Process Technology

Return to: Programs of Study

Overview

At Bellingham Technical College [link to About BTC page], the Process Technology Program will prepare you for a position as a process technician or operator for employers in power generation, refining, manufacturing, and many other industries. Process technicians work to ensure the safety standards of production and assembly lines, and oversee quality for an employer’s processes. Currently, our primary employers in Washington State are the four refineries in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Graduates have also gone to work in other water treatment, power generation, and manufacturing facilities in our region, across Washington State, and beyond.

Manufacturing is the most diverse sector of the U.S. economy, from the immense variety of goods produced to the technology used to create them. Turning ideas and materials into valuable products requires highly skilled employees who are trained in advanced manufacturing. BTC’s programs in advanced manufacturing are ideal for students with mechanical aptitude or a strong foundation in math, science, and technology. You’ll learn skills needed for a career in high demand, dynamic industries such as manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology, and energy

Program Outcomes

• Appraise the typical hazards found in process plants, basic PPE, and know the requirements of regulating bodies regarding safety, health, and environmental issues (OSHA, DOT, EPA).
• Combine mathematics, chemistry physics theory to apply to process applications such as fluid flow, the nature of heat, chemical reaction, boing points, vapor pressure and electrical currents.
• Recognize typical organizational structures, economics, and quality control systems of the process industry.
• Apprise fundamentals of refining and power generation processes; know core functions and principles of operation of typical process equipment such as pumps, compressors, filters and dryers, lubrication systems, valves, piping systems, and draw from memory Process Flow Diagrams.
• Integrate the principles of process automatic control and Data Control Systems (DSC) to manage simulated DCS scenarios.
• Graduates will have the ability to compare actual process plant experience versus preconceived notions.

Program Entry Information

Program Start

• This program has rolling admission.

Testing Requirements

These requirements are for the AAS degree and are lower than those for the AAS-T degree. Please see the AAS-T Entry Page for AAS-T requirements.

• ACCUPLACER Algebra score of 75 or a C grade in MATH 098  .
• ACCUPLACER Reading Comprehension score of 71 or a C grade in RDG 085  , and ACCUPLACER Sentence Skills score of 71 or a C grade in ENGL 092  .
• CAP 101 with C grade or higher OR passing scores in the Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3) test battery or successful completion of Digitools or Tech Connections completed at Whatcom County high schools.

Degree and Certificate Requirements

Process Technology AAS Degree and Certificate completion requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater and minimum grade of C/2.0 for AMATH 111  course. AAS-T Degree requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater and minimum grade of C/2.0 for all academic courses.

Programs

• Process Technology, AAS

• Process Technology, AAS-T

• Process Technology Certificate

Return to: Programs of Study