FLATE Focus (February 2016)
From the Executive Director’s Desk: Taking Care of Business
Last year, FLATE hosted its 11th annual National Visiting Committee (NVC) in Miramar, FL. Usually these meetings are held at an industry location somewhere in the state. This year, however, we met at FLATE’s host institution and campus, Hillsborough Community College Brandon campus. The FLATE NVC provides advice, advocacy, assessment and assistance not just at this one strategic meeting each year, but also more informally, during the months in between. We are proud of not only the size of our committee, but also its composition of 12 dedicated individuals with interest in the state of manufacturing technician education in Florida and across the country. A typical one-and-half to two-day meeting agenda includes a number of standard “sessions” including:
- Reporting and updating on activities and programs during the past year
- Evaluation report from an external evaluator
- Overview of a local technician program and its students
- Visit to a local industry
- Discussions with the Center’s NSF ATE program officer (typically this is done remotely)
- Closed session for the NVC to discuss concerns, recommendations and plaudits
- NVC report out to the Center Leadership and NSF program officer