Description of Request

Submitted By: Stephanie Gray, Dean of Gallatin College

Currently, the Gallatin College welding lab is an off-site leased space at Bozeman High School. Gallatin College is only able to utilize this lab space after 4pm. Therefore, with this schedule the program cannot grow, nor can we add any additional sections.  Furthermore, as the Agriculture Education Department grows there is a need for Gallatin College to offer additional sections of Welding, both to Gallatin College students and Agriculture Education students, which makes the need for an additional welding lab on campus even more prevalent. Additionally, to increase MSU enrollment Gallatin College would like to offer new welding courses that can be taken as community service courses. This will require additional welding lab space on campus because the existing welding lab at Bozeman High is maxed out. 

The Welding Program and welding courses are very popular at Gallatin College, and for the past 6 years Gallatin College has had wait-listed students to enter into the program. Gallatin College would like to fully enroll all interested students, but before this can happen Gallatin College needs to secure additional welding lab space. A new caveat that will add increased pressure to this welding program is the growth goals of the the Agriculture Education Department, which means that Gallatin College will need to offer additional sections of welding to Gallatin College students, Agriculture Education students as well as some MSU students. Currently, Gallatin College offers one additional section of WLDG 110 and 111 for MSU students; this maxes out the leased Bozeman High School welding lab. As Agriculture Education reaches its enrollment goals there will be additional demands for more welding lab space.

Resolution

Date: June 5th, 2020

Space Management Committee unanimously approved the shared use of the welding lab located in Barnard 132 for use by Mechanical Engineering, Gallatin College, and Agricultural Education.