News September 15, 2011 |
Sustainability certificate offered at Meramec Students prepare for a green future through free certification courses CLINTON BORROR STAFF WRITER STLCC-Meramec will offer free classes in sustainable environmental design, available for those who qualify. In 2009, The Pew Charitable Trusts released a report that found jobs in the clean energy economy grew at a national rate of 9.1 percent between 1997 and 2007. The five courses offered are part of the 16-credit-hour Sustainable Environmental Design Certificate of Specialization. The certificate is pending approval from the Missouri Department of Higher Education. Courses that are part of the certificate will prepare students for U.S. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s (LEED) Green Associate Exam. “This is really a growing field, and it’s almost a necessity in interior design and architecture that you pass the exam,” said Erin LeClerc, interior design program coordinator. Dennis Dill, who instructs the Sustainable Materials and Technologies Built Environment course, said passing the Green Associate Exam proves a higher level of understanding and may help with obtaining employment in the field.
Courses are each half of a semester long and the certificate can be completed within a year. “[In my course], we talk about lighting, heating, cooling and fixtures that use little or no water,” Dill said. “Creating views of the outside, natural lighting and ventilation—these are all aspects of sustainable construction.” The course will teach students about materials and technologies involved in sustainable construction. Such materials would have a high percentage of recycled content and would not release volatile chemicals. They would be made from rapidly renewable materials and the sources would be locally or regionally owned. “Ideally, they’d be designed and created within a 500 mile radius, and in the Midwest, that is a very easy thing for us to do,” Dill said. Dill said testing is mostly done online through Blackboard, links and videos. Furthermore, LeClerc said each class will be free the first two times it is offered. Courses were free this semester, as well as spring 2012.
LeClerc said students must be in an education program or have experience in architecture, interior, landscape design or some type of construction field.
Two of the five courses offered this semester, Archaeology 102 and Archaeology 125, are filled beyond their original enrollment capacity. LeClerc said the courses filled within a day after the information session held during the summer.
“[Students] need to be able to draft floor plans and come up with design solutions, and you need the fundamentals of drafting in order to do that, or an understanding of construction,” LeClerc said.
For more information, Erin LeClerc can be reached at 314-984-7156 or eleclerc@stlcc.edu.
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Harris said the document imaging system would eliminate some of the students waiting in line without the proper documentation. She said another problem is students looking for information that could have been accessed on Blackboard. According to Wasson one of the big differences between when he was in college and now is students wouldn’t have waited until the last minute, coming in a week before classes start. He said the fall registration deadline would be in the spring. “Lines aren’t new,” Wasson said.
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Wasson said among other things the ultimate goal is to allow students to be able to view a “check list” on Banner Self Service so students can find out where they are in the auditing process.
Wasson said although the wait outside financial aid has shortened, “they’re still processing things down there.” “Working with students is not hard,” part time Financial Aid Personnel Sarah Steiner said. “It can be stressful. Working with paperwork is tedious.”
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Continued from page 1 “We can always use the extra help,” said Jessica Harris, full-time student services assistant. “But it would be nice if we could get rid of some of the auditing.”
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St. Louis Louis Community Community College—Meramec College - Meramec St. November 3, 2010 October 27, 2011
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