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Collaboration among Universities and Community Colleges in Developing Dual-Enrollment Programs

Abstract

Drexel University’s (DU) School of Technology and Professional Studies has been offering a cooperative-based Applied Engineering Technology (AET) major since 2002. This major is offered to Drexel’s students on a full- and part-time basis as well as to community colleges participating in dual-enrollment options. Such partnership programs with Burlington County College (BCC), Delaware County Community College (DCCC), and the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology (PIT) are described in this paper. The simplified articulated transfer agreement with the high school students of Middle Bucks Institute of Technology (MBIT) is also presented. The articulated transfer agreements were created in order to facilitate a pathway for transfer from Associate of Applied Science degrees in Engineering Technology (ET) and the Associate of Science degrees in Engineering into Drexel University’s Bachelor of Science degree in AET. The transfer students are offered three concentrations: Electrical Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, and Industrial Engineering Technology. By way of the transfer articulation agreements, the students from the community colleges, upon completion of the associate’s degree, may be granted either pre-junior or junior status by DU depending on the courses completed at the particular community college. The transfer students can also take classes on a full- or part-time basis. Since the majority of courses in the AET program are fully integrated with training and laboratory experience, the transfer students participate in hands-on laboratory activities using Drexel’s state-of-the-art laboratories. These laboratories also utilized during the nine-credit, three-term Senior Design Project sequence.

Introduction

There are more than 1,500 higher education institutions in the United States that offer engineering programs.1, 2 The demand for engineers and engineering technologists continues to grow while the percentage of U.S. undergraduates studying the profession is remaining low.3, 4, 5 In 2000, American higher education institutions educated about ninety-five thousand engineers and scientists, while at the same time, American companies imported about the same number from abroad.6, 7 In 2005 graduation rates between the United States, India, and China were compared with results indicating that the U.S. graduates seventy thousand engineers a year, compared to India with three hundred and fifty thousand and China with six hundred thousand.6 During last ten years the emphasis in engineering education shifted towards a hands-on approach to teaching and learning reducing the gap between engineering and engineering technology programs.8, 9 Industry has requested a new generation of engineers and engineering technologists who can provide engineering-related services in industrial environment without additional training.

Responding to these demands, Drexel University started a cooperative-based Applied Engineering Technology major in 2002. Since inception, the program has provided an integrated educational experience directed toward developing students’ ability to apply fundamental knowledge to practical problem solving in the engineering technology field.10 In the highly

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Marekova, G., & Genis, V., & Spang, D. (2010, June), Collaboration Among Universities And Community Colleges In Developing Dual Enrollment Programs Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--15984