SAN ANGELO, Texas — Angelo State University has entered into an agreement with Howard College for the first partner institution in the new Ram Ready Engineering program to 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 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 math, science and core courses at community college.
"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," Dr. William Kitch, chair of ASU's David L. Hirschfeld Department of Engineering, said in a release from Angelo State. "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 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, students 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.
