New England Institute of Technology is pleased to announce the opening of the newly renovated Electrical Technology (ELY) facility at the Access Road Campus.  The new electrical facility design is the result of tireless collaboration between assistant professors Mike Eggeman and Paul Westrom; Adjunct Professor and OSHA Safety Engineer, Ed Conway; Electrical Technology Department Chair, Meg McKenna; Automotive/Marine Technology Department Chair, Christopher Bannister; Patrick Tracey, Director of Auxiliary Services; and representatives from J. J. McNamara Electric, and  Dennis Leonardo Construction..

The newly renovated electrical classrooms and labs have been expanded from 4,000 sq ft to over 9,000 sq ft.  The classroom spaces will now incorporate Smart Board technology, as well as all electrical systems required to facilitate the learning of necessary skills required for today’s workplace.  In the residential/commercial wiring cubicles, students will now be able to access and work from one floor to another, as well as wire projects using a variety of circuitry that will include fire alarms and CAT 5 connections.
 
In the more expansive industrial motor control lab, students will practice new skills such as cutting and threading rigid pipe, bending and running pipe distances, and programming automation systems.  Meg McKenna, states that the new labs “will allow students to perform and practice more of the technical skills that the industry is demanding of apprentices for the job.”

J. J. McNamara Electric, Inc. of Cranston is the electrical contractor performing the necessary electrical renovations to the “A” Building on the Access Road Campus.  Owner, Bob McNamara, who is a 1981 Electrical Technology graduate, employs ELY graduates as well as current students.  Mike Giesing, Journey Electrician and Project Foreman, is a 2002 ELY graduate.  Mike feels “thrilled to give back to NEIT, in particular, the Electrical Technology program because it gave me the incentive and the direction to become a licensed electrician.”  Jim Murdocco, Jr., an apprentice at J.J. McNamara Electric, is presently attending NEIT as an evening student.  Jim is pleased to have been included in the discussions, not only in the design of the labs but also for his input into what the updated curriculum will include as a result of having more space.

This fall, the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) recommended to the Board of Trustees of NEASC to grant initial accreditation to New England Institute of Technology.  At the December 7, 2005 NEASC Board of Trustees meeting, accreditation was granted to NEIT through 2013, with an interim report due in 2009. 

Founded in 1885, The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the nation?s oldest regional accrediting association whose mission is the establishment and maintenance of high standards for all levels of education, from pre-K to doctoral level.  NEASC serves more than 2,000 public and independent schools, colleges and universities in the six states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island as well as American/International schools in more than sixty nations worldwide.

New England Tech has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges since 1982 through its Commission on Technical and Career Institutions (CTCI).  New England Tech transitioned to the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) because of a policy change at NEASC, which requires all degree granting institutions to be under CIHE. 

The accreditation process began with a self study, which offers an in-depth review of the college?s strengths and concerns in each of the 11 Standards for Accreditation of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education This fall, the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) recommended to the Board of Trustees of NEASC to grant initial accreditation to New England Institute of Technology.