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Michigan Tech to Offer Engineering Degree at Northwestern Michigan College
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(May 28, 2003)--Students from throughout northwestern Michigan will soon be able to get an engineering degree from Michigan Technological University without moving to the Upper Peninsula.
This fall, Michigan Tech, in Houghton, is offering a Bachelor of Science in Engineering through a new partnership with the Northwestern Michigan College University Center. Students will be able to specialize in either product design or municipal engineering.
"Michigan Tech's participation in the NMC University Center is a significant next step in the NMC-MTU relationship, which has been built on teaching excellence and outstanding student performance," NMC president Timothy J. Nelson said. "We are pleased that this inaugural engineering degree program is not only our first major venture in the areas of science and engineering at the University Center, but that it also represents a national model for community college and university collaboration in distance education."
Michigan Tech has a long history of delivering quality education from a distance. Students have been able to earn associate, bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees from MTU through partnerships with corporations such as Ford and General Motors. However, this is the university's first distance-learning endeavor with a community college.
"Northwestern Michigan is a top-notch institution with excellent facilities and a strong faculty," said Dr. J. Bruce Rafert, Michigan Tech's dean of the graduate school and distance learning. "We feel we've formed an exceptionally strong partnership."
The program has already drawn interest locally.
"The response from the Michigan Tech engineering alumni in the five-county area has been exceptionally enthusiastic," Rafert said. "We expect that these programs will be very attractive to individuals in the workforce who'd like to upgrade their skills."
Engineering students at the NMC University Center will see the same lectures as their peers in Houghton. Michigan Tech courses will be delivered via the Internet to the center, where they will be shown to the class as a group. Class materials will be available on the Web through the popular instructional software WebCT.
Students will be able to phone, fax and e-mail their professors in Houghton, and will be encouraged to form study groups. Exams will be held at the NMC University Center. Some lab courses may be taken locally, though some could involve one- or two-week visits to Michigan Tech.
For more about the programs, including admissions information, contact Michigan Tech's Office of Extended University Programs at 1-800-405-4678.
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