The College of Engineering (CoE) has announced a collaborative effort with the division of student affairs to deliver a summer bridge program for first-year multicultural engineering students. The APEX program (Academic Program for Excellence) is an established summer bridge program that is managed by the Dean of Student’s Office (DSO) and serves students entering Iowa State directly from high school who wish to prepare for the rigors of college life.
The CoE has worked with the DSO to develop a track within the APEX program called APEXE that meets the specific needs of incoming engineering students. This includes focused academic coursework along with important co-curricular activities such as visits to industry and laboratory experiences. This APEXE bridge program will be the engineering summer bridge program, replacing the recently discontinued SPEED summer bridge program.
There are two primary strengths of this collaborative APEX model:
- The college will be leveraging an established bridge program that can provide the necessary logistical support including tuition scholarships, lodging and dining, structured programming, peer mentoring, etc.
- The college will focus its efforts on the curricular and co-curricular activities developed specifically for the engineering students.
The CoE is investing dollars and staffing in the APEXE program, and will help define all aspects of the summer bridge program experience for our engineering students that will uniquely prepare them for the rigorous first-year engineering curriculum.
If you have any questions about these changes, please contact:
Name: Gary Mirka, Associate Dean for Education, CoE
Phone: 515 294-8661
Email: mirka@iastate.edu