Estrella Mountain Community College Public Interest Technology Case Studies

This is a case study of public interest technology within Estrella Mountain Community College. Students at EMCC can opt to take a 2-year associate’s degree, or simply take courses that are eligible as transfer credits; in this latter case, students need to declare the courses as university transfers. There are a number of degrees, courses, and programs related to Public Interest Technology (PIT). Courses such as “Introduction to Programming Language” and “Survey of Computer Information Systems” in the computer science program both include a variety of ethics components, and their curricula are often linked to issues of public domain. Programs such as “Global Solutions,” an intercultural exchange program connecting EMCC students with Middle Eastern students, or the laptop loaner program, which gives students the ability to borrow laptops for the duration of their studies, are also related to PIT. EMCC is a Title V institution, a federally funded program of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1998 that assists colleges and universities to improve higher education for Hispanic students. Through Title V funds, EMCC has various programs that focus on justice issues as they relate to technology, and in particular making technology accessible to various underserved communities. There are also several associate degrees that are relevant to PIT, such as computer information systems, information technology, and artificial intelligence. Given this background, we have classified the two case studies under one or more of the following themes: learning, operations as well as Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI).