New Minor Announcement from Lake Erie College| Painesville, OH

December 14, 2020 Painesville, OH – Lake Erie College recently announced the addition of Applied Technical Skills (ATS) to its list of minor programs. The program will afford students an opportunity to add technical skill sets to their liberal arts education while addressing a growing need of industry employers looking for skilled professionals.

Lake Erie College’s mission and vision encourage self-discovery, strong personal attributes and leading lives of personal and global significance. This program will provide students a unique opportunity to enhance the traditional liberal arts experience with hands-on, experiential learning in courses related to technical skills and apply those skills to their areas of interest. For example, students pursuing a major in Management would have an opportunity to learn the skills that are utilized in regional trade industries as they develop a better understanding of companies in which they may be seeking employment upon graduation, while a student pursuing a bachelor’s in Fine Arts could learn welding skills to aid with creating metallic sculptures as part of their showcase work.

Lake Erie College’s Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Johnathan Tedesco, Ph.D., describes the minor as one that will allow students to gain relevant, real world skills while pursuing traditional liberal arts degrees. The ATS minor is open to students in all majors and, in addition to gaining technical experience, will provide students an opportunity to earn certifications in areas like electrical theory or applications like welding.

“The landscape of higher education is certainly changing and we are always looking for ways to increase the value of our academic offerings. This is an excellent example of how collaboration across our campus is providing novel opportunities to our students and local communities while staying true to our values as a liberal arts institution,” said Tedesco.

Herb Dill, Executive Director of the LEC HVACR program agrees.

"The creation of this minor is a natural extension of our welding and HVACR high school programs, involving Lake Shore Compact, Painesville City Local Schools, and Fairport schools, along with our adult programs for welding and HVACR that are already available," he said. The minor can coincide with any undergraduate program in which students are enrolled beginning the spring 2021 semester and will be open for high school students interested in earning College Credit Plus (CCP) credits towards a degree.

For questions or to learn more information about the program, contact Johnathan Tedesco at jtedesco@lec.edu.