Sylva settles on railroad depot restroom

Hands-on learning a top priority with automotive programs at HCC

Haywood Community College has obtained educational tools to help train students on the latest equipment to prepare them to enter the workforce.

The automotive program received a portable engine cutaway display that shows the intricacies of all engine parts. From the radiator to the shifters and cylinders, students can see how each piece interacts for a hands-on learning experience. Instructors can program the engine with a specific problem so students can troubleshoot. This machine is an integral part of the classroom experience as instructors can go from the textbook to the engine to practice what they just learned. This machinery is used in every class taught in the automotive program, making it a cross-functional and important piece of the learning process.

The automotive program also has tools to help diagnose and measure vehicle parts. With multimeter kits from Snap-on, students can use a precision measurement tool for hands-on learning in the classroom. This allows each student to simultaneously work on their coursework without waiting for available tools, saving time and offering a positive classroom experience. The Bluetooth diagnostic program provides the ability to simply plug a device into a vehicle, and the diagnostic machine indicates where trouble areas may be. This tool allows students to obtain information about problem areas for that vehicle and then narrow down how to fix the issue based on manufacturer recommendations and what they have learned in the classroom.

The collision and repair program area received a Sim Spray, a machine that allows users to paint car parts virtually. Using virtual reality technology, users can put on a virtual reality headset and use a handheld simulated spray gun to paint a vehicle part such as a door, bumper and more. After choosing vehicle part and color, the program detects key data such as speed, pressure, and overall technique. This machine’s portability allows it to go anywhere on campus or even offcampus for recruitment events.

This machine offers hands-on learning, but it also provides other benefits. Without the need to use real paint or specific painting supplies, this equipment reduces the need for students to purchase supplies for painting and the paint itself. Not using actual paint saves approximately $100 per application and leads to a positive environmental impact since paint won’t need to be used or wasted.

SCC EMS program named in honor of trustee Terry Bell

For more than a quarter century, Southwestern Community College was a huge part of Terry Bell’s life.

During his lengthy career as a Macon County Schools educator and administrator, he completed his Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician training through Southwestern. And from 19952019, he served on SCC’s Board of Trustees — the last seven as chair.

To recognize Bell’s leadership, contributions and longtime affiliation with the college, Southwestern has renamed its Emergency Medical Science program in his honor.

“Mr. Bell was on the Board of Trustees when I accepted this role (in 2011), and I’ve always been grateful for the leadership he provided for our college,” said Dr. Don Tomas, SCC President. “He’s a lifelong educator who fully appreciates the value of a community college education, and he’s extremely deserving of this honor.”

Bell worked for almost 50 years for Haywood County and Macon County Schools. He was an instructor, principal at three different schools and an assistant principal at Franklin High School. Simultaneously, he used his SCC training and credentials to serve as an emergency medical technician and volunteer firefighter in Macon County.

After retiring in 2009 as Chief Operations Officer for the Macon County School System, he continued to work in a special consultant capacity as Director of Human Resources at Macon County Schools until retiring in 2021.

Accredited marketing degree online from WCU

This upcoming fall semester, the College of Business at Western Carolina University will begin offering its nationally recognized bachelor’s degree in marketing program in an online format.

That means all-digital, all the time, yet with the same individual attention and course delivery that is seen in classroom instruction. Students can begin applying now.

“It is the same marketing curriculum and excellence of teaching,” said Charlie Parrish, director of the School of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Sport Management, Hospitality and Tourism. “The online marketing degree and the courses offered align very well with both the needs of a remote student and current marketing strategies and techniques.”

Prospective students, he said, potentially include anyone who needs flexibility in their pursuit of a marketing degree. The program emphasizes learning enhanced by practical experience, with simulated selling situations and examining how marketers use information to make good decisions. Students will apply marketing analysis and skills to real-world cases.

“The ease to fit studies into any time schedule is ideal for working adults — someone wanting to complete or start a degree can do it in the evenings or weekends. A nontraditional student will see this as an opportunity,” Parrish said. “And I also think we’ll see a younger demographic enroll as well, with students more comfortable being wherever they are and using a distance delivery modem for study.”

AJ Grube, the dean of WCU’s College of Business, said the goal behind the online degree programs is simple: Make the quality, affordable education that WCU is known for more accessible for everyone — including working adults and nontraditional students.

“Distance learning is helping tremendously with accessibility and affordability,” Grube said. “Students have the flexibility of staying where they are, keeping their jobs and keeping their family life going. And they get the same high-quality education as on-campus students. It plays a huge part in allowing us to offer an education to people who otherwise might not be able to drop everything and come to class in Cullowhee.”