Dean Daniel Pack speaks before UTC and Chattanooga State representatives sign an articulation agreement.
The engineering and computer science programs at UTC and Chattanooga State Community College now have a relationship.
On Tuesday, Jan. 15, the two schools signed an agreement to set up a system in which Chattanooga State students who complete a two-year program for an associate degree in science or applied science can transfer to UTC with an exact list of the courses and number of hours they need to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Students who earn a two-year associate of applied science degree often go straight into the job market when they graduate. The new agreement gives these students the option to transfer to UTC either upon graduation from Chattanooga State or after working for a few years.
The agreement covers all majors in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at UTC. A similar arrangement with Cleveland State Community College was signed in November.
Under the agreement, UTC students have access to the mechatronics lab at Chattanooga State. Mechatronics integrates computer technology, electronics and mechanics into a single system. Robots that assemble cars at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga are mechatronic machines.
UTC’s mechatronics program started in fall semester 2018, and a lab is being put together here but isn’t finished.
Discussions for similar agreements are underway with other colleges in the region, including Dalton State, Covenant College and Roane State.
