Civil Engineering program a collaborative effort

West Virginia University, Marshall University and WVU Institute of Technology will work in a collaborative effort to offer an undergraduate engineering degree on Marshall’s Huntington campus.

"This degree model demonstrates effective collaboration among West Virginia’s colleges and universities. Sharing resources and expertise allows the partners to provide greater access to engineering education for the citizens of West Virginia," said Dr. Sarah N. Denman, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Marshall in a news release Tuesday.

According to the news release, WVU Tech and WVU will provide junior and senior civil engineering courses to Marshall students that will supplement Marshall’s existing freshman and sophomore undergraduate engineering program. Courses will be available on MU’s Huntington campus, and some will be available on MU’s South Charleston campus.

Mike Farrell, chairman of the academic affairs committee for the Marshall University Board of Governors, said this is just another step forward.

"It is a tremendous step forward to benefit the state," Farrell said. "It is a positive result of the effort by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission to combine resources at different institutions that benefit the citizens of West Virginia."

Courses will be offered in accordance with Tech’s current civil engineering curriculum, which has long been accredited by the national Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Marshall students who successfully complete the curriculum will earn a B.S. degree in civil engineering from WVU Tech.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with WVU and WVU Tech to meet the demand for this type of program from our current and future students," Denman said. "In addition, Marshall is excited to be a part of increasing the availability of engineering to larger numbers of students at a time when the national engineering community is concerned about filling the ranks of engineers in the near future."

Dr. Gerald Lang, provost and vice president for academic affairs and research at West Virginia University, said in a prepared statement WVU is pleased to be a part of the collaboration.

"All students in southern West Virginia will have the advantage of access to a civil engineering degree through this partnership, which offers courses leading to a four-year degree in all three locations," Lang said.

The news release also reported that, although MU’s four-year degree program in engineering was discontinued in 1970, freshmen- and sophomore-level courses common to most fields in engineering have remained available.

The freshman/sophomore program also will remain available to students interested in other fields of engineering. MU is currently working through the campus and statewide approval process associated with offering its own undergraduate engineering degree program in the near future.

The first junior-level courses in civil engineering at MU will be offered in fall 2005, making the degree program available for current freshmen and sophomores, in addition to students entering MU in fall 2005 and beyond. WVU Tech and MU plan to make scheduling and registration for the program and courses a one-step process for students.