NIMS is pleased to announce the official accreditation of the Manufacturing Technology Program at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois!  Since first applying for accreditation earlier this year, the staff and faculty at Daley College have met NIMS standards and will continue to set the bar for exceptional metalworking training for post-secondary education in the state of Illinois.

To complete the accreditation audit, an On-Site Evaluation took place at Daley College on November 12-13, 2012, which was conducted by veteran NIMS Evaluation Team Leader Joan Cook of RICOWI in Clinton, Ohio.  Assisting Joan were Jack Krikorian of Rexam and Frank Holthouse, Machining Instructor for Leyden High School District 212, whose training program was accredited by NIMS just one year ago.

The audit included a facility inspection of the Daley College’s metalworking shop, as well as a host of in-depth interviews with students, instructors, administrators, program advisory committee members, and local employers.  Following these events, the evaluation team gathered enough evidence to recommend accreditation, giving the program very high ratings in all areas of evaluation, which include Program Purpose, Program Features, Administration, Facilities, Equipment/Tooling/Measuring Devices, Instructional Staff, and Advisory Committee.

This accreditation is in Level I Machining Skills, with an emphasis on:

• Measurement, Materials & Safety
• Job Planning, Benchwork, & Layout
• Milling I (manual)
• Grinding I
• Turning Operations: Turning Between Centers
• CNC Milling Operations
• CNC Turning Operations
• CNC Milling: Programming, Setup & Operations
• CNC Turning: Programming, Setup & Operations

Congratulations to everyone involved in this process, especially Director of Manufacturing Technology Ray Prendergast for working actively to secure this accreditation!   Special thanks to the Evaluation Team as well, without which this would not be possible!

To learn more about this program, click the link above or contact Ray Prendergast.