Individualized Technical Studies Program Code 108251

Employment Potential

With the growth of employment opportunities in small and mid-sized firms, employers increasingly seek workers able to take on multiple tasks and roles that cut across traditional occupational categories. With the introduction of new kinds of technologies and work processes, occupational duties and the competencies needed in the workplace are constantly in flux.

To be productive and effective in today’s workplace, workers may need skills and knowledge drawn from a variety of traditional disciplines.

This program allows students to design a customized instructional program leading to an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Technical Studies. The individualized program will have a specific occupational focus designed by the student in consultation with an occupational mentor, district faculty, and career advising staff.

The program requires the identification of an occupation advisor who will assist the student in specifying skill competencies and occupational outcomes for a specific occupational area.

Note

Individualized Technical Studies Degree Has Two Objectives:
. Provide flexibility in programming in order to meet the educational needs of individuals based on their particular career goals.
. Emphasize an individual’s career goals that cannot be achieved through enrollment in any single instructional program currently available at the college.
As part of the educational process, each student is required to complete a personal program portfolio outlining his or her career objectives and the courses required to meet those objectives. This student portfolio, together with a completed application for admission, becomes part of the review process used by the NWTC Individualized Technical Studies committee to admit the student for a customized technical studies program.

Note

Explore the possibility of Individual Technical Studies in areas such as:
Childcare Administration
Students who complete the 18-credit Child Care Administration Certificate may wish to combine those classes with other classes in the Early Childhood or Supervision associate degree programs for an Individual Technical Studies-Child Care Administration Degree. Courses can be chosen to create a customized curriculum specific to the needs of the individual, with an emphasis on Administration, Special Needs, Infant/Toddler or other areas.
Entrepreneurship
In today’s world, there is increasing desire among people of all ages to explore, develop, start and run their own businesses. But the knowledge, skills and abilities to start and successfully operate these businesses have never required the wearing of so many hats – and to wear them well. Though the rewards are great, the risks are equally as great, thereby requiring that today’s entrepreneurs be more sophisticated and balanced in their planning and preparation. NWTC has carefully considered the needs of an entrepreneur, and have created four distinct Entrepreneurship Certificate tracks to consider. By pairing these certificates with general studies courses, you can create an Individualized Technical Studies Degree in Entrepreneurship.
For more information about these degrees and other exciting opportunities, please call (920) 498-6373.

Requirements for Program Entry

. Completed application.
. High school transcript or equivalent. (For a list of equivalents, go to www.nwtc.edu/gettingstarted.)
. Completion of all recommended activities to address math and reading skills deficiencies.
. As a requirement for program entry, an Academic Skills Assessment (Accuplacer) with appropriate benchmark scores is necessary. Program benchmarks are: Arithmetic, 65; Reading Comprehension, 55; Sentence Skills, 75. Students not meeting these benchmarks or the equivalent will be granted pre-program status and will be required to establish an individualized academic plan. Upon completion of the plan, full program status will be granted. Students may have the opportunity to enroll in selected program core courses while completing their individualized plan. However, higher test scores will lead to greater success in core program courses. To learn more about these assessments and program benchmark scores, please contact a Counselor (920) 498-5444 or (888) 385-6982.

Curriculum

Total credits for the Individualized Technical Studies program will vary with a minimum of 60 credits.

FIRST SEMESTER

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

These courses provide an opportunity for students to develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding required for employment in this field.

10-809-198 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY ...survey of theoretical foundations of human behavior such as sensation and perception, motivation, emotions, learning, personality, psychological disorders, therapy, stress, and human diversity in personal, social and vocational settings. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills =60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better)

10-801-136 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1 ...learners develop knowledge/skills in planning, organizing, writing, editing. Students will also analyze audience/purpose, use elements of research, format documents using standard guidelines, and develop critical reading skills. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills =75 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759; BE Communication Prep IIB OR 10-831-103, Intro to College Writing with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.

10-801-198 SPEECH ...fundamentals of effective oral presentation to small and large groups: topic selection, audience analysis, methods of organization, research, structuring evidence and support, delivery techniques, and the listening process. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer- Reading =55 OR ACT- Reading =15 OR 77-858-759, BE Reading Prep IIB with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.

10-804-123 MATH W BUSINESS APPS ...real numbers; basic operations; proportions/one variable; percents, simple/compound interest; annuity; apply math concepts to purchasing/buying process, selling process; and basic statistics with business/consumer applications. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Arithmetic=65 OR ACT-Math=15 OR 10-834-109, PreAlgebra OR 77-854-759, BE Math Prep IIB with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.

10-809-172 RACE ETHNIC & DIVERSITY ...basic American values of justice and equality by teaching vocabulary, history of immigration/conquest, transcultural communication, legal liability, multicultural majority/minority relations, ageism, sexism, gender, sexual orientation, the disabled/ADA. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills= 60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.

10-809-195 ECONOMICS ...scarcity, resources, alternative economic systems, growth, supply and demand, monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, unemployment, and global economic issues. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills= 60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.

10-809-196 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY ...the nature and variety of groups; inequality, race and ethnicity; family, population, social integration, and change; collective behavior; politics, economics, religion, education, and the effects of technology. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills= 60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.

10-809-198 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY ...survey of theoretical foundations of human behavior such as sensation and perception, motivation, emotions, learning, personality, psychological disorders, therapy, stress, and human diversity in personal, social and vocational settings. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills =60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.