Pre-Engineering Courses to be Offered to Lapeer Students

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A unique new program, to begin in Fall 2008, will help prepare Lapeer High School seniors for a future career in engineering, and give them a jump on their college education. The University of Michigan-Flint is joining with the Lapeer County Intermediate School District Education and Technology Center to offer the pre-engineering program.

A unique new program, to begin in fall 2008, will help prepare Lapeer High School seniors for a future career in engineering, and give them a jump on their college education. The University of Michigan-Flint is joining with the Lapeer County Intermediate School District Education and Technology Center to offer the pre-engineering program. Faculty from UM-Flint's Computer Science, Engineering Science and Physics Department will teach a series of four courses in Lapeer. The program will be limited to 25 students who will be enrolled in all four classes.

"We are pleased to offer this unique opportunity to our students. This truly represents an educational partnership between local K-12 institutions and the university," said Debbie Thompson, superintendent of Lapeer Community Schools. "I am hopeful that we can explore other options in the future."

The participating students will be dual-enrolled in their home high school and the University of Michigan-Flint, and upon completion they will earn 11 college credits that can be applied to degree programs at UM-Flint and other institutions.

"The Lapeer pre-engineering program provides a unique opportunity to talented high school students to prepare for an engineering education," said UM-Flint's Quamrul Mazumder, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and engineering science. "This partnership will contribute to the economic development of the Lapeer and mid-Michigan areas by helping to develop a well educated, technical workforce."

Two courses will be offered in fall 2008. They are: Introduction to Engineering, and Introduction to Programming in the BASIC Language. In winter 2009, Problem Solving and Programming, and Computer Aided Design will be offered.

A selection process and criteria have been developed by the school district in cooperation with the Education and Technology Center and UM-Flint engineering faculty to select students from the six public high schools in Lapeer County to participate in the program.

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