The program also has an engineering career awareness component plus an opportunity for students to visit a local engineering industry site. Castro said many engineering students come into freshman chemistry with a limited chemistry background. Some only had a small amount of chemistry as part of a physical science course, so they lack the background needed to succeed in a college level chemistry course. There is an introductory chemistry students can take, prior to freshman chemistry, but it does not count toward their degree plan. Many see that as a waste of time, but if they fail or drop freshman chemistry, that's also wasted time.
Some students are in a big hurry to get their degrees.
Engineering has a hard curriculum. It is better to get a 3.0 grade point average in five years then a 2.0 in four years. Castro said he's had students take the chemistry bridge program and realize engineering is not for them. This is our fourth year of the chemistry bridge program, and we've had excellent results. We'll continue the partnership between the colleges during the academic year.