemination activities include writing a technical paper, giving presentations at conferences, providing access of the curriculum to all Massachusett's community colleges, and making all curricular content available online.