Chemical Process Operator
Chemical Process Operator
A.A.S. Degree (S)
The Chemical Process Operator curriculum prepares students for employment in industrial plants in the chemical, petroleum, polymer, and pharmaceutical industry. The chemical industry throughout the state has a great need for trained chemical operators to adjust and optimize conditions for the production of large quantities of products in local chemical plants and pilot plants. Graduates are readily employed by these local plants at competitive salaries. The program provides a practical education in the various aspects of plant operations such as hands-on training in process operations and control, regulatory compliance, and preventive maintenance skills. Laboratory facilities include not only standard lab equipment, but also modern instrumentation in pilot plant technology and computer simulations.
Program Graduate Competencies
The Program Graduate Competencies listed below identify the major learning goals related to your specific program of study and identify the knowledge and skills you will have when you graduate to be successful in your chosen field.
- Maintain safety, health, and environmental standards during simulation exercises or in a chemical plant.
- Handle, store, and transport chemical materials according to all applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
- Apply chemical process and quality systems in a simulated chemical process environment or a chemical plant.
- Operate, monitor, control, and troubleshoot batch and continuous chemical processes.
- Analyze samples of raw materials, intermediates, and finished products in a simulated chemical process environment or a chemical plant.
- Perform routine, predictive, and preventive maintenance and service to process equipment and instrumentation.
- Use computers or computerized equipment for communications and chemical process control.
Core Curriculum Competencies
The Core Curriculum Competencies listed below identify what you will be able to do as a graduate, regardless of your program of study. You will acquire these core competencies through general education courses and program-specific coursework. You will be expected to use relevant technology to achieve these outcomes:
- Apply clear and effective communication skills.
- Use critical thinking to solve problems.
- Collaborate to achieve a common goal.
- Demonstrate professional and ethical conduct.
- Use information literacy for effective vocational and/or academic research.
- Apply quantitative reasoning and/or scientific inquiry to solve practical problems.
Graduation Requirements
Core Courses
Select 2 course(s) from:
Program/Major Courses
| CPO 100 | Introduction to Chemical Process Operator Technician | 3 |
| CPO 125 | Safety, Health, and Environment | 3 |
| CPO 135 | Chem Proc Tech-Equipment | 3 |
| CPO 151 | Chemical Process Tech I-Systems | 4 |
| CPO 240 | Quality | 3 |
| CPO 252 | Chemical Process Tech II-Operations | 4 |
| CPO 253 | Process Troubleshooting | 4 |
| CPO 260 | Work Experience | 4 |
Program/Major Support Courses
Suggested Pathway to Graduation (Course Sequence Sheet)
Semester 1
| SSC 100 | First Year Seminar | 1 |
| CPO 100 | Introduction to Chemical Process Operator Technician | 3 |
| CPO 135 | Chem Proc Tech-Equipment | 3 |
| CIS 107 | Introduction to Computers/Application | 3 |
| MAT 183 | Reasoning with Functions I | 5 |
| CHM 110 | General Chemistry | 4 |
Semester 2
Semester 3
| ENG 102 | Composition II | 3 |
| ELC 270 | Process Instrumentation I | 4 |
Elective
| Social Science Elective | 3 |
| CPO 252 | Chemical Process Tech II-Operations | 4 |
Semester 4
| CPO 240 | Quality | 3 |
| CPO 253 | Process Troubleshooting | 4 |
| CPO 260 | Work Experience | 4 |
Elective
| Social Science Elective | 3 |
Approved Electives
Select two (2) social science electives.
To complete program requirements, you must pass the above courses and earn at least 64 credits. The number of courses and credits required for graduation may be more depending on your need for developmental education courses and the elective choices you make (if electives are a part of the program). Some programs also have college-level courses that you must take if you do not score at a certain level on the College Placement Test. If this applies to your program, the courses are listed at the top of the sequence sheet before the first semester of the course list.
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