Chaffey Fashion Program Upgrades Computer Lab with 25 TUKAcad Stations
By Tukatech
The Fashion Design program at Chaffey College upgraded their state-of-the-art CAD computer lab with 25 TUKAcad stations from Tukatech. These include modules for pattern making, grading, and marker making. The program has also incorporated online training courses from the Tuka Academy of Pattern Engineering (TAPE) as a way for students to accelerate through the foundational aspects of digital pattern making.
The Fashion Design program had been using a different CAD system for the Computer-Aided Patternmaking course, but switched to TUKAcad, as Professor Teresa Becker explains, because it would be a “much better value-add for students to learn the program that we see as most prevalent and widely used in the US fashion market.” She sought out Tukatech’s education resources to “accelerate marketable skills and augment precious time in class this semester.”
Tukatech’s TAPE platform offers online training courses with in-depth lessons on Tukatech software. Students enrolled in the Computer-Aided Patternmaking course were offered the opportunity to take the Getting Started with TUKAcad course and the Pattern Making for Fashion Design course, which was originally included on a DVD accompanying the 5th edition of Helen Joseph Armstrong’s iconic pattern making textbook. This allowed students to grasp the fundamentals of the TUKAcad software, so class time could be dedicated to more advanced digital pattern making concepts.
According to Becker, the student response was, “very enthusiastic; most of the students took advantage of the accelerator option and those who did were all getting the highest marks in class!”
Geoff Taylor, President of TUKAweb confirms, “It is a strong core belief at Tukatech that empowering education is a key ingredient to ensure a strong future for the U.S. fashion industry. We designed these courses for students to become certified users which gives a baseline starting point that is significantly further along in either a classroom or professional setting. The courses are flexible to be taken remotely on the student’s own time, perfectly adapted to today’s hybrid learning and work environments, and are paired with our cloud-based learning edition software, all available and extremely affordable on our website.”
Chair of the Fashion Design program, Tara Johnson concludes, “We are already planning for future expansion with additional software from Tukatech and are confident of success due to the online courses already available. It’s something that every school or business should consider offering as we estimated that students who took the courses started 30% further along versus those who didn’t, which is invaluable!”
About Chaffey College
Chaffey College was founded in 1883, making it one of the oldest community colleges in California. Today, the public school based in Rancho Cucamonga serves the greater “Inland Empire” and is attended by nearly 30,000 students. At Chaffey, students can pursue 28 different degrees that transfer to four-year Universities or choose from a broad selection of certificates to help land a new job or work promotion.
Chaffey’s Fashion Design & Merchandising program celebrates creativity, art, sustainability, reverence of the past, and anticipation for the future. Fashion students build a foundation in fashion history, aesthetics, color theory, textile selection, clothing construction, illustration, pattern drafting, CAD, and garment production. The programs offer face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses as part of a two-year pathway to multiple degrees, certificates, and transfer opportunities.
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