Universities court engineers

As the current pool of engineers begins to run dry N.C. community colleges and public universities are looking to nurture a new generation of prospective engineers.

An untapped source has been found in N.C. community college students and many public universities are trying to provide as many opportunities as possible to attract students enrolled in community college engineering programs.

Jerome Lavelle interim assistant dean at N.C. State University" said that the engineering career fair at N.C. State is just one indicator of the strong demand for engineering graduates in the state.

""Close to 350 firms and over 3"000 students ­­­­— not all of them from (N.C.) State — attend the fair and the most firms are ready to hire on the spot" Lavelle said.

Audrey Bailey, spokeswoman for N.C. Community College System, said that most N.C. public universities have transfer programs that help community college students earn a four-year engineering degree.

Ron Smelser, associate dean of the College of Engineering at UNC-Charlotte, said the university is expanding transfer programs to attract prospective engineering graduates and meet North Carolina's demand for more engineers.

We're working desperately to try to engage prospective students through our current students" and many of our students serve as ambassadors to recruit new students to the college of engineering —from both high schools and community colleges" Smelser said.

Bailey also said most universities in North Carolina have two-plus-two"" programs ­— programs that allow students to take university-sponsored courses on community college campuses — which appeal to prospective engineering students at community colleges.

""A lot of our students are adults and have families and responsibilities they need to attend to" so they can't afford to go to a four-year university to get a degree —even after earning their two-year associate degree" Bailey said.

Two-plus-two programs arose from the need for access to higher education, outlined in the UNC Tomorrow initiative, the brainchild of UNC-system President Erskine Bowles that dictates how universities can meet the needs of North Carolina in the next 20 years.

Bailey also said that the two-plus-two program helps ease the demand for engineers at a local level.

We call them ‘homegrown' engineers" because they stay in their hometown and earn their degree and then work there when they graduate" Bailey said.

Lavelle said that many new cooperative engineering programs between universities showed promise in new engineering fields and attracting new students to the engineering field.

The N.C. State College of Engineering and UNC-CH School of Medicine cooperate on a graduate-level biomedical engineering program that they are looking to duplicate at an undergraduate level because of significant student interest, Lavelle said.

With these partnerships"" we're trying to create synergies — between community colleges and other state universities as well — where students can create linkages and help immerse them in the program and support them in their efforts to attain a degree.""



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.