Hire Education Journal Issue 3

Spring 2013

Featuring:Obama Praises A-B Tech

Craft Beverage Institute

College receives NSF Grant

Starting Fermentation 2+2 with asu

A-B Tech Named Model of Efficiency

Culinary Team Headsto Nationals

EducationJournal

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abtech.edu2 | Hire Education

VISION

MISSION

VALUES

Locally Committed • Regionally Dynamic • World-Class Focused

A-B Tech inspires, nurtures and empowers students and the community toward a better quality of life through progressive teaching, bold innovation and supportive collaboration.

A-B Tech’s core beliefs guide behaviors, decisions and interactions toward accomplishing the mission and achieving the vision. A-B Tech is dedicated to student and community success through:

EXCELLENCELEARNING

SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTINNOVATION

INCLUSIVENESSCONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Adopted by the A-B Tech Community College Board of Trustees February 6, 2012


It brings me great pleasure to share the third issue of Hire Education Journal with you.

A-B Tech has been garnering national attention lately, including high praise from President Barack Obama. He acknowledged the im-portance of partnerships between community colleges and industry during a speech given at Linamar in Arden, singling out A-B Tech for the role it plays in preparing tomorrow’s workforce.

Our student culinary team is carrying on the tradition of excellence by winning the right to compete in national competition for the sixth time in a decade. Wish them luck as they travel to Las Vegas in July to vie for the College’s second national title.

A part of our College since 1967, the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management programs have been a major sup-porter of the tourism industry in Western North Carolina by training the chefs and restaurant and hotel managers. This helps make our area popular for visitors from around the country who want to immerse themselves in the “food-topian” culture.

Building on the popularity of the food and drink industry in Asheville, A-B Tech has created the Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast to meet the training needs for brewers, distillers and wineries. We will offer classes to teach the technical art of craft beverages, as well as the business side of operations.

We have also partnered with Appalachian State University as well to offer a 2+2 degree in Fermentation Sciences, where our graduates can transfer seamlessly from an associ-ate’s degree into a bachelor’s degree program.

On the technology front, student Wade Wilson was selected as the national Terry O’Banion Student Technology Champion and was honored in Dallas at the League for Innovation in the Community College conference.

The system used by our Student Services division was recently honored by University Business magazine in its spring 2013 “Models of Efficiency” national recognition program. The Models of Efficiency program recognizes innovative approaches for streamlining higher education operations through technology and/or business process improvements.

Also, our website received a silver award from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations. Be sure to check it out at abtech.edu and see what opportunities are waiting for you.

Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Spring 2013

Features4 Culinary Team Heads to Nationals

6 Starting Fermentation 2+2 with ASU

7 Craft Beverage Institute to Meet Industry Needs

8 Obama Praises A-B Tech

10 New GED Test Coming

Meet the Student 10 Technology Champion

11 A-B Tech Named National Model of Efficiency

12 Graduate Finds Niche at Apple

14 College Receives NSF Grant

Hire Education Journal is published by the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Office of Commu-nity Relations & Marketing.

Publisher Dr. Hank DunnWriter Martha BallDesigner Josh Weaver Photographers Margaret Hester Kyle Levitan Laura Sellers All rights reserved. No parts of the material printed may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means elec-tronic or mechanical, including photo-copying, recording or by any informa-tion storage retrieval system without the permission of the publisher.

115,000 copies printed at a cost of .13 cents each.

Board oF TruSTeeSRichard Hurley

ChairRay SpellsVice Chair

Martha ShanksBoard SecretaryTom Alexander

Troy BallWayne Brigman

Joe BrumitMary Ruth FowlerWilliam A. Hart, Jr.Don C. Locke, Ph.D

Kaye A. MyersJohn Parham Jr., MD

Carol PetersonMandy StoneDavid Wyatt

Student Government Association President

Lin OrndorfAsheville-Buncombe Technical Community Col-lege is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Col-leges to award associate degrees, diplomas and certificates. Contact the Commission on Col-leges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

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Dr. Hank DunnPresident

Greetings


The A-B Tech Community College Culinary student team won first place, earned a gold medal and advanced to national competition during Southeast regionals March 4 at the American Culinary Federation (ACF) competition in Louisville, Ky.

“The tasting portion of the competition got lots of positive comments about all our dishes. The team

upheld the A-B Tech standard and represented us so well,” said team coach Chef Eric Backer. “The profes-sional chefs there would come up and watch. The team has such great energy and attitude that the chefs want to be affiliated with this great group of students. As far as long-term relationships and careers go, it’s an excel-lent opportunity for them.”

The competition requires student teams to demon-strate butchery and knife skills, prepare a cold food platter for eight and then create a four-course signature meal. A gold medal is awarded to a team scoring be-tween 36 and 40 points, with 40 being a perfect score. A-B Tech’s team was given the only gold medal in the competition.

Competitors are judged on such criteria as the flavor, taste, texture and doneness of their foods; serving methods; portion sizes and creativity. Floor judges also evaluate their organization, sanitation, teamwork, workflow, and cooking techniques and knife skills.

Culinary Team Slices through Regionals - Heads for National Competition

A-B Tech Culinary team members are from left , Tim Nelson, Ashley Sweeney, Cassie Stockton, Rita Sigman, Kristin Allen and Josh Page.


“They were incredible. The floor critique was flawless with no points lost. It speaks highly of the caliber of the team. So many chefs are offering to help our team to go to the national level. They are reaching out to help the students. It’s amazing,” said Sheila Tillman, Associate Dean of Hospitality Education.

Backer said the whole weekend was a test of the team’s fortitude. “Every step of the way the students pushed it. They started putting the cold platter together at 9 p.m. Friday and finished at 6 a.m. Saturday. They got a really positive critique for the platter,” he said.

The students slept for about four hours and regrouped to head for the sponsor kitchen, where they found it had to be adapted and pieces of their routine had to

be eliminated to work with the space they were given. “Even with those challenges, they did really well,” Backer said. Students on the team are captain Rita Sigman, Ashley Sweeney, Tim Nelson, Josh Page and Cassie Stockton. Kristin Allen serves as team manager.

Students will compete at the ACF’s National Confer-ence July 21-25 in Las Vegas. This will be the sixth time in the past 10 years a team from A-B Tech has gone to national competition, with one team winning in 2007.

Interested in learning the Culinary Arts? Or perhaps one of the other many of programs of study A-B Tech offers? Registration for the summer and fall semesters begins April 22. For more information, visit abtech.edu or call 828-398-7520.


Fermentation Agreement with ASU allows for seamless transfer

A-B Tech Community College and Appalachian State University signed a 2+2 agreement for associ-ate of science degree grad-uates to transfer to Appa-lachian for fermentation sciences.

Officials believe the agreement marks the first time any U.S. community college and four-year uni-versity have partnered to offer a fermentation sci-ences degree. This is also Appalachian’s first 2+2 agreement with a North Carolina community col-lege.

Under the agreement, A-B Tech students who

successfully earn an as-sociate of science degree will be able to transfer to Appalachian to finish the last two years of their bachelor’s degree in fer-mentation sciences. The University will guarantee space availability for six A-B Tech students prior to fall enrollment.

“Our students will take courses that not only sat-isfy the requirements for an associate of science de-gree, but will also fit the criteria Appalachian State wants to give students the appropriate background needed for their program,” said Dr. Jon Wiener, As-sociate Dean of Math and

Science at A-B Tech.

“I see this as a great prototype for the kind of agreements we need in place to develop workforce needs and to assure timely graduation for transfer students,” said Mike May-field, Appalachian’s Vice Provost for Undergradu-ate Education.

The bachelor of science degree program in fer-mentation sciences was developed at Appalachian and was approved by the UNC General Adminis-tration in June 2012.

The signing of the agree-ment follows the Nov. 28

announcement of A-B Tech’s new Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast, which will offer a two-year degree beginning in fall 2013 in addition to continuing education and workforce development in the craft beverage indus-try. Hands-on training will be provided in a fermenta-tion facility designed spe-cifically for brewing, wine-making and distillation at the College’s Enka site. To-gether, the 2+2 agreement and the Institute will help meet the training needs of the region’s rapidly-growing craft beverage industry.

Dr. Hank Dunn, Dr. Seth Cohen, Jane Rex and Melissa Quinley


A-B Tech Community College recently announced the creation of The Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast, a premier education destination to meet the needs of the rapidly-growing craft beverage industry in the region.

“The job of the community college is to find the local need and fill it. Each region has its own market niche,” said Dr. Hank Dunn, A-B Tech President. “Craft beverages are a big business in the area. We think it will be an incred-ible boon to the area and will grow exponentially.”

The College plans to offer a two-year degree starting in fall 2013 in brewing, distillation and fermentation to teach the science and technical art of craft beverages. A large component of the process will require STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. There will also be a business track to address marketing, events and tasting room management to provide a comprehensive education to support the craft beverage industry.

The growth of the craft beverage in-dustry in Western North Carolina was led by the Biltmore Estate Winery, the world’s most visited winery. Now the region is welcoming the production facilities of New Belgium, Sierra Ne-vada and Oskar Blues breweries, joining Asheville’s own Highland Brewery and other microbreweries in the area.

“Big things are happening here in North Carolina,” said Sheila Tillman, Associ-ate Dean of Hospitality Education at

A-B Tech. In addition to the Biltmore winery and the major craft brewers, Western North Carolina is also the home of three distilleries.

“We are not the Northern California wine country. We are not St. Louis, known for its beer. We are not Ken-tucky, home of whiskey,” said Tillman. “We are finding ourselves in the situa-tion of supporting a growing job force of not one part of the beverage indus-try, but we have three major industries simultaneously coming here.”

In addition to a two-year degree, A-B Tech will offer continuing education and workforce development in the craft beverage industry through hands-on training in a fermentation facility de-signed specifically for brewing, wine-making and distillation at the College’s Enka site.

Training will cover the multifaceted processes associated with craft bever-ages, including agriculture for hops and grape vines, marketing, sales and supplier organizations, restaurants and hotels and new business development.

Scott Adams, Director of The Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast, said there are a few places to study beer in the area, but nothing as comprehensive that covers brewing, fermentation and distilling. “Our goal is to get people trained and in the jobs where they are needed,” he said.

Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast Formed at A-B Tech

8 | Hire Education abtech.edu

U.S. President Barack Obama touted A-B Tech Com-munity College for providing relevant training to stu-dents during his stop at Linamar in Arden in February.

Obama praised customized training partnership at the College. “A-B Tech and Linamar worked together to do something that is really smart. Rather than have kids just – or in some cases not kids, older workers – show up and they’re taking a bunch of classes but they don’t know how this is directly going to lead to a job, what you do is customize the class to train people so

they can come and work at the plant and they’re get-ting experience that’s directly applicable to what’s be-ing done here at the job,” he said.

A-B Tech started working with Linamar a few years ago to provide two types of training for the company, according to Shelley White, Senior Executive Director of Economic and Workforce Development/Continu-ing Education at A-B Tech.

Obama puts A-B Tech in National Spotlight


“We do open enrollment technical skills training such as machining, forklift operator and welding. Those classes help prepare students to gain employment with the company. Then we have customized training where we develop training solutions to meet their business needs,” she said.

“That’s good for the community. It’s good for Lina-mar, because they’re getting workers who they know can do the job. It’s good for the folks who are going to the community college, because they know if they work hard and they do well in the class there’s a job wait-ing for them. It’s good for the economy as a whole,” Obama said.

Cindy Hamilton, Director of Economic and Work-force Development, was at Linamar with White when Obama spoke. “The part I love is how he highlighted

the customized training, meaning the specialized training meets the needs of that particular industry. It was a highlight to the community college system and A-B Tech in particular on how well we are able to customize training to each individual business - large or small,” she said.

Obama singled out Linamar employee Jeff Brow-er who had been laid off as a diesel mechanic. “He went to A-B Technology, took a class in automated machining. A few months ago, Jeff got his diploma. He graduated on a Wednesday, interviewed at this plant on Thursday. By Friday, he was working as a machine operator,” he said.

A-B Tech offers customized training and work-force development for all sizes of businesses. Train-ing can be held either at the College or on-site of the business in computer skills, safety classes, leader-

ship, customer service and industry-specific training.

The intent is to support a larger vari-ety of industries including healthcare, hospitality, government, manufactur-ing, general business and the burgeon-

ing beer industry. A-B Tech is able to provide skills to businesses’

workforce to support them in their growth.

For more informa-tion about customized training and workforce development, contact Hamilton at [email protected] or 398-7923.

President Barack Obama greets employees at Linamar during a stop

in February.


A new GED (General Education Development) test will begin in January 2014, so A-B Tech is encouraging anyone needing to earn their credentials to sign up and pass the tests before the end of 2013.

The current version of the GED test will expire Dec. 31, 2013. Known as the 2002 Series GED test, will be replaced with the new 2014 GED test on Jan. 2, 2014.

Those who have taken the 2002 Series GED test, but not passed all five parts, have until the end of 2013 to pass or they will need to start over again in 2014 with the new GED test in order to receive their high school credential.

“The GED test opens doors to college, better jobs, the respect adults deserve, and the satisfaction of earning a high school credential,” said Karen Pauly, Director of the Basic Skills Program at A-B Tech. “So we want to be sure that everyone is aware of this deadline. If you know anyone needing to finish, tell him or her about this opportunity. Support is available, right here at A-B Tech. We can help adult learners get prepared to take

the parts of the GED test they still need to pass.”

The GED test has opened doors to bet-ter jobs and college programs for more than 18 million grad-uates since 1942. Last

year nearly 800,000 adults sat for the GED test, which is accepted by virtually all U.S. colleges and employers. As the creator of the official GED test, GED Testing Service has a responsibility to ensure that the program continues to be a reliable and valuable pathway to a better life for the millions of adults without a high school credential.

For more information on GED testing, call 398-7132.

Meet Terry O’Banion Student Technology Champion

Wade WilsonNew GED Test Coming

Wade Wilson, a Computer Information Technology student at A-B Tech, has been selected as the 2013 Terry O’Banion Student Technology Champion.

The award honors two deserving students nationwide with special talent in technology, strong financial need, and a passion about moving toward a career in technol-ogy. The Terry O’Banion Award winners are designated as either Student Technology Champion or Student De-veloper Champion. Wade was honored at a conference in Dallas and received a $1,000 prize.

Before he came to A-B Tech, Wade worked in con-struction for nearly a decade. When his boss told him there was only two weeks of work left to do, he was un-sure of his next step. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I’ve always been the family IT person and I considered it a hobby. The computer was more of a toy than a tool to me,” he said. “I realized every company has an IT department.”

Wade enrolled at A-B Tech and met with Pam Silvers, Business Computer Technologies Chair, to begin his pro-gram. “I can’t say enough about the instructors at A-B Tech. I have never been turned away from an office. I have never had a problem where I couldn’t find some outlet for help,” he said.


Meet Terry O’Banion Student Technology Champion

Wade Wilson

A-B Tech honored for being a “Model of Efficiency”A-B Tech Community College is one of seven colleges

and universities nationwide being honored by University Business magazine in its spring 2013 “Models of Effi-ciency” national recognition program. The Models of Efficiency program recognizes innovative approaches for streamlining higher education operations through tech-nology and/or business process improvements.

“Slow, manual processes similar to A-B Tech’s former system are rampant today in student services depart-ments in colleges across the nation,” said Tim Goral, editor in chief of University Business. “We applaud the school’s Student Services division for its efforts in turning that around, both for improving wait-time efficiency and for increasing student satisfaction.”

To eliminate long wait times in student services depart-ments such as admissions, advising, financial aid, and the registrar’s office, A-B Tech decided to follow the Depart-ment of Motor Vehicles model, where requests are cen-tralized and each person is given a number, then is seated until their number appears on an LCD screen.

Inspired by the efficiency and simplicity of the DMV waiting process, in 2008, A-B Tech’s Student Services Di-vision bought a Q-Flow software package—a customer flow and queuing platform that helps manage wait times, from ACF Technologies.

Now, after signing in at the kiosk and answering a few questions about the purpose of their visit, students re-ceive printed directions with a call number and an ap-proximate wait time.

While waiting, students can work on nearby computers, visit the career center, or do some shopping in the cam-

pus bookstore, where a loudspeaker system announces the number being served. If multiple advisors need to be seen, staff can transfer students from one service to another, slotting them according to their original arrival time. Additionally, information about the reason for each student’s visit can be forwarded ahead to the next advi-sor, prepping them before the student walks in the door.

As of spring 2013 registration, the financial aid office saw an average of 110 students a day with a peak of 264 one day. The average wait time has been reduced from 21.5 minutes to 8.5 minutes. The personal attention and shorter wait times have helped to reduce student com-plaints and has saved A-B Tech about $40,000 a year.

In addition to Asheville-Buncombe Technical Commu-nity College, spring 2013 Models of Efficiency honorees include: Creighton University (Neb.); Johnson County Community College (Kan.); Loyola University Chicago (Ill.); Miami Dade College (Fla.), which was honored for two efforts; University of Wisconsin-Stout, also honored for two efforts; and Valdosta State University (Ga.).

The program is sponsored by Higher One, a leading company that offers a wide array of technological servic-es on campus, ranging from streamlining the institution’s performance analytics and financial aid refund processes to offering students innovative banking services, tuition payment plans, and the basics of financial management. Higher One works closely with colleges and universities to allocate resources more efficiently to provide a higher quality of service and education to students.

“With each year we are involved with this award, I am impressed with the increasing efforts of higher ed institutions who take creative initiatives to streamlining their operations to generate both financial as well as ser-vice improvements for students,” said Miles Lasater, co-founder and COO of Higher One. “We are proud to stand with University Business to support and recognize the spring 2013 Models of Efficiency winners.”

University Business is the leading publication for se-nior managers at colleges and universities throughout the United States, reaching 49,000 leaders who man-age offices such as enrollment, technology, facilities, and academic affairs. More information is available at www.universitybusiness.com.


finds niche at Apple

Graduate

abtech.edu13 | Hire Educationat Apple

Jacob Haug was homeschooled when he enrolled at A-B Tech Community College to study Web Technologies as a dual-enrolled student. He pictured himself get-ting a degree and working for him-self. He certainly didn’t imagine working for one of the most well-known companies in the world.

While at the College, he studied his passion and became a member of the award-winning Cyber De-fense Team, handling the security of any web-based applications the team encountered, as well as the security for any Mac and Linux servers.

Jacob was planning on working for himself as a freelance developer and did that for a while. In Sep-tember 2010, a few months after earning his degree from A-B Tech, he sold his company, The Web Squeeze, a web design and devel-opment magazine with over 4.8 million readers.

“After the sale of The Web Squeeze, I focused my time on an-other startup of mine called Colli-sion Hosting. But in April of 2011, I ended up selling that company as well. After that, I was looking for something else to do. A job offer from Apple came along shortly af-ter, and was a complete surprise to me,” he said.

His knowledge and expertise helped land him a software engi-neer position in California. “I build and maintain web-based applica-tions and systems that are used to further the development of Apple products. I also maintain servers, lots and lots of servers,” Jacob said.

“I was a little intimidated at the prospect of moving across the country and working for such a large company. But my parents in-sisted that it was a big opportunity for me and that I should just go for it! They said that sometimes you have to take a ‘leap of faith,’” Ja-cob said. “I just didn’t anticipate that I would be leaping all the way to California. It’s kind of a family joke now. My mom says so much of my time was spent on the com-puter that she has barely noticed I’m not around. And since most of my friends were online, they sort of moved with me.”

Jacob said he was nervous about moving away from family and friends in North Carolina. “How-ever, at the same time I was very excited for the opportunity to work at Apple, and to live in the Silicon Valley. I work for an amazing com-pany with great pay and benefits. I go into work each day and get to have fun doing what I love. I love programming, and would be doing it in my spare time for free anyway, so to be able to get paid to do it, that’s a pretty sweet deal if you ask me,” he said.

In June, Apple had their huge Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Tickets were $1,600 each and the conference sold out in less than 15 minutes. Jacob was lucky enough to be able to attend. “Six months ago, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of go-ing, then suddenly I’m there,” he said.

A-B Tech was part of his success. “The instructors and the environ-ment made the biggest impact on me while I was there. A-B Tech’s

small class sizes allowed each stu-dent to get the one-on-one at-tention that I feel is imperative to effectively bettering your skills/knowledge around a particular subject area,” Jacob said. “The in-structors weren’t afraid to answer questions outside of the immediate subject matter of the course, which helped me learn even more. The instructors also allowed me to chal-lenge myself.”

Jacob remembers a few times when he felt his assigned project wasn’t enough to flex his cyber muscles. “I wanted a challenge. I wanted something that was hard. I brought this up, and I was allowed to do another project in a different direction than the rest of the class as long as I met the basic require-ments of the original project. This allowed me to learn more than I would have otherwise,” he said.

Did you graduate from A-B Tech? Join the Alumni Association by visiting: www.abtech.edu/alumni

or share your story by emailing [email protected]


A-B Tech Community College has received a $199,896 grant from the National Science Founda-tion for a project titled Skilled Students Get Jobs: Recruiting Women and Engaging ALL Students.

The project is designed to improve technician training and increasing the number of highly skilled workers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) priority areas, according to Business Computer Technologies Chair Pam Sil-vers, principal lead of the project.

“The goals of the project are to increase the num-ber of female students in certain programs and to implement the proven educational strategy of prob-lem-based learning for all students,” she said. The project’s three components are recruiting female students, retaining these students by supporting gender equity strategies and providing relevance through problem-based learning to all students.

The Programs being impacted are Computer Engineering Technology, Computer Information Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology, Information Systems Security, Mechanical Engi-neering Technology, Networking Technology, and Sustainability Technology. More than 300 students are enrolled in the programs.

“The project is the result of numerous conver-sations, meetings, and relationships with industry. Growth during the economic downturn has high-lighted the need for more skilled workers and drives the project goal of increasing the number and di-versity of skilled technicians,” Silvers said.

College ReCeives NatioNal sCieNCe

FouNdatioN gRaNtto recruit women and engage students

Summer/Fall RegistrationOpen Now!

Summer Classes start May 22Fall Classes start Aug. 19

Register Early

to get the

Classes

You Want!


College ReCeives NatioNal sCieNCe

FouNdatioN gRaNt May

13 ....................Last day of Spring semester 18 ....................Spring Graduation 21 ....................Last day to pay for Summer registration (before 5:00 p.m.)

22 ....................5-week Minimester begins

22 ....................Summer classes begin

25-27 ...........Memorial Day Holiday (College Closed)

June18 ....................Last day to withdraw from 5-week sessions

27 ....................5-week Minimester II begins

august19 ....................Classes Begin

19 ....................4 Week Minimester Begins

19 ....................8 Week Minimester Begins

Main .....................................254-1921

Call Center............................398-7900

All numbers use the (828) area code.

Want more information? Give us a call!

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All Job Seekers

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Go To A-B Tech SouthWith Webpage Design, I can create a new

website for my company!

Intro to Computers

would be the perfect start to

my college career!

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Classes to meet your needs!A-B Tech’s newest location

303B Airport Road • Arden, NCLocally Committed • Regionally Dynamic • World-Class Focused

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