LWTECH Homepage
Lake Washington Institute of Technology is a college dedicated to workforce education, in Kirkland, Washington. The college offers twelve Bachelor of Applied Science Degrees. I have been a professor at LWTECH since 2008. I was hired in part, to develop and teach classes for the first BAS degree, which was in Design. In addition to my responsibilities teaching art, humanities, and design courses, I built the Art Department, and designed the two-year Associates in Applied Science-Transfer (AAS-T) in Illustration and the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Applied Art-Illustration.
LWTECH Illustration Webpage
As the Faculty Director for the Applied Art-Illustration BAS, I partnered with the General Education Dean of Instruction, Sally Heilstedt, as well as the Visual Art Instructional Tech Aid (IST), Gail Lawnicki. I worked with the Dean on all of the proposal documents that were sent to the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, and I worked with the IST to compile job searches, neighboring school contacts, and create visual designs to promote the new degree.
As the subject matter expert, I wrote the narrative components of the scoping and proposal documents. As each step in the process was rapidly approved after each initial submission, I began curriculum mapping. The Design Department’s advisory committee added a professional artist and illustrator, and together we reviewed and approved the final draft curriculum.
Illustration BAS Catalog Page. Curriculum and outcomes written by Sobottka, approved by Curriculum Review Committee, and Dean of Instruction.
I wrote the Program Outcomes for the degree and designed each course description and outcomes. These outcomes went through a shared governance review and were adopted into the college catalog. As the degree neared its final approval stages, the college president formed relationships with Central Washington University and Washington State University so our graduates would be competitive for their respective MFA programs.
Illustration BAS Catalog Page. Curriculum and outcomes written by Sobottka, approved by Curriculum Review Committee, and Dean of Instruction.
Once the Dean and I received approval from the State Board, we notified out accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities of our intent to launch the degree. I developed the portfolio requirements and assessment rubric, and worked with another art professor to review applicants. I also contacted area colleges and conducted open sessions promoting the degree. In September of 2023 we accepted our first cohort of junior-level students. I will continue to manage and promote the BAS degree, as well as teach for the degree, and schedule other professors to teach classes for the junior and senior cohorts.
Additionally, the Applied Art-Illustration BAS will have its own studio space classroom in the upcoming college Center for Design, and as we wait for the opening of that building, we will need to secure another art studio space to accommodate both junior and senior students.
Applied Art-Illustration IG Square, designed by Art IST, Gail Lawnicki.