Ribbon-cutting ceremonies on October 14th and 29th of 1999 marked the openings of four more Tech Prep hubs in the areas of mechanical design, medical assisting, and information systems technology. The hubs, located in Forest City, Britt, Garner and Mason City, join the Automotive Technology Hub at Clear Lake and the Manufacturing Technology Hub at NIACC’s Murphy Center.

Cisco Chairman Helps Dedicate Information Technology Hub

John P. Morgridge, Chairman of the Board for Cisco Systems, Inc., was the guest of honor for the dedication of the Information Systems Technology (IST) Tech Prep Hub at Mason City High School on October 14. He was also the guest speaker for a luncheon which followed on the NIACC campus.

A $12 billion company, Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. The company sells its products - which includes routers, LAN and ATM switches, dial-up access servers and network management software - in over 100 countries.

"This program speaks to the fact that the greatest investment that one can make is in a human life," said Morgridge. "In a very real sense, this program is going to change lives – hopefully make them richer, hopefully make them more productive, and hopefully make them more interesting."

The IST Tech Prep Hub program at Mason City High School, which 20 students began in the fall, allows the students to complete the first year of NIACC’s IST program by the time they graduate from high school.

Garner-Hayfield, Forest City, and West Hancock community school districts have joined hands to offer a suite of new programs to their students. The schools recently opened three Tech Prep Hubs - a Mechanical Design Hub in Forest City, a Medical Assistant Hub in Britt, and an Information Systems Technology Hub in Garner. The hubs were officially dedicated during ribbon-cutting ceremonies on October 29, 1999.

Students from the schools may attend any of the hubs, and other area high schools are welcome to join the partnership. Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka, for instance, sends students to the hubs through a sharing agreement with the Forest City Community School District.

The Hancock County Memorial Hospital and the Britt Medical Clinic make the clinical aspect of the new Medical Assistant program possible. Students receive clinical skill instruction in the newly renovated Britt Medical Clinic.

A $500,000 gift from the Elizabeth Muse Norris Charitable Fund has helped defray the start-up costs of the Information Systems Technology program on the NIACC campus and at the hub sites at Mason City High School and Garner-Hayfield High School.

Cisco Systems has played a critical role in the establishment of the new IST programs. The company not only provided an incredible discount on the necessary computer equipment, but it provided the curriculum leadership and training required to launch such offerings. The IST program prepares students for certification by Cisco, as well as Novell and Microsoft.

Winnebago Industries has helped keep the Mechanical Design curriculum on the cutting edge. Within the past few years, the Forest City-based company, along with affiliated foundations, contributed $90,000 to NIACC’s Murphy Manufacturing Technology Center. Winnebago also arranged for the College to receive free Unigraphics software, which allows students to create and design 3D parts to be modeled for engineering and manufacturing. Mech Design Tech Prep students use the software package during their second-year classes on the NIACC campus.

Business

• Information Systems Technology
• Accounting Clerk with Computers
• General Secretary
• Legal Secretary
• Medical Secretary/Transcriptionist
• Retail Management

Health

• Medical Assistant
• Medical Secretary/Transcriptionist

Industrial Technology

• Automotive Service Technology
• Building Trades
• Climate Control
• Electronics Technology
• Mechanical Design
• General Machinist
• Tool & Die Technology