October 2009
Close to 400 MESA students graduated with engineering and computer science degrees while more than 500 MESA community college students transferred into math-based majors during the 2008-2009 academic year. These strong numbers show MESA's importance in increasing the number of science, engineering and technology professionals so urgently needed by industry.
The MESA Engineering Program served 4,450 students at 12 four-year institutions throughout the state and produced 386 graduates in majors including civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, construction management and aerospace.
The MESA Community College Program served students at 31 community colleges and helped 522 students successfully transfer to public and private colleges and universities. The top five destinations for those students are: UC Davis, San Jose State University, UC San Diego, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Berkeley.
California is projected to suffer a state shortfall of almost 40,000 engineers by 2014, making MESA graduates an integral part of California's future technical workforce.
MESA students account for 10 percent of all Latino STEM transfers, 13 percent of all African American STEM transfers and 20 percent of all Native American STEM transfers in California.
Community colleges are experiencing record high enrollment, but only about 12 percent of those students ever transfer to a four-year college. Increasing the community college transfer rate is a documented way to help fill the projected shortfall of college graduates needed in the coming decades.
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