Specific Goals

The specific goals we want to achieve in the framework of our general goals outlined in the previous section are:

• We want to make our first two (sophomore fall semester) mechanical engineering classes readily available to students in community colleges as well as elsewhere: EML 3002C (4), Mechanical Engineering Tools, and EML 3004C, Introduction to Mechanical Engineering. These two classes will provide prospective students, including underrepresented minorities, significant opportunity to examine the field of Mechanical Engineering as a career option. It will also give students insight into what areas (such as mathematics and science) are of particular importance in the pursuit of such a career.
• We want prospective students to be able to experience education at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Initiated in 1982 by the two state universities in Tallahassee, Florida A&M University and Florida State University, the young College of Engineering has been an aggressive force in education, including distance education, since its inception. Florida A&M University is an HBCU recognized as college of the year by Time-Princeton review for its recruitment efforts, while Florida State University traces its roots to the Florida State College for Women, and is recognized as a Research I university. Emerging from this background, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering has also established itself as a primary force in the education of underrepresented groups in engineering. By bringing elements of our program to the community colleges, we intend to further expand that mission.
• We want to enable community college transfers to cut one full year from their time to graduation. In the normal course of events, community college transfers must start with the sophomore fall semester courses at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. However, by taking two fall semester sophomore classes while at the community college, and taking the spring semester sphomore classes at the College of Engineering during summer, the community college transfer students will be able to join the junior class fall semester in September. This reduces their schedule by one year, something that would simply not be possible in our tightly scheduled program in any other way. This reduction in time spent will reduce costs substantially, as well as make the program more accessible to students desiring to complete their degree as quickly as possible.

Because of the final goal, we refer to our program tentatively as the ``Junior Jump'' program.