This project is responding to the need for the college to develop responsive programs and innovative strategies that keep pace with fast-growing trends in technology and dramatic technological advances in industry. The introduction of an AAS degree in applied engineering technology at the college is designed to develop outreach strategies that leverage community partnership programs with industries and educational establishments in the surrounding region. Occupational majors in engineering technology allow students to take a variety of technical courses leading to a versatile degree which can be used directly for employment as a skilled technician or for transfer to a four-year institution. In addition to industry partnerships with Lockheed Martin and other firms and an educational partnership with Drexel University, the college plans to incorporate many companies, four-year institutions, high schools, and other community establishments into the program, uniting industries and educational institutions.
The intellectual merit of this project is manifested through the introduction of an AAS degree in applied engineering technology at the college, which stimulates and increases the level of learning by offering students educational opportunities which far exceed current curriculum options. By ultimately providing concentrations in a variety of technical areas, students can choose a path that is compatible with their academic interests and career choices. This degree encourages the study of engineering technology by providing a career pathway for students from the community college to either a technological position in industry or into a four-year program. Both employment and transfer allow for advancement of the student leading to an expanded and varied educational experience. In addition students have the opportunity to increase their educational level in the same field as their degrees. The versatility of the major allows students the opportunity to explore other career options through co-ops, internships, and job opportunities. This allows for further advancement of students, which in turn provides transfer institutions and industries with a broader, more in-depth intellectual base, ultimately leading to a better educated, more highly skilled workforce.
The broader impacts include the development of the AAS degree in applied engineering technology, which leads to a diverse population of students entering the program at many different stages in their educational careers. High schools, the community college, four-year institutions and industries are connected through educational opportunities, co-ops, internships, and job opportunities. Students who do not want the mathematical rigor of a conventional engineering track have the option of studying engineering technology from an algebra-based hands-on approach. Thus, the AAS degree in applied engineering technology is available to a much wider array of students with more diverse backgrounds than the AA degree in engineering. The goal is to actively recruit women and underrepresented minority students as well as students with disabilities. Partnerships include research opportunities for faculty members.
