College of Engineering Signs Agreement with Somerset Community College
SOMERSET, Ky. (May 18, 2012) — Somerset Community College (SCC) and the University of Kentucky College of Engineering officially entered a Memorandum of Agreement May 9 to partner together to benefit community college students interested in pursuing a degree in engineering at UK. The agreement allows for students to complete their Associate in Science degree, with a focus on pre-engineering, at SCC and be granted automatic admission into the engineering program at UK if all requirements are met.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for our college to partner with the University of Kentucky to benefit students," said SCC President and CEO Jo Marshall. "Our students will know they have a place and can be part of something great. We are excited to have this agreement. It shows that we trust each other and we are both willing to work together for the good of our students."
The agreement means that students enrolled in the Associate in Science focused in pre-engineering at SCC will meet all the necessary requirements to transfer to the UK College of Engineering for the Bachelor of Science in biosystems, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, materials, mechanical and mining engineering. Students should plan to spend two years at SCC and two years at UK, depending on the number of hours taken per semester.
The Memorandum of Agreement was made official by the signing ofMarshall and Thomas Lester, dean of the UK College of Engineering.
"It makes economic sense to educate our students close to their home for the first two years,” said Dr. Lester. “And SCC students come to us prepared for the program. This college is one of the most important transfer routes for us and will become more so through this agreement. I look forward to many years of collaboration with SCC."
The agreement has been forming for several years, but started to take shape through the leadership of SCC’s Associate Dean for Mathematics and Natural Science Clint Hayes, Professor of Mathematics Kathy Lewis, Professor of Physics Billy Dobbs and several others. The group worked with G.T. Lineberry, UK College of Engineering associate dean, and developed guides that students can follow to complete all their required pre-engineering and general education requirements at SCC. Once complete, the students graduate with an Associate in Science degree and can be granted automatic admission into the UK engineering programs if GPA and admission requirements are met.
"Kentucky is short on engineers," said Sharon Whitehead, dean of Arts and Sciences at SCC. "We want Kentucky to be more in line with the national average in terms of the number of engineers we produce. This agreement will benefit both schools, our communities, our students and the future of our state."