Ribbon cutting image

Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 12 PM (noon)

This amazing facility is equipped with new, state-of-the-art classrooms that will train students for high-demand jobs and prepare them to become productive leaders in our community. Featured programs include: Nursing, Allied Health, Pre-Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, Emergency Medical Services, and Sciences.

Building L Virtual Tour

Ribbon Cutting at Building L on the Verde Valley Campus

Dr Rhine ribbon cutting

The newly renovated Building L on Yavapai College's (YC's) Verde Valley Campus has created new, state-of-the-art classrooms that will train students for high-demand jobs and prepare them to become productive leaders in our community. Ultimately, six programs will be taught in Building L: Nursing, Allied Health, Pre-Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, Emergency Medical Services, and Sciences. Classes are open to all residents of the Verde Valley.

The Simulation Training Labs

Sim lab

The Simulation Training Labs (Sim Labs) in Building L will accommodate multiple programs taught at YC including Nursing, Emergency Medical Services and Allied Health. Training mannequins are programmed with real-life medical scenarios that allow students to ask the mannequins questions, take vital signs, hook them up to hospital equipment—they can even simulate the delivery of a baby! The simulations are recorded and played-back so students can see where they made mistakes and correct them before going into a clinical setting with real patients. All the 280+ YC nursing students will come to the Verde Valley Campus to train at the Sim Labs.

EMT and Paramedic Training

EMS

EMT and Paramedic students will also use the Sim Labs for medical procedures specific to those programs. Michael Nelson, YC's Emergency Medical Services Program Director, says, "The simulation training technology allows our students to keep pace with the rapid growth and demand for skilled health professionals in Yavapai County." Four types of simulation trainings are available: standardized patients and teaching associates, human patient simulations, task trainers, and computerized simulation. YC faculty received 40 hours of training each before teaching simulation training in the classroom.

Phlebotomy Students

Phelebotomy students

Local high school students get hands-on training in Allied Health careers, such as Phlebotomy, in the newly renovated Building L classrooms.

"Fab Lab"

Printing computers

Also housed in Building L is a new "Fab Lab" where students majoring in Pre-Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing receive hands-on training on the most advanced manufacturing equipment available including CNC machines, manual machines, 3D printers of various types, a 3D Scanner, and a plasma cutter.

Applied Pre-engineering exposes students to the different fields of engineering. Students take electronics and robotics the first year and mechanical engineering and mass manufacturing in the second year.

Students can get certified with the manufacturers of the equipment they use in class, which can lead to higher paying entry-level jobs. "Manufacturing machine operator jobs are in high demand in the Verde Valley," says Michael Schaible, YC CNC Machining and Manufacturing instructor and a local business owner.

"We have trouble finding the trained operators we need to run the CNC machines in our local shops and YC students will now be able to fill those jobs," he says.

Previously, such courses were only offered at YC's Career Technology Education Center (CTEC) in Prescott, but this lab allows students living in the Verde Valley and Sedona to take classes much closer to home.

Students can also transfer to an engineering program at Arizona State University (ASU). The cost of YC's Pre-Engineering program is much lower compared to similar programs taught at a state university and covers many engineering practices.

Most universities do not have students working on the types of equipment YC has and they definitely do not have the low 3-to-1 student-to-equipment ratio that YC offers. Liz Peters, who teaches courses in robotics and electronics says, "The YC students that transfer to ASU have a 93 percent retention rate, they are better prepared, they are chosen to be assistants in the fabrication labs because they have already used all the machines, and many receive undergraduate internships that are typically reserved for Junior or Senior research projects."

The opening of Building L on YC's Verde Valley Campus gives residents many reasons for celebration.