Rejuvenating Electronic Technology Curricula To Match Industry Needs

There is evidence that curricula for AAS degree community college programs in electronics technology are lagging behind current industry practices. Recent studies indicate these programs are both deficient technically and skewed from what industry wants and needs. Rapid technological advancement plus economic and social changes over the past years have significantly altered the competencies and tasks for electronic technicians. Yet, community colleges continue to teach the “history of electronics” and often fail to include critical modern technology subjects that technicians need to know to be successful in today’s electronics job market. Surveys of industry, colleges and textbook publishers indicate that community colleges do a good job of teaching the fundamentals, but much of the curriculum is still based on technology and job skills that are no longer relevant and valuable to employers. Furthermore, the subjects taught and the contexts in which they are presented do not appear to be aligned with current industry needs. The evidence that electronics curricula lags behind industry job skill needs and the advancement of new technology is discussed in more detail in a recent publication 1