Students may now receive a degree from Iowa State in electrical engineering without ever setting a foot on the ISU campus.

Iowa State’s college of engineering is offering its electrical engineering bachelor’s degree program at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids beginning this summer.

“What is unique about this is that in the past we have never offered any class that involved labs over the Iowa Communications Network (ICN),” said Dr. Abdel-Aziz Fouad, distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering and ISU’s chairman of the electrical engineering department. “Now we will be offering those classes.”

Jim Melsa, dean of the college of engineering, said the ICN is a state-wide fiber-optic network run by a state agency. The network connects the three regions in the state, the universities and community colleges in Iowa and a growing number of high schools.

Melsa said students will take the first two years of their electrical engineering courses at Kirkwood Community College taught by Kirkwood faculty. The difference is that students can continue their electrical engineering education at Kirkwood while being taught by ISU professors and earning an ISU degree.

“Students will be able to take the last two years of their engineering courses at Kirkwood and receive their bachelor’s degree from Iowa State,” Melsa said. “All the classes will be taught by Iowa State professors.”

The laboratories, Fouad said, will be provided by Rockwell International.

Melsa said one engineering class will be taught this summer and two engineering classes will be offered in each of the regular semesters.

Students who have completed the pre-engineering program could finish the ISU portion in four years by taking five courses at Kirkwood per year, he said.

“It is possible for a student to complete the degree program without ever having to set foot on the ISU campus,” Melsa said.

Melsa said ISU’s college of engineering has been providing graduate-level courses through videotape to engineers at Rockwell International and other Iowa companies for more than 25 years. But, offering classes that involve labs is new and the first of its kind in Iowa.

“We hope we will be able to do this with other community colleges throughout the state,” Melsa said. “It is convenient for students and helps meet the needs of those pursuing an electrical engineering degree.”