Now you see it, now you don’t, now you see it again. That’s seems to be the story when it comes to discussion of an engineering program at CSUB.
Now, thanks to a collaborative effort with CSU Fresno and CSU Northridge, the dream is a little closer to becoming reality.
Recently CSUB has joined forces with CSU Fresno and CSU Northridge to offer third-year engineering classes on campus and in Antelope Valley. Pre-engineering students majoring in computer and electrical engineering can now complete all of the required general education courses, all pre-requisite courses, and all engineering courses through the third year of a four-year engineering program. Students will be able to transfer to either CSUF or CSUN to complete their fourth year of classes.
“We are delighted that through the cooperation of our sister campuses in Northridge and Fresno we are able to bring engineering to Cal State University, Bakersfield. This is an important step for the university and the community,” said CSUB President Tomas Arciniega.
Although Arciniega would prefer CSUB housed its own engineering program, he is very pleased with this new effort. He believes engineering is a key program that will enable our campus to respond to the long- standing need in our area.
Currently, CSUB only offers a two-year program for residents who want to study engineering and there are approximately 150 students enrolled in this program. That’s nearly 60 percent of the total engineering enrollment in the entire CSU system. Those 150 students are being forced to transfer to another campus to finish their degrees. With the implementation of the third-year courses offered through interactive television (ITV), students who are place-bound will be able to postpone their move.
CSUB professors Mark Evans and Abbas Grammy performed a detailed assessment of the need for engineering jobs in Kern County. According to this study, there are 145 job openings every year in Kern County for engineers of all types.
"The role of a regional state university is that they affect business location by enhancing the community's cultural and educational infrastructures," said Evans.
Roy Tarnaghan, an external consultant hired by CSUB last year, spent a day meeting with community leaders who also felt if our school had a series of bachelor's programs in engineering it could attract high tech firms into the basin, which would spur economic development.
"I think this area needs a school of engineering. It will enhance the offerings of this campus," says Thomas Meyer, interim dean of CSUB’S School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering. Meyer hopes that funding will be in place by next Fall quarter so by the time these students have completed the third-year courses, CSUB's engineering program will be up and running.
“Clearly President Arciniega’s and my goal is to have our own engineering program, but through this program we’re moving forward in our efforts to provide engineering education to the southern San Joaquin Valley.”
Meyer, who is also a member of the Academic Senate, believes that without engineering CSUB is not a fully comprehensive campus. Meyer is currently responsible for advising students in engineering and computer science.
The engineering program is not a new subject on campus. It was originally discussed back in the 1980's and in 1992 the senate and the chancellor's office approved a group of engineering programs. The start date for this program was supposed to be 1997, but because of the recessions and major budget cuts, not only in the CSU but all over the country, the engineering plan could not move forward. The new start date for the program was supposed to have been this quarter, but again there were delays.
If the engineering program is ever approved, it will require a new building. This building would not only house the school of engineering, but would also include lab space for other science faculty, especially math and computer science faculty. The cost of the new building is somewhere around $24.5 million. It is scheduled to open Fall 2004.
In the meantime, third-year engineering students will be piling into the ITV classrooms to work towards finishing their bachelor’s degree.
Runner@csubak.edu