They worked together to create the AES degree. Then a year ago, a Front Range engineering faculty member reached out to her counterparts at Colorado State University, University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines and the Colorado Community College System.
“We kept struggling because we were trying to fit, in essence, a square peg into a round hole,” Woulfe said. An engineering degree has been in the works for years but there was a major issue: each school had their own unique curricula. There are over 30 degree opportunities, from agricultural business to theater. Statewide transfer agreements between community colleges and universities have been around for a decade. Students didn’t have the opportunity to earn an associate degree. In the past, students interested in engineering would pick and choose classes and then transfer to a university, Woulfe said, but it wasn’t a formalized process. “These students are in an environment where they can thrive and be successful and then be completely prepared to step into those programs with our four-year partners,” Woulfe said. The school offers numerous services to support them. So, students are not wasting any time or wasting any money.”įront Range is the largest community college in the state and enrolls a lot of people of color, low-income, first-generation, and older, non-traditional students. “Which means the whole first two years that they take at the community college will transfer to the four-year schools and all of the credits will transfer.
LISTEN LATER AES PLUS
“With this new degree, it's a clear what we would call 60 plus 60,” said Rebecca Woulfe, vice president of academic affairs and online learning at Front Range Community College. It will allow her to transfer to a state university as a junior to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Next spring, she’ll be one of the first to graduate with the new Associate of Engineering Science (AES) degree. But she also found something else: a new educational pathway. “Even like now, like years later, saying it just feels incredible.”Ĭhughtai loves Front Range and has found her community here. “I got straight A's that semester and it felt so good,” she said. With her mom’s encouragement, Chughtai enrolled full-time at Front Range. But when they immigrated to the U.S., they attended community college to get degrees here. Her parents are from Pakistan and college-educated. “I was nervous to get back because those lecture halls are really big and really intimidating,” she said. But Chughtai wasn’t sure about returning to CU Boulder. “That was like an absolute 180 in my life,” she said.Īll her academic struggles started to make sense after that and she was ready to give college another try. Then, in 2018, she was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“It was not my thing.”Ĭhughtai decided to take a semester off, which eventually led to her dropping out altogether. “I remember just having a constant knot in my stomach anytime I had to go to class, any time I had to like talk to my parents about homework or assignments,” she said.
After a tough time in high school, she enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder, but it wasn’t a good fit. This is the 25-year-old’s second stint in college. But certainly for me because this is where I spend most of my time.”
“That's maybe not the central hub for everyone. “The central hub to me is the science classrooms and the café,” she said. When she’s at the Westminster campus, you can usually find her at what she warmly calls the “central hub.” Adeena Chughtai is studying engineering at Front Range Community College.
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