Career Technical Education

The Career Technical Education Division is responsible for all non- health related skills training in the College service area. The Division is tasked with offering comprehensive workforce and community development service training to support the needs of the communities served. The Division offers programs of study that lead to Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degrees, long-term certificates, short-term certificates, and certificates of completion.

The Associate in Applied Science degree is awarded to students who complete the requirements of a specific career or professional program of study. These programs of study range from 60 to 76 semester hours in length with approximately 40% of the programs designed to ensure competency in oral and written communication, critical thinking, computer literacy, mathematical principles and/or scientific reasoning. The remaining approximately 60% of the program contains courses designed to ensure competency in a specific career field. Additional information regarding programs of study in career technical fields can be obtained from this catalog or the specific career technical advisor, who is available to assist students in the advising and registration process.

Long-term certificates are awarded in most programs where the Associate in Applied Science is offered, as well as other career fields where the AAS degree is not offered. Long-term certificates are of varied length from 30 to 60 semester hours depending on the choice of career fields. The general education component of the certificate program contains, as a minimum, three semester hours each in written composition, mathematics, computer literacy skills, and speech. In general, long-term certificates contain most, if not all, of the technical career courses that are required in the Associate in Applied Science degree.

Short-term certificates are available in most career fields where AAS degrees and/or long-term certificates are already offered. The short- term certificates vary in length from 9 to 29 semester hours and are designed to allow the student to acquire career training in a short amount of time. Only minimal academic education requirements are included.

Career Technical students are also given the opportunity to participate in the CO-OP/Internship program. The CO-OP/ Internship program is designed to be an organized and planned work experience for the purpose of extending training to a student in his/her chosen career path, while at the same time providing the participating business with additional part-time personnel. A student is only eligible for an internship after meeting specific program prerequisites. The required amount of internship training time varies for individual programs and follows the semester schedule of the College. The student is interviewed by the prospective employer, and if hired as an intern, is expected to follow procedures and policies of the company. Students who are interested in participating in the CO-OP/Internship program should contact their program advisor.

Programs of study within the Career Technical Division require specific essential mental and physical capabilities if the student is to be successful. Essential functions for each Career Technical program of study are available in each career technical instructor’s office and the Bevill State website - www.bscc.edu.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Class attendance is considered an essential part of the educational process at Bevill State. The College subscribes to the philosophy that a student’s academic progress is directly proportional to class attendance. Class attendance will be recorded from the first day of the student’s official enrollment. Bevill State expects students to participate in all scheduled instructional classes and laboratory periods, regardless of the mode of delivery. Students are expected to be in class on time and to attend a minimum of 90% of the total class contact hours, including laboratory hours, for each course to be eligible to receive a passing grade. The instructor should inform the students how many absences this would mean for a specific class. If it becomes necessary for a student to withdraw from a course or from the College, it is the student’s responsibility to complete the College’s approved withdrawal process. If a student exceeds the 10% limit on absences, the instructor may: 1) withdraw the student from the class with a grade of "W" or 2) examine any extenuating circumstances and allow the student to continue the class and make up the work.

Each student should be punctual. It is an interruption to the class for a student to arrive late. Instructors have the discretion to consider a late arrival or early departure, without the permission of the instructor, as an absence or some percentage counting toward an absence. For example, a faculty member may consider a late arrival as 1/3 of an absence.

It is recognized that from time to time, extenuating circumstances may prevent a student from being able to attend a class. If the student misses a test or in-class assignment because of such an absence, makeup assignments may be given at the instructor’s discretion. It is the student’s responsibility to inquire about making up the work missed during any absence. However, there is no requirement that the instructor provide the opportunity for a makeup.

The following guidelines are provided for instructors who are willing to extend an opportunity for makeup work for absences resulting from extenuating circumstances.

Absences that occur because of emergencies (e.g., accidents, illness, court appearance, or death of an immediate family member) will be excused with proper notification to the instructor. Proper notification requires documentation as determined by the instructor. Examples include a copy of an accident report, a hospital admittance form, a doctor’s excuse, subpoena, or a death announcement. When possible, the student or appropriate representative of the student (doctor, lawyer, hospital official, parent, spouse, etc.) should provide notification prior to the class that is to be missed.
Absences that occur as a result of Federal or State statutes will be excused upon proper notification to the instructor. Proper notification requires documentation as determined by the instructor.