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HELP Grant Puts Construction Program on Path to Success
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The residential construction management competition team at Jefferson State Community College | By Micah Kaufhold, Jefferson State Community College
The construction management program at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Ala., is no longer just surviving. Since the college was awarded a two-year Homebuilding Education Leadership Program (HELP) grant in January 2008, it is thriving.
The program offers more classes in residential construction, and more high school students and industry and community leaders are aware of it than ever before. More importantly, more students are enrolled in its home building courses.
As the program coordinator for the school’s Construction and Building Science Technology Department, I am pleased to report that the HELP grant has helped bring needed success to the program. The grant enabled us to boost program advertising, which increased awareness. The funds also enabled us to host a summer construction camp last summer, which attracted many area high school students.
We were also able to enhance the curriculum by adding residential construction coursework on more effective approaches to home building and the latest advances in home building technology — including green building and building information modeling (BIM). These technology courses are not just available to our advanced students, students learn about these building technologies in their first entry-level courses and throughout their coursework until they graduate.
The HELP grant has also helped broaden student participation in special activities outside the classroom.
Before the grant was awarded, the construction management program rarely participated in community or industry partnerships. Now, the school has an NAHB Student Chapter — called the Designers and Builders Club — and the grant enabled student members to attend and compete in the 2008 and 2009 Residential Construction Management Competition at the International Builders’ Show. In just two years, the club is already ranked among the top 39% of two-year college competitors.
The future of the club is bright and we expect that it will continue to make a positive impact in the community and help the program cultivate relationships with our industry partners.
Students and faculty members have been impressed with the positive changes that have taken place in the short time since the grant was awarded. “I have see this department take a 180-degree turn in the past two years,” said Jeff Fish, a second-year student in the program.
Those thoughts were echoed by Jeff Herren, an adjunct faculty member, who noticed, “an increase in enthusiasm” among the students in his classes and attributed the new student energy to “the apparent new look and direction of the department.”
Before the HELP grant was awarded, the program struggled to survive. Now, our focus is on growing and improving.
The direction and guidance initially provided through the HELP grant will carry on long after the funding has run out as this department continues to strive to improve its residential construction academic offerings, grow its enrollment and encourage student involvement in NAHB Student Chapter activities.
Jefferson State Community College is truly thankful for the funding and guidance provided through the HELP grant.
Micah Kaufhold is the program coordinator for the Construction and Bulding Science Technology Department at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Ala.
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