Butte College
News Announcement

Butte College Receives NSF Grant to Launch Engineering Support Technician Program

Butte College has received a $350,000 Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. government’s independent science agency.

The three-year grant will fund the college’s SwifTECH - Empowering Rural Careers: Engineering Support Technician Certificate Program, which will establish a credit-bearing certificate program that provides stackable credentials for engineering support technicians, preparing students for mid-level technical roles in industries that rely on sophisticated processing equipment. The program will align with industry needs and offer work-based learning opportunities through internships mentored by local companies.

"This grant is a significant step forward for Butte College as we work to provide our students with the skills and training necessary to thrive in today’s technological landscape," said Virginia L. Guleff, Butte College Superintendent/President. "By aligning with industry needs and offering hands-on learning experiences, we are empowering students and contributing to the economic vitality of our communities."

According to John Dahlgren and Jennifer Bryant, the grant’s principal investigators, this new to ATE program is a first of its kind in northern CA. It seeks to study the effectiveness of a combined STEM-based certificate along with concentrated industry-specific learning and an employer-based internship with mentoring within one academic year or less.

“Simply put, The SwifTECH program will take a student and turn them into an industry-ready employee in one year through a combination of classroom learning and industry mentorship and experience,” said Bryant.

“If successful, SwifTECH will pave the way for other colleges to develop similar rapid, industry-informed workforce training programs that emphasize hands-on, workplace-focused lab learning experiences,” said Dahlgren.

The college partnered with Grow Manufacturing Initiative to align with industry needs and offer work-based learning opportunities through internships to students enrolled in the program. Dahlgren says the industry partnership will play a key role in ensuring graduates are ready to enter the workforce on day one.

This year, the college will focus on creating the program and building the curriculum to offer the program in the fall of 2025.

ABOUT THE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

The ATE program focuses on the education of technicians who work in high-tech fields that drive the nation’s economy. Because two-year community and technical colleges are the leading sources of technician education in the United States, faculty from these higher education institutions have had leadership roles in most ATE projects since the program began in 1993.

ABOUT BUTTE COLLEGE

Butte College is an accredited community college that serves approximately 15,000 students a year. Butte College is a student-ready, rural community college that provides high-quality, accessible education and support. Our career and transfer pathways cultivate curiosity and critical thinking through instruction, workforce training and the achievement of associate degrees and certificates. Butte College is a Hispanic-Serving Institution that affirms its commitment to equity for the diverse, intersectional communities we serve.