Wallace State Community College to offer new Transportation Management option during Fall 2014 semester

HANCEVILLE, ALA. –Wallace State Community College has developed a strong relationship with local trucking and transportation businesses over the last few years.
Wallace State’s newest course option in Transportation Management, set to begin for the first time during the fall 2014 semester, has been established with hopes of fulfilling a need those specific companies and others are seeking to fill on a consistent basis.
“Based on the surrounding areas and the things we hear from the trucking industry, there is a tremendous need for people to be educated in logistics or transportation management. We are excited to offer this opportunity to our students,” said Wallace State Business Department Chair Kathy Sides.
Students who choose to embark on a Transportation Management option can do so as they work to achieve an associate in applied science degree.  Courses to make up the new Wallace State concentration consist of History of Transportation (TRT 101), Regulation of Transportation (TRT 102), Industrial Traffic Management (TRT 103), Transportation and Distribution Logistics (TRT 104), Freight Loss and Damage Claims (TRT 213), Import/Export Transportation Management (TRT 214), Transportation of Hazardous Materials (TRT 218) Traffic and Transportation Workshop (TRT 190), Tracking Systems (TRT 210) and Directed Studies in Traffic/Transportation (TRT 220).
The Transportation Management option is made up of 27 semester hours and also requires an additional 15 credit hours of core business classes, plus general required courses.
History of Transportation and Regulation of Transportation will be the initial classes offered this fall.
Transportation Management responsibilities encompass a broad landscape, ranging from serving as an office manager to a transportation safety specialist to an accounts receivable specialist, among many other possibilities. One might oversee a transportation department and its employees, manage operational aspects at a company, guarantee goods move through the proper channels or supervise shipments.
Wallace State’s newest program offering was sparked by the strong rapport Wallace State’s Diesel Mechanics program has fostered with area trucking and transportation companies.
As those relationships have blossomed, representatives from entities like R.E. Garrison Trucking, Action Resources and My-Way Transportation, all located in Cullman County, have expressed their wishes to Wallace State about fulfilling the need each has in transportation management fields. Wallace State learned of those requests through an advisory committee formed in recent years by the diesel mechanics program.
A handful of Wallace State instructors—representing both the academic and technical divisions—and Wallace State Dean of Applied Technologies Jimmy Hodges met with Action Resources last September to share ideas and goals about future endeavors, including the college proposing the Transportation Management degree.
“Our Transportation Management idea all sort of took off after that. Action Resources covered everything it is looking for and we covered everything we have to offer our students here. Even though it a trucking company, we realized Action Resources needs a variety of employees. They need welders, they need diesel mechanics, they need those in computer science and they need the right office personnel,” Sides said. “We want to make sure we can graduate students who fill all of those needs, for all of the local industries. If we have people sitting in our backdoor telling us this is what they need, then we felt like we needed to try our best to do it.”
R.E. Garrison Trucking has expressed its support for Wallace State’s new Transportation Management option.
“The transportation industry has grown immensely within today’s workforce. This has created a great need in our industry to develop and sustain trained and educated employees. The course of study proposed by Wallace State is essential to meeting the needs of our growing industry. We strongly believe that there is not only a need, but a demand for a course of study dedicated to our field,” R.E. Garrison CFO and general manager Shane McMinn said. “We are excited about the efforts Wallace State has put forth to develop a degree plan catered to our business environment. A skilled and educated workforce is essential to meet our industry’s ever-changing demands.”
Sides said only one other community college in Alabama offers anything similar to Wallace State’s new venture into Transportation Management.
Wallace State’s Hodges has visited many of the area transportation companies and feels the opportunities are abundant for any student interested in the field.
“The initial feedback we are hearing from companies has been great. They are excited about us putting this program in place. They say it’s been needed for a long time,” Hodges said. “When you see trucks running up and down the road, the economy is moving. It means there is something positive going on. Trucks pass up and down the interstate in Cullman each day, and jobs are available at those companies right here within the county. All of these transportation companies believe people from all over the state will be interested in our new course option.”
Hodges visualizes the Transportation Management option attracting a variety of students.
“I think you’ll see diesel technology students enroll in some of these classes along with others in our technical division. I really believe the student population is going to be people currently working at a transportation company who may need some classes to help get them a job or promotion they want or a business major looking to see the opportunities available there.”
Priority registration for the fall 2014 semester is underway and continues through mid-August. For more information about the Transportation Management degree program, contact Sides at 256.352.8126.
For more information aboutWallace State, visit wallacestate.edu.
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
1-866-350-9722    256-352-8443 direct
256-339-2422 cell
Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu