Work Group Report:

PROFESSIONALISM

Critical Issues Menu

Environmental technicians are increasingly performing the front-line work of environmental remediation, pollution control, and pollution prevention and should be recognized as professionals for their important contribution. In conducting their work, environmental technicians utilize a wide array of processes, techniques, and technologies, which are generally not well known or understood outside of very specific technical disciplines. Academic institutions, scientific professional societies, accrediting bodies, and employers need to understand the professionalism associated with environmental technicians.

The critical issues in professionalism were divided into three major areas: students, faculty, and programs. Unique concerns were identified for each of the three areas and a number of issues were highlighted that were common to all three.

STUDENT ISSUES

ISSUE: Most students are not aware of the variety of environmental careers available, especially at the technician level.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The student should understand the role of environmental technicians in the workplace - that technicians are not "junior engineers" but valued professionals with their own set of skills and expertise. Two-year colleges should:

• Encourage prospective environmental students to visit industries to see firsthand what a possible environmental career may entail; and
• Obtain or develop environmental career resource materials, such as books and videotapes, to provide to students.

ISSUE: The underlying communication, math, and science knowledge and skills required of environmental technicians have not been identified.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Define basic communication, math, and science (including an understanding of the earth's basic physical and ecological processes) knowledge and skills needed by environmental technicians. Two-year colleges should:

• Initiate the definition through ATEEC/NSF Fellows Institute;
• Involve technicians and employers in the definition process;
• Define and categorize the types of environmental technician positions and developing voluntary standards for communication, math, and science course content; and
• Establish local private/public committees (alliances) to customize voluntary guidelines.

ISSUE: Environmental technician certification would assure employers that workers are qualified.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Develop an appropriate nationally recognized technician/operator certification process as an entrance to employment. Certification components should include:

• Written test on knowledge;
• Hands-on testing of skills (based on specific programs, if available);
• Work experience (may need to establish a minimal experience level);
• Recommendations of industry/peers (develop a local consortium of local employers, peers, faculty, etc.); and
• Required course work.

ISSUE: Communication skills are essential in many tasks performed by environmental technicians.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Since communication skills are as important to employers as technical skills, two-year colleges should:

• Incorporate communication skills across the curriculum;
• Incorporate SCANS skills, which include competencies and personal qualities that are essential preparation for all students. These skills are listed in the report from the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS).

ISSUE: Because environmental technologies and regulations change rapidly, students and graduates must recognize that continuing professional development will be critical throughout their careers.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Two-year colleges should:

• Encourage professional societies and associations to promote affiliations, programming, publications, and local chapters;
• Encourage employer support through work/study programs;
• Encourage colleges to establish relationships with local chapters to promote and enhance networking; and
• Heighten the awareness of life-long learning.

ISSUE: Experiential learning activities and internship programs would better prepare students for the workplace.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Two-year colleges should:

• Promote a nationwide program placing students in internships that are locally implemented to meet employers needs; an organization such as PETE and ATEEC could implement a national environmental internship clearinghouse;
• Investigate issues of liability and blanket insurance coverage for students participating in an internship program;
• Develop state/local clearinghouses that interact regularly with a national clearinghouse established to promote work experience/internship opportunities and full-time employment upon graduation; and
• Require experiential learning/internship for program completion. The workplace activity could occur part-time during the semester or full-time during the summer. Experiential learning/internships must have commitment from the top administrative level.

FACULTY ISSUES

ISSUE: A system of assessing technical experience and teaching skills should ensure that full-time and adjunct faculty members are qualified.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Two-year colleges, in cooperation with industry and professional societies, should:

• Set base standards including technical content and instructional technology excellence with reference to national voluntary industry standards and/or accreditation programs. Faculty should be encouraged to possess certification in adult learning such as the Certified Environmental Trainer (CET) established by the National Environmental Training Association. The CET program measures the instructional competency and confirms the technical expertise of the environmental professional. The program advisory board, alliance, or administrators should establish local guidelines. The guidelines should include evaluation of previous employment, reference checks, educational background, professional affiliations, and community involvement.

ISSUE: Because environmental technologies and regulations change rapidly, faculty should participate in continuing education and professional development experiences.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Two-year colleges, in cooperation with industry and professional societies, should:

• Develop a national program to facilitate faculty professional development in the public/private sectors such as summer internships, sabbaticals, or other opportunities;
• Support the national professional development program through information networks (electronic and print); and
• Enable faculty to participate in professional society and organization opportunities (conferences and short courses).

ISSUE: The recruitment and retention of faculty can be challenging for two-year colleges since industry tends to pay higher wages.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Two-year colleges should:

• Utilize private industry and professional society connections to recruit adjuncts; increase adjunct faculty pay in order to attract and retain industry professionals;
• Support overload opportunities to supplement full-time salaries (e.g., co-op teaching, tenure, paid professional development opportunities); and
• Encourage the recruitment of minority faculty.

PROGRAM ISSUES

ISSUE: Programs that are backed by an accrediting body, provide an indication that they are credible and consistent.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Two-year colleges should:

• Encourage strong national accreditation and certification processes that provide a consistency of outcomes with flexibility for local customization.
• Develop or team up with an existing national accreditation program for two-year environmental technology programs. Focus initial efforts on identifying communication, math, science (including an understanding of the earth's basic physical and ecological processes), and technical skills required for a broad-based environmental problem-solver. Supplement transferable credit core with short-term training for specific needs and supplemental certification identified by a local alliance of employers, regulators, and educators.

ISSUE: Since employers are often unaware of the competencies of environmental technicians, two-year colleges must better market the associate's degree.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Two-year colleges, in cooperation with industry and professional societies, should:

• Identify by title the technical career fields and develop clusters on which to base the educational programs and certifications required for employment or to enhance employment opportunity success;
• Develop a national strategy for marketing two-year environmental technology programs and technician job placement; and
• Clarify the perception of technicians (both how technicians are perceived by the world and how technicians perceive themselves).

ISSUE: Because environmental technology programs are relatively new offerings in two-year colleges and because the programs are usually occupation-specific, a basic core curriculum has not been established.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Two-year colleges, in cooperation with industry and professional societies, should:

• Reach consensus on a recommended core curriculum, which would include general education requirements and introductory, prerequisite environmental technology courses;
• Develop an offering of occupation-specific emphases that accommodate local workforce needs; and
• Develop a system that requires periodic acquisition of continuing education units (CEUs).