The EPCE courses are delivered via instructor-led, online learning. Students can access their classes from the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from home or from work. Lectures and assignments are picked up on the Bismarck web site and communications with teachers and fellow students are conducted entirely online, via e-mail, discussion groups and chat sessions.
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This coalition is unique because it was formed as a result of growing, critical needs in the workforce. Because of past hiring practices, the Administration's charge to build 1300 new power plants and the expected loss of close to 30% of the workforce to retirement, the industry is project to need tens of thousands of workers to fill this demand in the coming years.

To address this critical employment need, the coalition has partnered with Bismarck State College in North Dakota to create an Associates Degree and Certificates in Electric Power Technology – all offered entirely over the Internet. The curriculum is designed to develop a core set of skills and competencies that is standardized for the industry and applicable to new hires and existing employees. In addition to the foundation courses in electricity and electrical systems, students can specialize in Generation, Line Construction, Metering, Substation, System Design and System Operations. 

Bismarck State College, the education provider, is a fully accredited two-year college with a well-known reputation for developing successful courses geared to the needs of the utilities industry.  This program takes advantage of Bismarck's expertise and adds the strength of the industry coalition to offer students a unique online learning experience that is directly applicable to their jobs.

The EPCE courses are delivered via instructor-led, online learning. Students can access their classes from the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from home or from work. Lectures and assignments are picked up on the Bismarck web site and communications with teachers and fellow students are conducted entirely online, via e-mail, discussion groups and chat sessions.  The flexibility and lack of travel is ideal for utility workers, particularly those who work overtime hours and/or who are out in the field. 

The pilot for the A.A.S. degree program was launched in Fall, 2001 and was a tremendous success. A comment from a student was echoed by most...

"This is the first time I have taken online courses and I think it's going great. I can work at my own pace which I really enjoy. With my work schedule working 12 hr. shifts...it wouldn't have worked well if I had to take a class somewhere. From the classes I've taken so far, they've been interesting and exciting to learn." Brad, Xcel Energy

Enrollment in the EPCE program is now open and available to anyone. Interested students should visit the coalition web site at: www.epceonline.org. And, utilities that are interested in joining this ground-breaking partnership and influence future courses are encouraged to contact Morgan Hall at 303-804-4672 or email: epce@cael.org. 

EPCE is administered by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). Initial funding for development of the degree program is being provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which supports the use of online learning technology for adult education in key industries. Information on CAEL is available at www.cael.org and information on the Sloan Foundation can be found at http://www.sloan.org.
 
 
 
 

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