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Front Range Community College will be the first community college in Colorado to offer a two-year engineering degree program, starting in summer 2022, the Boulder Daily Camera reported.
The new associate of engineering science degree will allow students to transfer to the University of Colorado, Colorado State University or Colorado School of Mines to continue their engineering education or work as engineering technicians in the field, said Christy Gomez, the college’s engineering coordinator.
Front Range CC students who wanted to pursue engineering degrees previously had to transfer before they earned an associate degree, or they had to complete an associate of science degree, which forced them to take extra courses not required by local university engineering programs.
College administrators say the goal of the new degree option is to create a pathway to support community college students who might not otherwise pursue engineering and to increase diversity in the field.
“We’re aiming to increase representation in the engineering workforce, and having this program in place will allow for that,” Gomez told the Daily Camera. “It’s really strengthened our relationship with the universities so they can have confidence our students are learning the curriculum needed to be successful.”
While the program is a first for Colorado, a number of community colleges across the country offer two-year engineering programs, including the Community College of Baltimore County, Monroe Community College in New York and Catawba Valley Community College in North Carolina, among others.
