NJATC College Credit and Degree Programs: An Overview

Since its founding in 1941, NECA-IBEW’s National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Program (NJATC) has promoted the value of life-long learning by providing exceptional educational opportunities to encourage the personal growth of NECA-IBEW members and the betterment of the industry.

Because of the increasing complexity of electrical construction, today’s NJATC course work closely parallels a traditional college curriculum. Accordingly, NJATC has worked with a variety of educational institutions in recent years to allow apprentices to gain college credit for completed NJATC course work, including the recognition and transfer of these credits toward two- and four-year degrees.

A brief overview of these programs is presented below.

Accumulation of College Credits

ACE Credits
These are semester-hour credits recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) as college credit equivalencies for the completion of rigorous training courses and apprenticeship programs that have been reviewed and registered by the Council. All NJATC apprenticeships are registered with ACE, which re-evaluates its credit recommendations every five years.

ACE currently recommends awarding up to 55 semester credit hours for completion of NJATC’s inside wireman apprenticeship program, 37 hours for the telecom/IT systems program, 25 hours for the lineman program, and 17 credit hours for the residential electrician program. Three additional semester credits are also recommended for those completing the NJATC Technical Math Course.

Credit hours are accrued for specific courses taken, and typically recorded on a cumulative ACE transcript following completion of each apprenticeship year. Students apply through the NJATC for credit-hour documentation from the American Council on Education.

Actual credits are conferred when accepted toward a degree or certificate program at an accredited college or university. Journeymen can also obtain ACE credits for course work previously undertaken as NJATC apprentices.

Approximately 1,700 colleges and universities are ACE members. All accept ACE credits, as do many non-member educational institutions. Colleges may limit or exceed the granting of ACE-recommended credits in accordance with their individual admission policies and departmental program requirements. There is no cost associated with the ACE credit program beyond a $45 registration fee and $10 for each transcript request.

Associate Degree Programs

NJATC/Local College Links
Approximately 120 local JATC training centers have pre-arranged agreements with local community colleges allowing for apprenticeship courses to be credited toward an associate’s degree, usually in construction technology or construction management.

Most of these programs require apprentices to complete additional general education courses to meet the institution’s core curriculum requirements for granting an associate’s degree. The cost of an NJATC-linked community college degree is quite low, consisting primarily of tuition fees for any general education or other courses needed to complete an associate’s degree. Recent statistics suggest that tuition and fees at two-year colleges average around $125 per semester hour for local residents.

Online Degree
NJATC also offers an Internet-based program with Pellissippi State Technical Community College in Knoxville, Tenn., which allows apprentices from any local JATC center to enroll and earn an associate of applied science (AAS) or an associate of science (AS) degree through the completion of online courses. A total of 65 semester credit hours is required for graduation. Pellissippi will apply ACE and other college credits toward this total, but requires that at least 20 online hours be acquired through Pellissippi. Program participants must meet Pellissippi’s basic admission requirements prior to enrollment.

Cost of the program varies according to the number of courses the student must take to complete the associate’s degree program. For the 2003-2004 school year, online tuition at Pellissippi was approximately $110 per semester hour for in-state students, and $350 per credit hour for out-of-state students. Online students are considered out-of-state unless they reside in Tennessee.

Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Online Degree – Construction Management
Effective for the fall of 2003, NJATC began offering an online bachelor’s degree program in cooperation with Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). Under the program, MTSU will accept and give full credit for Pellissippi’s AS degree toward earning a bachelor of science degree in construction management. The availability of the NJATC-MTSU program is not limited to Pellissippi program graduates. MTSU officials will evaluate ACE credits, other college credits and work experience of any NJATC apprentice or journeyman toward placement in the four-year online program.

Overall, the MTSU online bachelor’s degree requires completion of 132 semester hours, of which 33 hours must be taken through MTSU. The Pellissippi State AS degree will be credited at 60 hours and deemed as meeting MTSU’s general education requirements. Cost of the program varies according to the number of courses the student must take to complete the bachelor’s degree, but reflects the higher tuition costs normally associated with a four-year institution. For the 2003-2004 school year, online tuition at MTSU was approximately $190 per semester hour for in-state students, and $535 per credit hour for out-of-state students. Online students are generally considered to be out-of-state unless residing in Tennessee. However, a reduction in out-of-state fees is available to residents of certain Southeastern states.

Online Degree – Human Resource Development
For NECA-IBEW members who devote the bulk of their professional time to training others, or are interested in the education and training side of electrical construction, NJATC offers a special online bachelor’s degree program in human resource development from the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville.

The program requires the completion of 54 semester hours from an accredited postsecondary institution prior to enrollment, including specific English composition and math courses. The University of Tennessee does not recognize ACE credits, but may award up to 30 semester hour credits for relevant life/work experience. Once accepted into the program, students are required to complete at least 9 credit hours per academic year. Overall, the online degree requires that 30 semester hours be taken through UT. Two courses require one-week completion sessions on the UT-Knoxville campus. For convenience, these completion courses are regularly offered around the time of the NJATC’s National Training Institute program, which is held in Knoxville each summer.

Cost of the program varies according to the number of courses the student must undertake to complete the bachelor’s degree. UT tuition for the 2003-2004 academic year was approximately $165 per semester hour for in-state students, and $525 for out-of-state students. Online students are classified as out-of-state unless residing in Tennessee.

Note: The UT, MTSU and Pellissippi degrees are fully accredited through the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools.