Issues in developing a high school pre-engineering program

In an effort to increase awareness in science and engineering education in the Northwest Florida region, the University of West Florida Engineering Department in conjunction with a local Northwest Florida high school initiated a high school level pre-engineering program. Many issues were encountered in the first two years of the program. Primary issues in the deployment of the program included staffing, finance, enrollment, curriculum development, the development of instructional materials, and college credit award. Faculty level issues included the assimilation of university level faculty to the high school environment and the duality of faculty working between the university and high school systems. Student specific issues included student learning disabilities, English as a Second Language, and discipline in the classroom. Unique solutions were developed and applied to make the program a success. The following paper gives an overview of the program and solutions to some of the issues that were encountered. The goal is to present the approach taken in this particular program to give others who are developing similar programs insight into possible issues they may encounter.