Two-year community colleges are a viable doorway to engineering careers. Until recently, however, they have been somewhat overlooked as pathways to engineering careers. 47 percent of all of the nation’s African American undergraduates, 56 percent of Latino undergraduates, and 57 percent of American Indian undergraduates attend community colleges.

Here is a rundown of NACME’s portfolio of community college programs:

High School Bridge Strategy

• High school juniors and seniors take advanced mathematics, science, and Introduction to Engineering courses on the community college campus. Mentoring, research, and employment opportunities with local NACME partner companies are available. A pilot program is currently under way at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland.

Engineering Awareness Strategy

• Media materials specifically targeted to community college students, faculty, and academic advisors are widely disseminated. NACME makes a special effort to reach students pursuing associate of applied science (A.A.S.) degrees in engineering technology programs, and inform them about bachelor’s degree programs and career options in traditional engineering disciplines.

Transfer Scholarship Strategy

• NACME Partner Universities award approximately $150,000 in scholarship funds for students transferring from community colleges with the associate degree (A.S.) in engineering science.

Achieving the Dream Strategy

• Achieving the Dream (AtD) is a multiyear national initiative to help more community college students succeed—by earning degrees, earning certificates, or transferring to other institutions to continue their studies. AtD is particularly concerned about groups of students who have faced the most significant barriers to success, including low-income students and students of color. One goal of AtD is to increase the percentage of community college students who complete developmental courses and continue with credit-bearing classes. NACME is collaborating with several colleges that have existing articulation agreements with NACME Partner Universities to develop a pathway from developmental math to the bachelor’s degree (B.S.) in engineering science.

Community College Partnerships

• UC San Diego Community College Program
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    This initiative is funded by the telecommunications company Qualcomm and is aimed at underrepresented minority community college students in San Diego County to increase their awareness of pathways to engineering degrees that can be completed by transferring to the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). These students have the opportunity to participate in a paid summer research program on the UCSD campus. A grant of $50,000 was awarded to NACME by Qualcomm to continue the program for the 2007–2008 academic year.
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  Prince George’s Community College Dual Enrollment Program
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    NACME has funded a three-year grant at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) to better prepare underrepresented minority students to succeed in engineering disciplines. The program is called the Pipeline Partnership for the Advancement of Engineering Education (PPAEE). The partnership is working with the Prince George’s County Public Schools to select a pool of qualified underrepresented minority students to enter the engineering profession through the PPAEE. The selected students will be dually enrolled at PGCC and their high school. The tuition costs will be covered through the NACME funding.