Welding Technology Program Policies & Procedures

Non-Discrimination Statement

To view the full Non-Discrimination Statement, please visit the College Catalog & Student Handbook or the college website.

Disability Services/Accommodations

Individuals with disabilities who require accommodations for special services should contact the IHCC Disability Services office for assistance. Services are available to students who need classroom accommodations, interpreters and/or specialized equipment.

Students who are requesting accommodations must document their disability by providing a written statement signed by a school counselor, physician, psychologist or other health care professional. Statements must include: (a) a description of the disability, (b) a statement of how the disability prohibits one or more major life activities and is a barrier to the student’s full participation in the program, and (c) a description of the specific accommodations to be provided. (Requested accommodations must be related to the individual’s specific disability.)

All requests for accommodations should be made prior to enrollment.

Students should make their requests for accommodations to the Disability Services office at the time they are applying for admission and, preferably, no later than six weeks prior to the beginning of each academic term. All student requests are dealt with in a confidential manner. Students should contact Disability Services by calling (641) 683-5749 (Ottumwa) or (641) 856-2143, ext. 2214 (Centerville) or by email at disabilityservices@indianhills.edu.

Accreditation

Indian Hills Community College is a public post-secondary institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the Higher Learning Commission, 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602-2504, and (800)621-7440.

Indian Hills Community College is also accredited by the State of Iowa, Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, Des Moines, IA 50319-0146, (515)281-8260.

Since 2014, the IHCC Welding Program has been accredited by the American Welding Society and has an Accredited Testing Facility at the Ottumwa, North Campus.

Student Services

To view the full listing of Student Services, please visit the College Catalog & Student Handbook.

Program Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes describe the knowledge and skills the student should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the program.  Please visit the College Catalog & Student Handbook to view the Program Learning Outcomes.

Cancellations

Indian Hills Alert is the emergency notification system of Indian Hills Community College. Indian Hills Alert allows the college to communicate timely emergency information quickly to students, faculty, staff, and interested members of the community.  To sign up to receive alerts, go to http://www.indianhills.edu/about/alert.php and create an account to receive information via phone, email, and/or text message about college–related emergencies, college closings or delayed openings due to inclement weather, or other urgent campus communications.  Indian Hills Alert will only be used to send you messages related to college emergencies or safety issues, never to send you advertisements.

Attendance and Punctuality

Mandatory Attendance

Regular and punctual attendance is mandatory in all Advanced Technologies Division courses. Student attendance will be recorded each day this class meets. A student missing class should immediately contact the instructor or a fellow student to find out what material was covered in class and if any assignments have been missed. The instructor will decide to accept late work or not. Communication between the student and instructor is most important, but it is the student’s responsibility to initiate such communication. Contacting the instructor before the missed class session is preferable whenever possible.

A student missing 16% of scheduled class meetings without excuse will be withdrawn from this course. This withdrawal may have academic or financial effects. Students missing class because of a college-sanctioned event will be excused from attendance but not excused from completing assignments. They should contact their instructor for further guidance. Based on the instructor’s discretion, students may also be excused for the following reasons: bereavement, illness (more than two days), jury duty, court appearance, or military service. Students should give access to the appropriate documents in order to establish an absence as excused. Instructors will decide on the validity of such an excuse.

The number of actual class days a student may miss before being withdrawn varies depending on how often a course meets in a week. Students will receive warnings via email when they are nearing or have reached the 16% threshold. Consult the chart below to establish how many unexcused absences are permitted in this class:

Showing up for class on time is also mandatory. On the first day of class, the instructor will announce guidelines for tardiness such as establishing a time limit for when a tardy becomes an absence. Four incidents of tardiness equals one absence, and the guidelines above apply.

Professionalism

Through your IHCC Welding Technology Program, you will experience an environment of professionalism. Proper conduct and safety awareness are emphasized. Attendance for on-campus meetings and online courses, as well as in-person courses, is expected and required. 

Laboratory Safety Rules

Before You Start Lab

Students must:

• Watch the safety videos and complete OSHA 10.
• Sign the safety rules sheet.
• Understand the proper operation of the shear.
• Understand the proper operation of the band saw.
• Understand the proper operation of a bench grinder
• Understand the proper operation of a hand grinder.
• Read and understand the syllabus for each class.
• Read and understand project timelines and bookwork completion dates.

Lab Rules

Students must wear:

• Safety glasses
• Leather boots
• FR Long sleeves (leather or canvas)
• Pants (denim, no holes or strings)

Students cannot:

• Wear headphones or earbuds
• Horseplay
• Swear
• Use cell phones
• Use tobacco of any kind

At the end of the lab, students must:

• Grind tables of spatter
• Wrap up leads
• Turn off the welding machine
• Sweep booth

ATF Certification Rules

• The weld test must be witnessed by a CWI.
• Students can only grind twice throughout the weld test.
• Students can use a wire wheel as much as needed.
• A cover pass can only be redone once.
• A cover pass must be visually inspected by the CWI before grinding.
• The student’s test must be ground and bent within 48 hours of the attempt.
• The student needs to provide information for AWS application.
• The weld test for SMAW and FCAW must be completed in 3rd term.
• The weld test for GMAW and GTAW must be completed in 4th term.
• Only 2 attempts are allowed per student, per process.
• The student must pass a 1G, 3G, and 4G test on GMAW to be eligible for an internship.
• The student must receive a 4.0 grade on 3/8” 3G and 4G projects before attempting to test.

If a student has questions or concerns about any of these rules, contact Rick Guffey at 641-683-4272 or Rick.Guffey@indianhills.edu or Cole Payne at 641-683-5111 ext. 1868 or Cole.Payne@indianhills.edu.

Required Tools

• 4 1/2” Electric grinder
• Chipping hammer
• Leather boots
• Safety glasses
• Sleeves or cape
• Vice grips
• Welding gloves
• Welding helmet
• Welpers
• Wire brush

Placement

The ability of a student to obtain employment in his/her career field upon graduation is a very important part of the educational process. The Academic Program and Career/Work-Based Office, working cooperatively with each student, will do everything possible to see that this objective is met.

• The student is responsible for actively seeking employment.
• The program will make students aware of job opportunities by written and/or verbal communication, as well as posting the information in the lab area and social media.
• The student will be responsible for completing the IHCC Graduate Survey sent 6 months after graduation providing the program with vital employment data.
• IHCC hosts a career fair each year in March for all programs.