A new Statewide Voluntary Mechanical Engineering Articulation Compact should help mechanical engineering student’s graduate on time, college officials said.
The compact, signed by University President Rodney Mabry and Tyler Junior College President Mike Metke on Oct. 5 lets students take classes in junior college and transfer them from junior college to University.
University President Rodney Mabry, left, and Tyler Junior College President Michael Metke sign the Statewide Voluntary Mechanical Engineering Articulation Compact on Oct. 5 at the Ratliff Suite in RBS. Photo by Joseph Elerson
“I am so excited about what happened,” Mabry said. “This was Jim Nelson’s baby and it is important for this being put together. This is not just an agreement between these two institutions but we get to kick it off.”
The compact, which is an officially approved agreement matching coursework between schools, helps with transferring courses and course credits to four-year institutions by defining the student learning outcomes expected in each of the 17 courses.
“We chose to do the one statewide program in a particular area of importance to the state which is technology,” Smith said. “We chose mechanical engineering due to the importance of this degree to the state. We want to develop a set of courses that freshman and sophomore students can take that would help them be successful when they transfer to the University.”
Smith said the University and Tyler Junior College are the first two institutions to sign the compact in Texas State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, and U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, spoke about the compact from a state and federal perspective.
“This is fantastic and this is the way to do it,” Gohmert said. “It is amazing what can be accomplished when two groups work together instead of trying to cram it down the other’s throat.”
Berman said officials in Austin recognize what each school is doing for the state.
“We are truly blessed in Tyler and Smith County to have two institutions of higher education as outstanding as Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler,” Berman said.
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