High school seniors planning to attend Moraine Valley Community College are eligible for guaranteed admission to the prestigious College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through a new Engineering Pathways partnership. Incoming freshmen must be starting at Moraine Valley in the 2016-17 academic year.
The partnership provides an opportunity for students with a genuine interest in any area of the engineering field to earn a degree from a top-ranked program. Students who are accepted into the program must be full-time and are required to complete a pre-determined set of courses within three years while maintaining a 3.3 grade point average at Moraine Valley.
Completing the first two years of the engineering curriculum at Moraine Valley will save a student an estimated $17,000 a year in tuition alone (based on 2014-15 tuition and fees). Substantially higher savings are expected when room and board costs are factored in. The Moraine Valley Foundation also offers numerous scholarships to its students.
“We have worked with the College of Engineering at UIUC to bring world-class engineering education to our district’s students at an affordable cost,” said Panos Hadjimitsos, assistant dean of Science, Business and Computer Technology at Moraine Valley. “All of the classes students are required to take at Moraine Valley are taught by our expert faculty, and we will provide superior support services to ensure the success of qualified participants, including dual advising.”
Advisors from both Moraine Valley and the University of Illinois will jointly advise students throughout the program to ensure the requirements are being met before they transfer.
Admission to the partnership is competitive to ensure entering students are most likely to succeed. A successful Engineering Pathways participant has mostly A’s and B’s in high school, participates in numerous extracurricular and/or work experience in an engineering-related field, prefers personal attention, and wants to cut down on cost. The median ACT composite score is 29.
“We’re really proud of this program. It provides students with a lot of academic resources and opportunities, including a chance to attend a top five engineering school in the country,” said Joe Waranyuwat, advisor at the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois.
Women and students who are low-income, first-generation to go to college, from underrepresented ethnic groups, and in the Moraine Valley district are strongly encouraged to apply, although the program is open to any graduating high school senior.
Information sessions will be held Tuesday, Jan. 26, and Monday, Feb. 1, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in Building S, Room S117, on campus, 9000 W. College Pkwy., Palos Hills. Application information and timelines are available on the website at morainevalley.edu/epinfo.
For news media inquiries, call Jessica Crotty, College and Community Relations coordinator, at (708) 974-5281, or e-mail her at crotty@morainevalley.edu.
