ECU to provide tech classes at MCAS Cherry Point
East Carolina University and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point have signed an agreement that will allow ECU to teach face-to-face classes in industrial technology, and distribution and logistics on the base.
Chancellor Philip Rogers and Col. Mikel Huber, commanding officer at Cherry Point, signed a memorandum of understanding during a base ceremony on Friday.
“We are excited to offer the Bachelor of Science in industrial distribution and logistics and the B.S. in industrial technology degree programs at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,” Rogers said. “Designed to accommodate working professionals and the military, these degree programs offer maximum flexibility for students to be enrolled in academic programs while maintaining their personal and professional obligations. This agreement is fully aligned with our mission and is an important step in our commitment to strengthen ties with the Marine Corps in the region.”
The face-to-face classes offered through ECU’s Department of Technology Systems will be available to active-duty personnel, reservists, eligible retired military personnel and Department of Defense employees.
Dr. Harry Ploehn, dean of the College of Engineering and Technology, said ECU would staff an office in Cherry Point’s Jerry Marvel Training and Education building and may be able to offer some eight-week block classes as early as the middle of the spring semester.
“We’re going to be offering some of the foundational courses for these programs face-to-face,” he said. “As students progress and gain confidence and potentially move on if they are transitioning out of the military or being transferred, they’ll be able to continue those degree programs online wherever they are.”
Ploehn said the industrial technology as well as the distribution and logistics programs can help military personnel and Department of Defense employees enhance their current careers or help them transition to jobs in the growing pharmaceutical, manufacturing, boat building and aviation sectors in eastern North Carolina.
The BSIT program offers eight concentrations, six of which can be completed entirely online. Concentrations include information and computer technology, industrial supervision, manufacturing systems, distribution and logistics, bioprocess manufacturing, health information technologies, architectural technology and mechanical technology.
ECU’s industrial distribution and logistics program provides the study of a variety of functions performed by managers who coordinate the movement of goods, services and information throughout the world. Areas of study include supply chain management, warehousing, transportation, industrial sales, inventory management, strategic pricing and purchasing.
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