Engineering coming to WSU

Weber State University 2001 mechanical engineering technology graduate Marc Clements now spends his spare time on a ladder fixing electrical and plumbing issues on a local condominium property after his recent layoff from Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK).
Clements said if WSU had an engineering program when he was attending, it would have given him more career options. Those opportunities may not have been open to him, but they will be for future graduates. WSU is now starting an engineering program after the Utah State Legislature made an amendment to S.B. 52 on Thursday, March 11, to establish an electronics-engineering program at WSU.
“There is no reason why Weber State can’t offer that program,” Clements said. “I think they have the students that are interested in doing it and I think it would be a benefit to state and a huge benefit to the students.”
Clements said a lot of employers desire a classical degree over a technical degree. He said he is staying optimistic and is busy looking for work. He had three job interviews this past week.
Administrators also think this program will benefit students and are happy to see legislation passed.
“We first proposed an engineering program to the Board of Regents in 2007 and we were really trying to meet the workforce needs in our area,” said Brad Mortensen, vice president of University Advancement.
Mortensen said Hill Air Force Base and other large employers in the aerospace sector said they would need engineering graduates in order to grow and support their workforce in the future. 
WSU currently has a two-year pre-engineering program and a mechanical and manufacturing engineering technology degree, but not an actual electronics-engineering program.
“A lot of programs (at WSU) are structured more to accommodate the flexible learning needs of our students, more so than you might find at a more traditional school,” Mortensen said.
Many classes for the engineering program will be offered in the evening, or at a time that would work best with students’ schedules. Mortensen said offering classes at a flexible time is critical to reaching out to students.
“There is a huge need in our state to grow the number of engineers,” Mortensen said, “and having this kind of program that can reach out to a different population that isn’t currently being served is one way to make that pipeline bigger.”
At this time there are no details whether classes will be held at the Davis campus or on Ogden’s main campus.
Warren Hill, dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology, said it is about time WSU had a four-year engineering program.
“I was a bit incredulous,” Hill said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen.”
According to Hill, some students are bound to a geographic region and don’t have the option to travel to Salt Lake City or Logan because schools there don’t offer night classes for the program.
WSU plans to set itself apart from other schools in the state with engineering programs by scheduling many of the courses in the evening to accommodate nontraditional students.
“It is a value to students and employers,” Hill said. “This gives many more opportunities to students who want to come to Weber State but couldn’t get an engineering degree prior to this
Thursday signaled the official end of the 2010 legislative session. Other items of interest at the legislature for WSU were changes to the state budget. Originally WSU was bracing for a worst-case scenario, but Mortensen said the final cuts come as a relief over what was anticipated. Rather than a proposed 17 percent cut, the state plans to cut approximately 13-14 percent with one-time backfill money. Part of the reasoning for the smaller cut was that state revenues weren’t as bad as originally thought and the recently passed cigarette tax will add money to the base budget. This will in effect translate to lower-than-anticipated tuition hikes and help keep WSU in the original range presented of a tier-two 4-8 percent increase.
WSU also received $15 million in funding for student housing with H.B. 5. Mortensen said he was pleased with how supportive legislators were this year for WSU’s cause. The student housing project will move forward as planned with the demolition of La Sal student housing in May.
While WSU did not receive funding for the second Davis campus building project, Mortensen said at least next year there will be less players and WSU may move further up on the priority list.
“We had a lot of legislators in Weber and Davis County and even some alums step up and recognize the needs that we have been trying to make the case for,” Mortensen said. “That is always encouraging when you have those legislators willing to fight for your cause.”