Aims will offer associate degree in engineering with tie to School of Mines

GREELEY — Aims Community College will offer an associate of engineering science degree that will feed into the Colorado School of Mines.

The new degree program will begin this fall. It will allow local students to start classwork closer to home while they prepare for the larger institution at Mines. It also lowers the cost of earning the degree, Aims said in a press statement.

Aims offers an industrial technology associate of applied science degree and six certificate programs in energy, manufacturing operations, automation, maintenance and robotics. “Historically, we have been focused on students coming in to get a two-year degree or certificate to help them quickly enter the workplace as a technician,” Dave Sordi, an Aims instructor in industrial technology and energy studies, said in a written statement. “Once they got their associate degree or certificate, that was really an endpoint for them. This new degree will provide a path for students who want to pursue a four-year degree in engineering.”

Aims pursued an agreement with Mines because most engineering job listings require at least a four-year degree or higher. Aims research determined that engineers will be in higher demand within Weld County over the coming years. Median earnings for engineers in 2021 was reported at $94,511.

“This expands our potential student population to those who want a four-year degree,” Sordi said. “It’s exciting because it provides students an alternative, where they can get their technical start and save quite a bit of money, especially if they are from around here and don’t have to pay for a dorm room in addition to higher tuition and other costs.”Potential students can find out more about the new program at aims.co/apply or attend the Engineering Technology Open House on March 8 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Applied Technology and Trades Center on the Greeley Campus.

Source: BizWest