To increase on engineering opportunities in West Michigan, Grand Valley State University and Cornerstone University are partnering together to have students concurrently enroll at both universities.

With the agreement signed Wednesday, Oct. 19, GVSU will expand on the interdisciplinary engineering major by introducing four new emphasis areas, while Cornerstone will be offering engineering degrees for the first time.

“Our partnership with Cornerstone University will provide students opportunities to take advantage and expand their educational experiences in relevant course work,” said GVSU President Thomas Haas. “Both universities have well-qualified students and this program allows for them to expand beyond what is available at each campus.”

Paul Plotkowski, dean of the Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing, said both universities will have to work closely together throughout this dual enrollment process.

While both universities will allow students to enroll in classes without applying to the respective colleges, the two registrar’s offices, Plotkowski said, will have to work closely together in order to match up schedules, credits and financial aid.

“If a student is eligible for financial aid, they have to be a full-time student,” he said. “If a student is taking some of their classes there and some of their classes here, the two registrars will have to work together to be able to say they are a full-time student and be able to have their financial aid support.”

Aspects of the partnership, Plotkowski said, focuses mostly on providing students the resources essential in moving forward in their engineering careers.

Stressing the new emphasis areas, which include environmental engineering, design and innovation engineering, engineering management, and data science and engineering, Plotkowski said students will have the chance to custom build their education.

“What we are doing there is taking those threads, common tracks, that are reoccurring and that several students have done and decided to make it an emphasis,” he said. “So going in they don’t have to build it their selves as we already knows what works and what is being successful for students.”

With Cornerstone utilizing the foundations of GVSU’s engineering program, the partnership will build upon the first two-and-a-half years of engineering degree in their department while GVSU utilizes its design and environmental science facilities.

Focusing on interdisciplinary programs with both universities, Plotkowski said, it will capitalize on the power of higher education and to the demands of West Michigan.

“Engineering is not one discipline, it is a family of disciplines,” he said. “So this allows us to expand on the number of disciplines that we can offer, let them piggy-back and offer programs that go beyond that and again take advantage of their resources and offer them to our students.”

Partnering with Cornerstone to provide the foundations of success for future engineers in West Michigan, the agreement builds upon community growth.

“I am pleased with our faculties and staff developing a unique arrangement that will lead to student success,” Haas said.

For more information about GVSU’s engineering program, visit www.gvsu.edu/pcec.