The University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction today announced the successful accreditation of their partnership program by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.
The partnership program allows students to earn a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from CU-Boulder by taking classes delivered at CMU. The program offers the first-ever baccalaureate engineering degree on Colorado’s Western Slope.
The program was launched in 2008 and awarded degrees to its first graduates in May 2012. ABET, the accrediting agency for engineering, requires graduates from a program before it can apply for accreditation. The awarding of ABET accreditation now is retroactive to include the degrees granted to the 2012 and 2013 graduating classes.
Twenty-two students have graduated from the partnership program in the last two years, and most of them found positions in the engineering field immediately upon graduation, according to Program Director Timothy Brower. Many of the program’s graduates are working with energy companies on the Western Slope.
Another 30 students are currently enrolled in the program as juniors or seniors and are in position to graduate in the next two years.
“We started the partnership five years ago with the support of President Tim Foster of CMU and then-President Hank Brown of CU, and we are delighted that it has achieved great success in not only graduating outstanding students but also now receiving full accreditation at its first opportunity,” said Robert Davis, dean of CU-Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.
“We are pleased that the program has the seal of approval from ABET and are even happier that our students have access to a mechanical engineering degree without leaving the Western Slope, thanks to the partnership we have with CU,” said CMU President Tim Foster.
The innovative partnership allows western Colorado students access to a world-class education they may not otherwise have been able to receive by offering the entire four-year engineering degree program in Grand Junction. Students enrolled in the program receive CMU instruction and classes their first two years, followed by CU-Boulder coursework taught by CU faculty for their final two years.
CU-Boulder enrolls more than 3,300 undergraduate students and 1,600 graduate students in engineering and applied science disciplines. In addition to the CU-CMU Partnership Program, CU-Boulder has nine other degree programs accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET and one degree program accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET.
A comprehensive university located in the center of western Colorado, CMU provides exceptional educational opportunities on a state-of-the-art campus. As western Colorado’s largest university, Colorado Mesa serves about 10,000 students on its main campus in Grand Junction, its satellite campus in Montrose, its community college, Western Colorado Community College, and via online offerings.
For more information visit http://www.coloradomesa.edu/engineering/me.html. For more information on ABET, formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, visit http://www.abet.org.
Contact:
Tim Brower, 303-248-1662
tim.brower@colorado.edu
Dana Nunn, 970-248-1868
dnunn@coloradomesa.edu
Carol Rowe, 303-492-7426
carol.rowe@colorado.edu
