Thursday, November 12, 2009

SWFC Reaches Record Enrollment

Fort Myers, Fla. (November 5, 2009) – One new campus, five new programs, a Virtual school, and 2,300 students are swelling Southwest Florida College’s enrollment statistics.

"The school’s overall 28 percent increase compared to last year is spread across all of its divisions," said Dr. Stephen Calabro, Executive Vice President for Southwest Florida College.

The most significant increase came at the combined Southwest Florida College Fort Myers campus and Institute of Interior Design at Southwest Florida College in Estero, where 1,573 students enrolled this term, compared to 1,269 last year. The second largest enrollment spike came at the six-month-old Port Charlotte campus, where 197 students enrolled, compared to just 31 during its opening term in February. The Tampa campus swelled to 505 students, compared to 495 in the fall term last year. And the Southwest Florida College online division enrolled its 200th fully online student.

Program enrollments are especially strong in health care, which enrolled 821 students this year compared to the 573 that entered last year. Other programs that have shown considerable growth include Legal and Information Technology, which gained an additional 45 and 33 new students respectively.

The new Southwest Florida College bachelor’s degree program in Health Care Administration has gained traction and has enrolled 20 students in its first term being offered. Other new programs have been added to the Port Charlotte campus offerings and include a Crime Scene Investigation Diploma, and three new associate degree programs in Criminal Justice, Early Childhood and Management and Marketing. The Port Charlotte campus is expanding. Construction is expected to be completed by the Winter Term and will include added classroom space and laboratories.

Southwest Florida College is an accredited, private institution of higher learning centrally located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte, and includes the Institute of Interior Design located within the Miromar Design Center in Estero. The College offers programs in Allied Health, Business, Design, Education, Information Technology and Legal Studies. Its mission is to provide educational opportunities for individuals to acquire knowledge and skills that will help prepare them for rewarding careers in fields with high growth potential. For more information, call toll free 888-526-7973 or visit www.instituteofinteriordesign.com.

IID Students Take First and Second Place

Estero, Fla., (October 1, 2009) – Two interior design students from the Institute of Interior Design at Southwest Florida College won first and second place prizes at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) 30th annual Florida Student Design Award ceremony held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples, Fla., on Friday, September 25.

"This is the first competition our students have been entered in, and the first of many they will win," said Linda Petersen, Program Manager of Interior Design for the Institute of Interior Design.

The competition was open to all interior design students in the state of Florida. Contestants included students from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Miami International University, American InterContinental University, International Academy of Design, Ringling College of Art and Design and Florida State University.

Contestant’s work consisted of client profiles and design concepts. Students of the Institute of Interior Design at Southwest Florida College submitted projects that were completed in their Sophomore Project class, which consisted of an all inclusive design job. Students met with clients, presented their scope of work, provided contracts and budget requirements then completed their jobs by providing architectural changes and drawings, lighting plans and design and decorating specifications.

First place winner, Tina Spaulding, from the Institute of Interior Design earned a check for $750. Sandra Dressler, also from the Institute of Interior Design, received a check for $500. Third place winner was Maria Martinez DeCampo, from Florida State University, who received a check for $250. All winners were presented with their checks and certificates of achievement by Susan Morgan, President of the ASID. The winner’s work will be published in the national ASID magazine.

Petersen said she was proud to be associated with the "visionaries" at the International Design Center, where the Institute of Interior Design campus is located. "Our students are truly inspired every day, and they are showing it."

Southwest Florida College is an accredited, private institution of higher learning centrally located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte, and includes the Institute of Interior Design located within the Miromar Design Center in Estero. The College has been providing post secondary education to Floridians since 1974 and offers programs in Allied Health, Business, Design, Education, Information Technology and Legal Studies. Its mission is to provide educational opportunities for individuals to acquire knowledge and skills that will help prepare them for rewarding careers in fields with high growth potential. For more information call toll-free 888-526-7973 or visit http://www.instituteofinteriordesign.com/.

Architect to Teach High-Demand Revit Course at SWFC

Fort Myers, Fla., (September 29, 2009) – Florida native, Zachary Smith, who has completed his undergraduate studies in architecture at the University of Memphis and his master’s degree in architecture from Florida International University, has returned to Fort Myers and will be teaching the new, high-demand Revit ® course at Southwest Florida College.

With the addition of Revit ®, Southwest Florida College can now provide students with greater marketability in the fields of computer-aided drafting and design and interior design.

"There is no one else around here that’s teaching Revit," said Paul Engler, program manager of Computer Aided Drafting and Design at Southwest Florida College. "There is a tremendous amount of versatility with Revit that makes for a whole different routine than what architects and designers have done in the past."

Smith has begun his career with BSSW Architects. The firm is helping him through the Intern Development Program, IDP, which is required for initial registration by all US jurisdictions with the exception of Arizona, Guam and the Virgin Islands. The comprehensive training program requires over 5,000 hours of experience in the core competencies of design, construction documents, contract administration, project management, office management and professional and community service.

"We’re very proud of Zach’s professional accomplishments," said Ron Weaver, AIA President of BSSW Architects. "He is an integral part of our team and will undoubtedly be influencing the architectural landscape of Southwest Florida for years to come."

Revit ®, which boasts the ability to revise designs instantly, is a 3D modeling and BIM, or building information management software, created by Autodesk ® and used by architects and designers across the nation and it is becoming the state-of-the-art standard in the industry.
"If I change my model, Revit will change the floor plan and other reference drawings too," said Scott Aly, a student of SWFC. Aly plans to graduate in 2010 with a double major in Computer Aided Drafting and Design and Computer Animation. "Revit is a big time saver, it results in much higher productivity by avoiding having to go back to change all reference views as is the case in Auto CAD," Aly said.

Autodesk describes Revit Architecture 2010 ® as software that "works the way architects and designers think." Revit Architecture helps professionals on the job capture and analyze early design concepts and accurately maintain a concept and vision through all phases of preliminary design, documentation, and construction. Changes are automatically updated throughout the project, so design and documentation remain coordinated and reliable. While Auto CAD ® is readily available and widely taught, SWFC is positioning its design graduates for the next generation for computer-aided design.

To access Revit training, students from southwest Florida have had to travel to Miami or Tampa. "Now it’s available right at their doorstep," said Engler.

In addition to the state-of-the-art capabilities of Revit, graduates enter the workforce able to create detailing and drafting views of design projects, produce construction documents and use presentation tools for presenting building models. Design students learn through a combination of methods including hands-on training, teacher demonstrations and facilitation.

Southwest Florida College is an accredited, private institution of higher learning centrally located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte, and includes the Institute of Interior Design located within the Miromar Design Center in Estero. The College has been providing post secondary education to Floridians since 1974 and offers programs in Allied Health, Business, Design, Education, Information Technology and Legal Studies. Its mission is to provide educational opportunities for individuals to acquire knowledge and skills that will help prepare them for rewarding careers in fields with high growth potential. For more information, call toll-free 888-526-7973 or visit www.instituteofinteriordesign.com or www.swfc.edu.