suny maritime college
graduates said that although they felt ready upon graduation, their critical training continued once they were introduced into the industry. One alum working aboard ship pointed out that his college education is an important step in his experience, but that learning continues long into a person’s career at sea. My current student pointed out that preparation for real-world situations is the main component lacking in his education, but I would be remiss if I did not point out that this goes hand in hand with a comment from the graduate of fifteen years prior, that graduation is merely a “waypoint” along the course the person takes over his or her career. A couple of responses pertained to the business of shipping itself, in terms of learning more about the industry and less about the practical side of ship operations. These comments were from graduates of the 1990s, where the emphasis in their campus experiences was more on the act of shipping and not the business side of the industry. These graduates stated that they had to go back to school to learn the business side of the industry once their seagoing careers had ended. Regarding questions about the practical experience of working as deck officers and engineers aboard ship, every graduate answered with the same response: hands-on learning—one area where maritime academies prevail. It is impossible to convey to a student, for example, the feel of a ship through a book. When students train in
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the art of navigation, they must practice in a real-life environment. They must see, feel, and experience it to learn it, which includes managing the adrenaline of adverse conditions and ship traffic. This part of maritime education has changed significantly over the last forty years with the introduction of simulators. Where students were once required to put to sea aboard a commercial vessel to develop these skills, they can now get a similar experience from inside a classroom. One may argue that it is not the same as being on a real ship, another may concede, but accept that it is the next best thing. The stakes are slightly different, of course; if a student has an accident within the simulator, the instructor merely restarts the equipment—no harm done. Valuable experience is still gained from these exercises, and it enables the student to train without real-life consequences. Small class sizes allow for each student to take command and practice his or her leadership skills, which are needed every day in working scenarios, both on shore and at sea. My graduates from the past decade felt that the reduction in real-life experience was a detriment to their training, but that simulators are a great contribution to their education. The need for actual boat- and shiphandling still exists, and will continue to play an important role throughout a graduate’s career. I asked what part of hands-on learning was important to each graduate. Again, no matter what era in which they graduated,
Captain Richard Fitzgerald, (SUNY Maritime Class of 1977) at left. their answers were exactly the same: time aboard the training ship, seamanship classes, and the cadet observer experience. Interestingly, not one mentioned simulators, even though as educators we consider the use of simulators to be hands-on training. Faced with a future of autonomous ships, all felt that mariners-in-training still need to experience how a ship moves in a real setting. All students working towards their merchant marine licenses as part of their undergraduate curriculum are required to be a part of the Regiment of Cadets at SUNY Maritime College. I was interested in finding out if alumni in the industry felt that this was an important piece of their education. The Regiment of Cadets is a program in which students are required to wear uniforms and follow the chain of command. They attend weekly mandatory meetings after class and participate in morning formations. Without exception, the alumni felt that it is an important part of the academy experience. To operate a SUNY Maritime opened the Bouchard Transportation Co. Tug and Barge Simulation Center in 2014. The facility is a Class A bridge simulator that projects 360-degree views of waterways and can be programmed to create virtual scenarios of vessel traffic, changing weather, and reduced visibility. SEA HISTORY 166, SPRING 2019