Program Well Underway

The College of Southern Idaho Wind Energy and Environmental Technology programs are well underway, with over 20 students registered for Fall semester. Major accomplishments to date:

• Hire of Mark Goodman, program instructor. Mark becomes the primary contact for the program and advisor to interested students and industry partners. He brings many years of industrial electrical experience along with business connections as president-elect of the Twin Falls Chamber of Commerce.
• Completion of the LTA (Ladder Training Apparatus). According to industry partners, CSI has designed and constructed the preeminent industrial climbing and safety apparatus in North America.
• Certification of all 21 students in climbing safety and rescue. All students have completed training in conjunction with Syntech Safety Solutions and made a successful tower climb, with many thanks to Suzlon and John Deere.
• Completion of training facility. We are now moving slowly into our newly remodeled training facility on the CSI Madrona Property near Harmon Park.

Work continues on the lab in terms of designing and implementing mock-ups of donated and purchased equipment.

For more information, contact Mark Goodman, Ross Spackman, Terry Patterson, or Dr. Todd Schwarz.

July Update

We are pleased to announce the hire of our Wind Energy Technician program instructor, Mark Goodman. Mark is a proven leader and organizational developer in the industrial electrical industry and has hit the ground running. He will be involved in various coordination and planning activities until his specific courses begin September 21. Courses preceding those will be taught by adjunct faculty and industry partners.

There are still some spots available as of today in both the Wind Energy Technician program and the Environmental Technology program. Please call the Advising Center for registration information.

Suzlon Corporation has donated a wind turbine blade to the College that will be utilized for both instruction and visual impact. The 150' six ton blade is tentatively scheduled to arrive on campus August 7.

Another green jobs article

Here's another article from Outside Magazine regarding green jobs and training.

Environmental Technology

We're getting a lot of questions about and interest in the new Environmental Technology program. Again, you're encouraged to read the FAQ for more information. In addition, this article from a WIRED blog may be of interest regarding employment potential.

Registration open for Wind Energy and Environmental Technology

Registration is now open for Wind Energy Technician and Environmental Technology. Please see the related posts and FAQ. The typical fall courses for most students will be:

• WIND 101
  Introduction to Wind Energy
• INDM 101
  Industrial Safety
• INDM 105
  Industrial Tools and Equipment
• WIND 105
  Wind Turbine/Tower Safety (wind students only, requires permission)
• INDT 110
  Fundamentals of Electricity/Electronics
• INDT 112
  AC Electrical Circuits 1
• INDT 114
  DC Electrical Circuits 1
• ENGL 101
  English Composition (depending on English placement)
• MATH 108
  Intermediate Algebra (depending on math placement)

Contact the Advising Center for more information on placement testing, admissions, and registration.

Advising now, registration opens Monday

We are now ready to advise and assist you for entry into the Wind Energy Technician and Environmental Technology programs for fall 2009. For this to happen, you must have either Compass or ACT placement scores as documentation of meeting mathematics prerequisites. As posted here last week, you must have algebra competency at the Beginning Algebra (MATH 025) level (ready for Intermediate Algebra) as of August 2009 to register for fall classes.

At this time we are giving priority to full time students and on a first-come, first served basis. Students wishing to register for fall must meet the minimum criteria mentioned above, and must speak with an advisor to secure permission to register for the Tower Safety and Rescue course.

We are encouraging those interested to contact an advisor, review math placement, and receive permission for the safety course so that you are cleared to register on Monday. If you are registering online, your placement scores will be checked for prerequisite requirements. We strongly recommend that you consult with an advisor. Todd Schwarz, Terry Patterson, and the entire Advising Center staff will be able to assist you, but you must have placement scores prior to registering for classes.

Advising Center: 208.732.6250
Todd Schwarz: 208.732.6325
Terry Patterson: 208.732.6402

Donated turbine arrives

The Times-News (our local newspaper) covered the arrival of the donated Lewindowsky turbine and tower sections. Here is a video description along with the actual story.