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Program Mission, Goals, and Outcomes

Program Mission

The ×ö°®ÊÓƵ Institute of Technology’s Associate in Science in Welding Engineering Technology program is designed to prepare an educated entry-level welding technician with the ability to apply theory and best practices in design, welding, and fabrication.

Program Goals

Graduates from the Associate in Science Degree in Welding Engineering Technology:

1. Will have gained the knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and hands-on skills to succeed in a career in the manufacturing, design, specification, installation, testing, operation, maintenance, sales, or documentation of welded structures and products.
2. Will be able to employ communication and teamwork skills to effectively bridge the gap between professional engineers and skilled production workers.
3. Will be able to apply knowledge and a propensity for learning to continuously develop new skills and to learn about new areas needed for long-term career development, including science, engineering, and technology knowledge and communication and teamwork skills.
4. Will achieve professional employment within the broad field of welding technology or related disciplines.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of their degree, graduates of the Welding Engineering Technology degree program will be able to:

1. Apply welding theory and best practices to the analysis, design, fabrication and testing of welded metal structures and products.
2. Apply current knowledge and adapt to emerging applications of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology.
3. Apply creativity to the design of welded metal structures and products.
4. Identify, analyze and solve technical problems.
5. Commit to quality, timeliness, and continuous improvement.
6. Be competent in the use of the computer as a design, problem-solving and communications tool.

Welding Courses

The welding engineering technology associate degree program teaches the fundamentals of welding techniques, technology, tools, design, and materials, as well as various testing methods and robotic welding.

Students take technical math, communication, and other standard education programs to improve their performance in a workshop setting. During the first term of the associate degree program, students receive roughly 60 hours of formal CAD training. 

×ö°®ÊÓƵ Tech provides tools and materials, but students must purchase protective clothing to meet lab safety standards.

Students can complete the prerequisites for this six-term program in as little as 18 months.

For the latest listing of courses, please review our University Catalog.

×ö°®ÊÓƵ’s Access Road Campus offers the associate degree in welding. It is located at 110 Access Rd #65, Warwick, RI 02886.

Q&A and Technical Standards

Questions & Answers

1. When do my classes meet?Day Classes: Technical classes normally meet for at least three hours a day for up to five days a week. Classes normally begin in the early morning (7:45 a.m.), late morning (usually 11:25 a.m.), or mid-afternoon. The time slot for your program may vary from term to term.Evening Classes: Technical classes meet on the average of three nights a week, although there may be times when they will meet four nights a week. Classes normally begin at 5:45 p.m.In addition, to achieve your associate degree, you will take a total of approximately eight liberal arts courses, which will be scheduled around your technical schedule over the course of your entire program. Each liberal arts course meets approximately four hours per week. Liberal arts courses are offered days, evenings, and Saturdays.At the beginning of each term you will receive a detailed schedule giving the exact time and location of all your classes. The College requires that all students be prepared to take classes and receive services at any of ×ö°®ÊÓƵ’s locations where the appropriate classes and services are offered.When a regularly scheduled class falls on a day which is an ×ö°®ÊÓƵ observed holiday (Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Memorial Day), an alternate class will be scheduled as a make up for that class. The make-up class may fall on a Friday. It is the student’s responsibility to take note of when and where classes are offered.
2. How large will my classes be?The average size for a class is about 20 to 25 students; however, larger and smaller classes occur from time to time.
3. How much time will I spend in lab?Almost half of your technical courses consist of laboratory work. In order for you to get the most out of your laboratory experiences, you will first receive a thorough explanation of the theory behind your lab work.
4. Where do my classes meet?Students should be prepared to attend classes at any of ×ö°®ÊÓƵ’s classroom facilities: either at the Post Road, Access Road, or East Greenwich campus.
5. I have not earned my high school diploma or GED: can I enroll in an Associate Degree Program?A candidate for admission to an associate degree program must have a high school diploma, have earned a recognized equivalency diploma (GED), or meet the federal home school requirements.
6. How long should it take me to complete my program?To complete your degree requirements in the shortest possible time, you should take the courses outlined in the prescribed curriculum. For a typical six-term curriculum, a student may complete the requirements in as little as 18 months.To complete all your degree requirements in the shortest time, you should take at least one liberal arts course each term. Students who need more time to complete their curriculum may postpone some of the liberal arts courses until after the completion of the technical requirements. Students are provided up to two additional terms of study to complete the liberal arts requirements without any additional tuition assessment fee. During these additional terms of study, students are required to pay all applicable fees.Students may also elect to complete some of their liberal arts requirements during Intersession, a five-week term scheduled between Spring and Summer Quarters. Students will not be assessed any additional tuition for liberal arts courses taken during the Intersession but may be assessed applicable fees.Students wishing to extend the number of terms needed to complete the required technical courses in their curriculum will be assessed additional tuition and fees.
7. Is ×ö°®ÊÓƵ accredited?×ö°®ÊÓƵ is accredited by the ×ö°®ÊÓƵ Commission of Higher Education. Accreditation by NECHE is recognized by the federal government and entitles ×ö°®ÊÓƵ to participate in federal financial aid programs. Some academic departments have specialized professional accreditations in addition to accreditation by NECHE. For more information on accreditation, see ×ö°®ÊÓƵ’s catalog.
8. Can I transfer the credits that I earn at ×ö°®ÊÓƵ to another college?The transferability of a course is always up to the institution to which the student is transferring. Students interested in the transferability of their credits should contact the Office of Teaching and Learning for further information.
9. Can I transfer credits earned at another college to ×ö°®ÊÓƵ?Transfer credit for appropriate courses taken at an accredited institution will be considered upon receipt of an official transcript for any program, biology, science, and mathematics courses in which the student has earned a “C” or above within the past three years and for English or humanities courses in which the student has earned a “C” or above within the last ten years. An official transcript from the other institution must be received before the end of the first week of the term for transfer credit to be granted for courses to be taken during that term. Students will receive a tuition reduction for the approved technical courses based on the program rate and will be applied against the final technical term of the curriculum’s tuition amount. No tuition credit is provided for courses which are not a part of the technical curriculum.
10. What is the “Feinstein Enriching America” Program?×ö°®ÊÓƵ Institute of Technology is the proud recipient of a grant from the Feinstein Foundation. To satisfy the terms of the grant, the College has developed a one-credit community enrichment course which includes hands-on community enrichment projects. The course can be taken for a few hours per term, spread over several terms. Students who are already engaged in community enrichment on their own may be able to count that service towards course credit.
11. How many credits do I need to acquire my Financial Aid?In order to be eligible for the maximum financial aid award, you need to maintain at least 12 credits per academic term.
12. What does my program cost?The cost of your program will be as outlined in your enrollment agreement, along with your cost for books and other course materials. Students who decide to take more terms than the enrollment agreement describes to complete the technical courses in their curriculum will be subject to additional fees and possible additional tuition costs. Students who elect to take the technical portion of the degree requirements at a rate faster than the rate prescribed in the curriculum and the enrollment agreement will be assessed additional tuition.Students who require prerequisite courses will incur additional tuition and fees above those outlined in their enrollment agreement.If a student elects to take a course(s) outside of the prescribed curriculum, additional tuition and fees will be assessed.Remember, students who withdraw and re-enter, one time only, pay the tuition rate that was in effect for them at the time of their last day of attendance for up to one year from their last day of attendance. Second re-entries and beyond pay the tuition rate in effect at the time they re-enter. The most economical way for you to complete your college degree is to begin your program now and continue your studies straight through for the six terms necessary to complete your degree requirements.
13. What kind of employment assistance does ×ö°®ÊÓƵ offer?The Career Services Office assists ×ö°®ÊÓƵ students and graduates in all aspects of the job search, including resume writing, interviewing skills, and developing a job search strategy. Upon completion of their program, graduates may submit a resume to the Career Services Office to be circulated to employers for employment opportunities in their fields. Employers regularly contact us about our graduates. In addition, our Career Services Office contacts employers to develop job leads. A strong relationship with employers exists as a result of our training students to meet the needs of industry for over fifty years. No school can, and ×ö°®ÊÓƵ does not, guarantee to its graduates’ employment or a specific starting salary.
14. Where will job opportunities exist?Graduates have obtained employment in the local area. However, one of the most exciting aspects of this program is the ability to look nationally for employment opportunities.
15. Is there any state or federal licensing required in my field?No licensing is required for any of the careers which you will be preparing to enter.
16. What kind of jobs will I be qualified to look for?You will be qualified to obtain entry-level positions such as:
    • Welding Engineering Technician
    • Industrial Engineering Technician
    • Quality Control Engineering Technician
    • CADD Designer
    • CADD Technician
    • Welding Industry Salesman
    • Materials Testing Technician
    • Production Welder

     

     

17. How much time will I spend on Computer Assisted Drafting (CAD)?You will receive approximately 60 hours of formal training on CAD during the first term of your program.
18. Are there any additional costs/activities associated with this program?×ö°®ÊÓƵ Tech supplies tools and materials, but students are required to buy protective clothing to ensure their safety in the lab.

Technical Standards

These technical standards set forth by the Welding Engineering Technology Department, establishes the essential qualities considered necessary for students admitted to this program to achieve the knowledge, skills and competencies to enter these fields. The successful student must possess the following skills and abilities or be able to demonstrate that they can complete the requirements of the program with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.

Cognitive Ability

• Ability to concentrate for long periods of time and retain information on intricate details of component theory and analysis of engineering design and operation of computers and machinery.
• Ability to deal with materials and problems such as organizing or reorganizing information.
• Ability to use abstractions in specific concrete situations.
• Ability to break information into its component parts.
• Ability to understand spatial relationships.
• Possession of basic math skills through addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers and fractions using both the U.S. and Metric systems of measurement.
• Ability to perform tasks by observing demonstrations.
• Ability to perform tasks by following written instructions.
• Ability to perform tasks following verbal instructions.

Communications Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively with faculty and students.
• Ability to demonstrate and use the knowledge acquired during the classroom training process and in the lab setting.

Adaptive Ability

• Ability to maintain emotional stability and the maturity necessary to interact with other members of the faculty and students in a responsible manner.

Physical Ability

• An ability to work in a standing, sitting, squatting, kneeling, or lying position
• An ability to lift, lower, push, and pull using both arms and legs.
• Ability to lift objects weighing up to 35 pounds.
• Ability to stand on a hard surface, usually concrete, for 4-6 hours at a time.
• Sufficient upper body strength to carry 20 pounds.
• Sufficient strength and agility to lift equipment and move large pieces of equipment independently.
• Sufficient strength and agility to grasp and maintain tension for long periods of time.
• Ability to wear and tolerate ear plugs, safety glasses and other protective equipment.
• Ability to perform learned skills, independently, with accuracy and completeness within reasonable time frames in accordance with procedures.

Manual Ability

• Ability to manipulate wrenches, screwdrivers, and other tools.
• Sufficient motor function and sensory abilities to participate effectively in the classroom laboratory.
• Sufficient manual dexterity and motor coordination to coordinate hands, eyes and fingers in the operation of tools and other equipment.

Sensory Ability

• Visual
  • Visual ability, with or without correction, to enable the student to differentiate tools and instruments, wires, and components.
  • Acute enough to read dials, and position of control settings of measurement and industrial equipment.
  • Acute enough to read small print.
  • Acute enough to read small numbers on precision measuring instruments.
• Auditory
  • Acute enough to hear and understand words spoken by others in an environment with a high level of noise in the background.