The Butte College Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Department serves our community by providing diverse experiential learning opportunities in a progressive curriculum, using advanced technology, industry cooperation, and alumni support to prepare students for productive futures.
This program serves approximately 50 FT students per year moving through either one of two one-year certificate programs or an AS degree program. These students move into highly paid employment immediately following the completion of our programs. The program hired an additional FT instructor to begin in Fall 2016 after 16 years of attempts to supplement the single FT instructor in the classroom and other duties including equipment fleet management, planning and coordinating student, campus, and community service projects, and providing community education services through Contract Education. We also have a new PT instructor serving in spring 17, and a third-year PT instructor serving fall and spring. The third-year instructor has been instrumental in designing and presenting the AET 44 Grade Setting and GPS class, which has enabled us to utilize the capabilities of our technology and provide critical learning opportunities to our program students. There remains a need to further develop these opportunities, and we are currently working with Engineering to combine instruction in the AET 44 class and ENGR 4 Plane Surveying class to better serve both groups. The addition of the FT instructor should help us to further develop industry connections and plan for program improvements and growth. We continue to overenroll our class above the 22 cap, and use student assistants when we can to ensure the safety and provide for the needs of our students. (Note that industry does not work with anywhere near this number of students in their training programs). Smaller classes would improve learning. The Heavy Equipment Operation program has been impacted for years; we could accommodate more students if we increased course offerings and hired another FT instructor. A realignment may be in order to make this possible and we are exploring some ways to achieve those ends. More and more current equipment is needed to improve our abilities to match student capabilities with industry needs. Our equipment is large and expensive, even when used. Our ability to obtain good used equipment is severely hampered by our current processes, and we would wish to have discussions to address that. Our now aging fleet was built primarily through our use of �deliberate and responsible opportunism�, and without the ability to quickly move on advantageous opportunities we are missing out on getting equipment that we need, and sometimes spending more than should be required by having to submit requests for new machines. Some machines are so expensive as to preclude the likely possibility of purchase of new units. Depending on model a new Caterpillar motor grader will cost $400-500,000 or more. Used ones can be had for much less, but purchase must be made in a very timely manner; not many sellers can wait for our processes. We are currently under construction on a site to accommodate operation in inclement weather. In wet years we have been severely restricted in our operations, and students suffer when they cannot complete the many hours of practice required to achieve the necessary skills. Some grants have been obtained toward this purpose, and more may be needed.
Motorgrader
Students have the opportunity to operate current equipment
Program review recommendations have commended us for the quality of our hands-on training in heavy equipment operation. As per program review suggestions we have incorporated the latest methods of laser and GPS assisted grade setting. We have acquired the necessary equipment including state of the art software and a computer to run it, as well as integrated this into our curriculum with a new course AET 44 Grade Setting.
The AET Program is scheduled for Program Review in 2018-19.
1. Keep current with industry needs.
2. Update equipment fleet.
3. Increase instructional staff
Strategy 1 - HEO Program Curriculum Improvement & Modernization
The HEO program curriculum is being of modified to allow multiple sections of all classes and more sections to accommodate increased student demand. We have not increased our supply budget and should do so. An advisory committee has been making sound recommendations regarding course offerings. They will guide us in creating program improvements and increasing our industry contacts and cooperation. We are improving our instruction with a new Grade Setting and GPS class.
We also need to replace aged equipment and introduce new technologies. We need to improve our fleet by acquiring one or more float tractors, a motor scraper, a backhoe with modern pilot controls, and a much newer motor grader. We also must replace a water truck, loader, and transport truck, and plan for regular replacement of aged equipment. This is difficult through this process as we need to buy used equipment and can not always project exact prices and availability. A method to provide funding for obtaining used equipment should be devised to enable equipment replacement using our method of "deliberate and responsible opportunism". We have introduced the use of radio headsets for safety and instructional utility, and need to buy more. We also would like to improve our classroom technology.
The program is facing increased regulation of our fleet of Diesel powered equipment. Regulations have not been fully developed and will be increasingly severe, certainly requiring modification of some machines and replacement of others, and possibly requiring regular replacement of equipment in future years. CARB (California Air Resources Board) has delayed compliance dates to comply with emission standards in response to the economic slowdown, but these rules will eventually require updating of our fleet and must be planned for. In addition, we could use administrative help to advocate for exemption of our training program, as some other programs have been able to do. By adding more simulators and reducing the number of operating units, the program becomes more sustainable.
Adding newer equipment will enhance our students' experience and ensure that they can operate the types of equipment they will encounter in the workplace as they begin their careers. It will also relieve some load on our technicians with their struggle to keep our machines running.
Strategy 2 - Upgrade and modernize heavy equipment
The heavy equipment program requires systematic upgrades in order to teach students relevant and current equipment controls and functions. Our program needs new models with the current pilot controls used in most current employment opportunities.
Purchasing heavy equipment is expensive. The best approach is to purchase new or newish equipment regularly so that we are not left with a fleet of obsolete equipment. Our advisory committee has strongly recommended that we upgrade the equipment we have listed in our augmentation requests, and continue to devise methods of regular replacement. A modification of our methods and processes to facilitate acquiring good used equipment when it becomes available would greatly enhance our ability to buy needed equipment at substantially reduced prices.
Strategy 3 - Upgrade facilities
Our classrooms and laboratories were constructed about 40 years ago. We are in need of new chairs, floors, storage and so forth.
Our Ag Yard and opertional areas also are inadequate. This is to be partly addressed by the revisions planned for Spring 17 for the Ag Yard, but we still battle adverse weather conditions frequently. To this end we propose to design and construct (with our students' full participation) an all-weather facility for machine operation. Though some funding is already in place, as plans develop we may need more to build out.
The HEO program is full and growing. The demand for our classrooms and teaching labs has never been greater. Our plans for curriculum realignment and growth will continue this pattern and even increase the rates of growth. To accomplish this we need to update badly deteriorated facilities as well as improve our instructional equipment. An all-weather capability will be a part of this improvement also.
Strategy 4 - Staffing
Bring our Farm Manager and Lab Tech back to full time status
We are adding students to our already full classes and adding sections of classes and we need the support from our staff to help with that increased load.
Class and lab space
We are eligible to apply for Perkins, Strong Workforce, and other grants
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | AET/HEO | Personnel | $30,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Return Ag Staff positions to 100% (farm manager, nursery technician, mechanics) | During the economic downturn several years ago these positions were reduced to less than 100%, resulting in less hours worked. Since the cutbacks, enrollments in most of our programs have grown and the addition of three new programs, necessitates the need for more hours of support. Beyond a morale issue, this is now a safety issue as things cannot be maintained in the manner that the facilities and equipment need to be! |
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| 2 | AET/HEO | Personnel | $85,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Hire a mechanic or additional technician to replace the retirement of an Ag Mechanic in the spring of 2018 | Last year one of the Ag Mechanics retired, and that position has yet to be replaced. This has left the remaining two with the responsibility of covering Automotive, Heavy Equipment, Agriculture, and Welding. All of these programs are expanding, and other programs such as HVAC, Construction, and Advanced Manufacturing are being added. This has resulted in an incredible amount of work for the remaining employees. The remaining mechanics have worked very hard to adequately support the programs they support, but there are not enough hours in the day to keep the aging equipment in these programs up and going without additional support. |
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| 3 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $65,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Mini Tracked rubble processor | The students can process all of the concrete rubble from campus projects and turn it into useable baserock for our operation area and for the campus! The students will get to experience the rock crushing process as well as manipulating the material to and from the crusher, the added benefit is recycling materials from campus projects. |
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| 4 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $45,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Float Tractor | Our advisory committee has recommended that we obtain a float tractor and train students to operate it. Float tractors are common on most construction sites, behind backhoes they are probably the most ubiquitous. We do not currently have a Float Tractor. |
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| 5 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $40,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Tracked Skid Steer Loader | Skid steer loaders are the most prolific equipment in use today, they will be used extensively in the Camp Fire clean-up and rebuilding of Paradise. The students need to be trained on a skid steer with the new hand controls as opposed to the old Bobcat controls. |
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| 6 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $2,800.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Instructor laptop computer and printer (for B Enyeart). This computer moves from the classroom to the instructors office. | Mr. Enyearts' computer is over seven years old. |
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| 7 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $80,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Front Loader | Our loaders are aged and worn. We need to plan on updating at least one loader soon. |
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| 8 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $2,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Hand tools, such as shovels, picks, digging bars, hot saw (for cutting rebar & cement) | New curriculum in pipeline construction and concrete requires the hand tools listed above. |
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| 9 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $14,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| ATV with two benches such a our Kawasaki mule | The ATV would be used to move the instructor, equipment, drinking water to the field during lab activities and to facilitate bathroom trips. Our one ATV is on it's last leg! |
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| 10 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $45,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Mini-Excavator | Mini tracked excavators are one of the most prolific pieces of equipment in use today, they will be used extensively in the Camp Fire clean-up and rebuilding of Paradise. The students need to be trained on a mini excavator that has the newest controls and the responsiveness of the newer hydraulic systems. |
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| 11 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $18,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Welder, stocked roll away tool box, work bench, and misc tools for the farm manager. | The farm manager supports all of the AET/HEO classes, the campus farm, and the wildlife refuge. He needs equipment to do these tasks. |
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| 12 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $2,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Chain saws | The farm manager is responsible for removal of down trees on the farm and wildlife refuge. We need a small saw, a medium sized saw, and a large saw. A 36", 24" and a 14" limb saw. |
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| 13 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Screen for separating rock/dirt | Previous rock screen was worn out and destroyed years ago, and we have been without since. We need a rock screen to provide useful materials and to provide practice with this device in our classes. |
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| 14 | AET/HEO | Operating Expenses | $0.00 | $20,000.00 | ||
| supplies and repair | Several of the tractors are in need of tires and replacement of worn out parts. Our program has increased enrollments without supplemental funding for supplies and maintenance. |
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| 15 | AET/HEO | Equipment | $80,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Transport Truck/tractor vehicle | Replacement of Truck that has a $10K value but requires a $40K emission device. Much wiser to purchase a 2008 model that will meet CARB on road emission standards. |
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| 16 | AET/HEO | Facilities | $466,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Two new Portable Classrooms with Furniture for smart Classrooms | The Classrooms built above the MA shop building are non-compliant, non-DSA approved, and do not meet current ADA standards |
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