2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
From Local to Global: Growing Engineers through Community College Partnerships
Presented at Two-Year College Division (TYCD) Technical Session 2: Transforming the Transfer Experience
From Local to Global: Growing Engineers through Community College Partnerships
The Texas A&M Engineering Academy program, launched in 2015, is the first engineering co-enrollment transition program of its kind in the United States. Unlike traditional transfer programs, students admitted into an A&M Engineering Academy are dually enrolled at both Texas A&M and a two-year partner college. While completing their core curriculum at the partner institution, students simultaneously take lower-division Texas A&M engineering courses taught by Texas A&M faculty embedded at the community college campus. After meeting the Texas A&M Entry-to-a-Major (ETAM) criteria and completing the required coursework, students seamlessly transition—rather than transfer—to Texas A&M to complete their bachelor’s degree in engineering.
This innovative model was designed with three key objectives:
1. Access – Broaden access to a Texas A&M engineering degree by leveraging the geographic reach and open-access mission of community colleges.
2. Affordability – Reduce the cost of an engineering degree. On average, Academy students save approximately $4,100 per semester in tuition and fees compared to full-time students at Texas A&M College Station.
3. Completion – Improve retention and graduation rates through a structured, supportive pathway that integrates advising, tutoring, and cohort-based learning experiences.
Notably, the Engineering Academy program has a strong appeal to first-generation students and those facing financial constraints that may otherwise limit their access to a Tier 1 research university.
From 2015 to 2020, admissions to the A&M Engineering Academy was based on pre-qualification of students at each individual community college with no continuity across partner colleges. Since 2021, the admissions process for the Engineering Academy has evolved into a rigorous, multi-step co-enrollment model that differs from traditional university admissions. The process includes:
1. Students first apply and become admitted at one of the 10 participating two-year colleges across Texas.
2. They complete a common Texas A&M Engineering Academy Prequalification Interest Form.
3. The partner college assesses the student’s readiness for calculus and college-level science coursework aligned with the community college’s placement criteria.
4. Once prequalified, students receive access to a specific Texas A&M Engineering Academy application.
5. Texas A&M Admission Office evaluates the submitted application for admission into the College of Engineering using the same criteria as the main campus.
This paper will detail the co-enrollment admissions process and highlight key insights from multiple years of implementation, including:
• A comparison of prequalification criteria and placement standards across the 10 community college partners.
• Admission trends and acceptance rates for Engineering Academy applicants versus traditional engineering applicants.
• Lessons learned and ongoing improvements to streamline the student experience and enhance equity in access to engineering education.
As of Fall 2025, there are ten Texas A&M Engineering Academy sites: Blinn College–Brenham, Tarrant County College, South Texas College, Tyler Junior College, Austin Community College, Alamo Colleges District, Dallas College, Houston Community College, Midland College, and the newest partner, Collin College.
This partnership model reaffirms the essential role of two-year colleges in preparing the next generation of engineers and offers a scalable framework for other universities seeking to expand equitable access to high-impact STEM pathways.
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Anna Gutierrez Texas A&M University [biography]
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