Enhancing the pre-engineering curriculum - A multi-partner initiative

This paper describes a project involving a major research university and fifteen secondary and post-secondary schools to develop and implement a career cluster program for the Research, Development and Technical Services career major. This Engineering Science Technology Tech-Prep grant, sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Education, has three main career goals for this project. These goals include preparing a skilled workforce that meets industry and educational standards in the fields of engineering, science and technology, establishing a consortium to improve training opportunities for students and teachers, and improving and expanding articulation between the secondary and postsecondary providers of education and training. The methodology of the project is to develop a local consortium of comprehensive schools, county vocational schools, two-year colleges, four-year colleges and research universities, and the R&D industrial base to ensure that New Jersey's youth are adequately prepared for entrance into two-year and four-year engineering, science and technology degree programs. The ultimate goal is to prepare these students for careers in engineering, science and technology, through the use of articulated curricula during grades 11 (high school) through junior year (college).