New Ram Ready Engineering Partnership Program
Dr. Cheryl T. Sparks, president of Howard College, and ASU President Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr.
Angelo State University has entered into an agreement for Howard College to become the first partner institution in the new Ram Ready Engineering program that will provide community college students an accelerated pathway and smoother transition into ASU engineering degree programs.
Ram Ready Engineering (RRE) is a co-enrollment program that will allow students to take introductory ASU engineering courses while still enrolled in a community college. ASU will offer freshman and sophomore engineering courses, such as Introduction to Engineering, Engineering Graphics, and Engineering Statics, in a distance-learning format so RRE students at community colleges around the region can complete those courses while taking their math, and science, and core courses at their community college.
RRE students will also earn credit for the engineering courses at both ASU and their community college. That will accelerate the completion of their community college associate degree, and reduce their overall costs while ensuring that when they transfer to ASU, they are on track to graduate on schedule with their bachelor’s degree in engineering.
Dr. William Kitch
“Many community college students take six-plus years to complete their degree because they don’t have access to the freshman and sophomore engineering classes at their community college, or they give up on engineering altogether because of the long pathway,” said Dr. William Kitch, chair of ASU’s David L. Hirschfeld Department of Engineering. “We are very excited about the Ram Ready Engineering program because it allows us to reach students at smaller community colleges throughout our region and provide them the opportunity of a career in engineering.”
Community college students interested in participating in Ram Ready Engineering must meet the following criteria:
Successfully complete at least nine (9) credit hours of core coursework at their community college.
Maintain at least a 2.5 overall grade point average (GPA).
Earn a ‘C’ or higher in engineering support courses: Math 1314 College Algebra, Math 1316 Trigonometry, and Math 2312 Pre-Calculus.
In addition to the student support services available at their community colleges, RRE students will have access to ASU tutoring, academic advising, and library services, including virtual databases. Once they earn their community college associate degree, they can apply to ASU as transfer students and waive the normal application fee.
Also, RRE students who qualify for federal financial aid and complete a Consortium Agreement at their community college may be eligible to receive financial aid toward tuition and fees at their community college and ASU at the same time.
More details about RRE online course delivery, tuition and fees, and financial aid are available at angelo.edu/ram-ready-engineering. Partnership agreements with additional community colleges are in the works.
ASU offers Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degrees. More details are available at angelo.edu/engineering.
Contact Dr. William Kitch 325-486-5501 william.kitch@angelo.edu
Credit: ASU News
