Dear
Academic Colleague:
Please add your department’s voice to
the dialog among engineering faculty through
the Intersegmental Major Preparation Articulated
Curriculum (IMPAC) project. Faculty from the
University of California, California State
University, and California community colleges
seek to ensure that community college students
will be properly prepared for progressing in
their chosen major immediately upon arrival
at the transfer university. When community
college students have a clearly defined path
to the baccalaureate degree they desire, costly
duplication of similar courses and courses
that satisfy no requirement can be avoided.
Students save time and expense and better use
is made of our public resources.
IMPAC, funded
by a grant, enables faculty from California's
three systems of higher education to meet to
identify and address potential problems that
may impede the smooth transfer of students.
These meetings provide a forum where faculty
can review and reconcile issues of curriculum
articulation (content and prerequisites), admissions
procedures, and other factors affecting efficient
transfer.
In 2004-2005, IMPAC brought together faculty from 33 different disciplines, including
engineering. This term six more disciplines are being added. Please visit our
website for more information.
The engineering discipline meets jointly with the Engineering Liaison Council
(ELC), which has a long tradition of tackling the issues of engineering transfer
students. (Please see the ELC’s website at www.caelc.org.) IMPAC seeks
to increase faculty participation, especially from the universities. The fall
joint meeting will be held on Thursday, November 17, at Ohlone College in Fremont
(east San Francisco Bay). A second joint meeting will occur in the south area
in March.
Holding these faculty-to-faculty
discussions now is imperative. The CSU faculty
have identified 45 unit cores for transfer
students in four engineering majors, with an
additional 15 units that are specific to each
campus, under the Lower Division Transfer Pattern
initiative. The old California Articulation
Number course descriptions are being updated
for this new initiative. The UC participants
in the Engineering Liaison Council are also
working to identify a common core to guide
the preparation of community college students.
Good communication at this juncture can improve
alignment of courses and prerequisites to serve
the needs of transfer students.
IMPAC requests
that one or two engineering faculty from
your institution participate in this effort.
Your participation is crucial to enhance
the successful transfer of community college
students. Please support this effort.
IMPAC will reimburse faculty for travel expenses, and half of the ELC registration
fee. The policies for reimbursement are located at www.cal-impac.org (under
Forms). Invitation to the ELC/IMPAC joint meeting and related information are
attached.
Sincerely,
Darlene Mathias
IMPAC Engineering Lead Faculty Coordinator
Engineering Professor
Cosumnes River College
8401 Center Parkway
Sacramento, CA 95823-5799
916-691-7394
mathiad@crc.losrios.edu
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