Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Main Menu

Session 3286

Articulated Pre-Engineering Programs: How Community Colleges can be Effective Partners with Universities to Deliver Engineering Curriculum to Students Dr. Gaby Hawat, Hank Regis Valencia Community College

Abstract

Valencia Community College (VCC) offers, in addition to the standard general education pre-engineering Associate of Arts degree, a pre-engineering curriculum including the fundamental engineering classes needed for all engineering majors. Engineering students have the option of pursuing a general degree in pre-engineering or the more specialized articulated AA degree where those fundamental engineering classes (such as Introduction to the Engineering Profession, Statics, Dynamics, Engineering Graphics, Probability and Statistics for Engineers, Principles of Electrical Engineering) will transfer to a four-year university. VCC currently has two articulated agreements in place sanctioning the college’s ability to offer engineering courses for transfer credit. One is with the University of Central Florida, the other and most recent is with the University of Miami. In addition, Valencia offers a two-year Associate in Science degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. This program is designed for students who seek immediate appointment in the fields of Electronic Engineering Technology. However, students who decide to continue to a four-year university can transfer those credits (due to articulated agreements) to Florida A & M University, the University of Central Florida or the University of West Florida to complete a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. These agreements detail which courses can be taught by Valencia Community College, the guidelines to teach these courses, including credentialing requirements, and rules governing the transfer of credits. All these programs have been highly successful in giving the opportunity for students, especially disadvantaged students, to pursue an engineering degree. Valencia, due to these articulated agreements, has been successful in recruiting and helping many engineering students. Assistance to students has included the awarding of a National Science Foundation grant to financially struggling students, as well as scholarships specifically offered to Valencia students who transfer to the University of Miami after completing their pre-engineering AA degree. In addition, internships with industry have contributed to giving pre-engineering students an opportunity to achieve their ultimate goal of becoming engineers. Valencia’s engineering staff are professionals in their respective fields, and their accessibility to students and educational experience have been a key in making the pre-engineering program at Valencia successful.

It is well known that there still exists a major shortfall in the supply and demand equation for engineers in the American workforce, particularly with software/hardware engineers as part of a nationwide shortage of technical talent in general. Virtually all technical sectors currently have a strong demand for engineers1. Valencia Community College is

“Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Expositio n Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education”

Main Menu

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Hawat, G. (2002, June), Articulated Pre Engineering Programs: How Community Colleges Can Be Effective Partners With Universities To Deliver Engineering Curriculum To Students Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--11015