Southeast Tech faculty report rising enrollment, strong job placement in engineering and surveying programs

Southeast Technical Institute faculty outlined academic program details and employer pathways for architectural engineering technology, civil engineering technology and land surveying science during a campus board meeting.

Greg Schwabach, the faculty member for architectural engineering technology, said the program focuses on creating construction documents and digital building models and requires about 63 credit hours including general education. He told board members the first year emphasizes residential construction while the second year covers commercial building systems. "We create construction documents, and digital models of building design," Schwabach said.

Beth Kessing, head of the civil engineering technology program, and Paul Lecce, land surveying science instructor, presented the closely related civil and surveying curricula and described shared first‑year coursework in AutoCAD, Civil 3D, ArcGIS and Trimble Access. Kessing said the civil curriculum focuses on horizontal infrastructure such as soils, materials testing, statics and water/wastewater systems. Lecce said surveying coursework includes geodetics, boundary law, advanced total station and GPS techniques.

Program leaders reported enrollment improvements after COVID and said they expect about 18 architectural engineering graduates in May, conditional on students completing spring coursework. Schwabach said the architectural program recently became eligible for Build Dakota scholarships.

Speakers said job placement for graduates remains strong. Kessing said the programs routinely report near‑100% placement when graduates apply for jobs; Lecce highlighted that many students seek work locally in Sioux Falls while some return to home states. Kessing pointed to a City of Sioux Falls engineering position posted at $28 per hour and said graduates often reach about $60,000 in first‑year pay.

Faculty described partnerships and transfer pathways: the land surveying program maintains an articulation agreement with St. Cloud State University in Minnesota that supports a path to a four‑year degree; the civil program has agreements with South Dakota State University and a dual‑enroll arrangement with South Dakota School of Mines intended to shorten the critical path into a bachelor’s engineering curriculum.

Other items noted included a four‑day summer engineering camp for high school students (about 20–25 attendees last year), a student Home Builders Association trip to the International Builders Show, and employer advisory boards that inform curriculum and certification recommendations.

The board acknowledged the academic program report by voice vote.