• The partnership will create a pathway for engineering students.

A signing of the new 2+2 agreements between Wichita State University and Cowley Community College took place at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at Cowley’s Mulvane location, 430 E. Main St.

The partnership, which starts this fall semester, will create a pathway for engineering students to take two years of courses at Cowley Community College, earning an associate’s degree, and finish with a four-year degree at Wichita State two years later.

It is designed for students working toward a bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering and manufacturing engineering.

Typically when students transfer from a community college to a four-year program, there are courses at the sophomore level that still need to be taken. This results in most transfers taking three years to complete instead of two.

The seamless transition from Cowley to WSU will ensure students don’t waste time or money on classes that aren’t a good fit for their final goals.

This step forward by WSU and Cowley represents a commitment to access and affordability.

The partnership is also part of the WSU College of Engineering’s commitment to support the expansion of the Kansas economy by placing more engineers and computer scientists into the workforce.

More partnerships between WSU and area community colleges are planned for the future.