[Brian Moag]  The strengths of the Civil Engineering Tech program is that we have very much hands on training of a wide variety of the civil engineering curriculum.   It develops the student to understand what is happening inside the curriculum and what is happening in the field.

[Gregory Gillis] What we do is give them the practical aspects of the field.  If you start off in an engineering school sometimes you just get the theoretical aspects and you never know the practical aspects.  We give them a practical background so when they go on to a four-year degree school when they are talking about concrete design and concrete mixes, they have actually mixed concrete and they have designed concrete before they get to the course that talks about the theory of it.

[Brian Moag]  One thing that the students need to know if they are going to come into this program is that they are going to need a decent math background.  
   
[Gregory Gillis]  They  have to eventually take an introductory course to calculus.  It is kind of an intense program mathematically, but we use most of the algebra and trig and then they have to take physics.  The reason for that is because they need that background when they take their design courses.  

[Brian Moag]  Some of the core classes would be things like in drafting, autocad and surveying.  We have a couple courses in surveying for developing the basic surveying and then the root surveying on top of that.  

[Gregory Gillis]  In our surveying courses we have state of the art equipment, we have equipment that is beyond the role of most colleges.  We have electronic distance measuring machines, we have total stations and we have global positioning equipment.    

[Brian Moag]  All of the courses that are offered during the day are offered some time during the night.  About every other year the program is offered.  If you are going to go to night school it is probably going to take you four or five years to go through the program.

[Gordon Soderholm]  We have 78 here, so that is a southeast... 

[Brian Moag]  A good portion of our students are right out of high school then we have some that transfered here to finish their diploma or transferred here to pick up some more courses to go on to a four year degree.  
  
[Gregory Gillis]  At least one third of our students go on to their four year degree, another third will go to work for the government and another third will go to work in the industry doing investigations or soil sampling or testing or gathering information.

[Brian Moag]  Most of the jobs they come out after they graduate the civil engineering tech program they work for engineering firms where they might be doing inspections on buildings and job sites.  They might be working as a cad draftsman in the engineering firm doing odds and ends.  They might that have been brought into the lab for various strengths and gradations and stuff for building aspects and also concrete testing in the testing labs.  We had a lot of people end up working for the D.O.T in the field doing inspections.

[Brian Moag]  You are going to pick up everything that you can see in this area.  All the sidewalks, the building...

[Brian Moag]  I know when they leave here that they know their material, they understand what is out there and they can understand that they are really ready to grow and they will have the base knowledge to continue their education that way and continue developing their skills in the fields.