PARIS – With the spring 2008 semester, Central Maine Community College’s Western Maine campus is offering three new courses: “Introduction to Computer Aided Design (CAD),” “Web Development” and “Introduction to Western Philosophy.”

“Introduction to Computer Aided Design (CAD)” is an introductory drafting course utilizing AutoCad on Windows-based personal computers. Taught by a practicing architect, the course will offer an overview of CAD – what can be done and how to do it, including a coverage of drafting fundamentals.

Students will learn the necessary commands and functions to produce a variety of two-dimensional drawings. The course uses a hands-on approach, with all topics being directly applied in the CAD lab. The class is scheduled for Wednesdays from 4:30 to 7:25 p.m.; the cost is $336 plus books.

“Web Development” is a broad-based introductory course that will teach the fundamentals to make Web pages, cover many types of sites and post them on a Web site.

Students will design Web pages that can be deployed to FTP and FrontPage sites. The class will cover the basics of using HTML and JAVA scripting, how to develop a Web site and register a domain name, as well as the costs and locations to do so.

Students will be required to deploy a small Web site on the World Wide Web, using a Web server on campus. All learning will be in a lab environment, where students will directly apply instructions using individual computers.

The class is scheduled for Mondays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.; the cost is $336 plus books.

“Introduction to Western Philosophy” introduces students to the principles of critical thinking and provides practice in applying the principles to everyday decision-making and argument analysis.

Students will learn to distinguish between rational thoughts and feelings, identify assumptions, identify the quality of evidence, clarify by asking questions, fair-mindedly analyze multiple viewpoints and make reasonable judgments.

Students will apply principles of clear thinking to evaluating messages from the news media and advertising. The class is scheduled for Fridays from 9 to 11:55 a.m.; the cost is $312 plus books.

“As our student population continues to grow here in the Oxford Hills, we are committed to increase the number and variety of courses available in the Western Maine Center,” said Barbara Livingston of Central Maine Community College’s Paris campus.

“We know that for many students and prospective students, it’s a distinct advantage to offer college courses here that are both convenient and accessible to the Oxford Hills communities,” she said.

Spring semester classes start the week of Jan. 14. They classes are open to the public as well as those enrolled in a CMCC degree program.

For more information or a complete schedule of spring classes, contact Livingston at 743-9322 or [email protected] or visit www.cmcc.edu. The Western Maine University and Community College Center is located at 232 Main St., Paris.