Olympic College has received $189,000 from the state legislature to fund a mechanical engineering program in partnership with Washington State University.
The new program — which is still pending approval by the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, but is expected to start in fall 2010 — will provide more opportunities for mechanical engineering students whose options were previously limited.
The new program is good news for engineering students from the area by allowing them to stay in Bremerton instead of moving to Pullman.
“I have a family, and it would be very difficult to go to say, UW,” said engineering student Colin McDaniel. “Hopefully this program will provide more opportunities for engineering students.”
Students enrolled in the program will still need to set foot on the university’s main Pullman campus for labs.
The cost of new mechanical engineering lab equipment is high, and considering that there are not going to be many students enrolled in the program, OC will not be purchasing new lab equipment. Instead, students enrolled in the program will need to spend a short time on WSU’s main campus to take lab courses.
The details of the lab courses are still being worked out and it is still unclear exactly how much time students will need to spend on the eastern side of the state.
The laboratories in Pullman are available during the summer, so WSU will be able to use them for the OC program then.
“OC doesn’t have good lab equipment yet,” said OC engineering student Artem Tsvyetkov, who is planning on attending WSU in Pullman. “If they had the same equipment as WSU I would stay at OC. It would be great for OC to get new lab equipment so that students no longer have to go to Pullman for lab courses over the summer.”
The WSU program will be what is called a two and two partnership, meaning that students will spend two years with OC and two years with WSU on the OC campus.
Students will first complete their Associate of Science for Transfer degree with OC before entering the WSU program. The WSU bachelors degree program will take approximately two years for a full time student to complete.
“WSU is pleased to offer this program and looks forward to a long and successful program with OC,” said Robert G. Olsen, associate dean at WSU.
WSU and OC will use face-to-face class settings, as well as distance learning technology to support the courses offered. Local WSU faculty and adjunct staff will teach the classes.
“It’s a good idea,” said engineering student Dylan Nordstrom. “I think it’s pretty awesome that a four-year university will bring teachers over to do this.”
The daytime program will be comprised of at least one WSU faculty member, as well as a program assistant.
WSU will be charging their tuition rate for any WSU classes taken on the OC campus. Any students enrolled in the WSU program that wishes to take OC classes will be charged the OC tuition rate for any OC classes that they take.
OC typically sends five to ten engineering students to Pullman’s WSU campus each year.
“Washington State University knows that OC turns out good students,” said engineering adviser Dr. Jeff Brown.
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