The preparatory courses have been created with the objective of assisting freshman students in the development of basic skills in Mathematics, Physics, Spanish and English needed to perform adequately in program entry level and advanced required courses. Our expectations are that through these courses the students will be able to develop positive attitudes towards their studies and the demands of an academic program at the university level. In addition, we expect our students to adapt better to the university environment by taking the developmental course of Adjustment to University Life.

To attain a higher student retention objective, a group of well qualified professors are in charge of the developmental component. They perform in accordance with the pre established goals of the courses.

The Preparatory Program consists of the following courses:

The students are enrolled in the corresponding preparatory course based upon their College Entrance Examination Board test results. Depending upon the degree of deficiencies from high school, students are entitled to take up to 24 credit hours in developmental courses during the first year of study. Preparatory courses are required in addition to the minimum graduation requirements of any particular undergraduate degree program.

The University Progress Center is a system of academic support, created thanks to Federal Funds of Title V. Our tutorial team of work consists of professional tutors (some of them also professors), advanced students and professor coordinators.

The objective of our Center is to reinforce the students’ academic skills in pursuing their careers. Our regular tutored students will be evaluated with a method inspired on modern pedagogies (levels of critical thinking, constructivism and others) among other advantages.

The UPC offers tutorial sessions Mondays through Thursdays 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for the following courses: MATH- 0104, MATH- 0100, MATH-0110, MATH-1330, MATH-1340, MATH-2310 and MATH-2320; SCIE- 0110, SCIE-2430*, SCIE-2440*, SCIE-1210* and SCIE-1220* ; ENGL and SPAN- 0100 and 0110.
* The schedule available for these sessions must be consulted.

Title V Proposal is supported by federal funds from the US Department of Education. It has two activities: Activity I (Admission Through Graduation Academic Support Program to Increase Retention, Persistence and Graduation Rates) – This retention, persistence and graduation model integrates a university wide effort to increase retention and advisement of Hispanic students. Activity I provides students with expanded services such as advisement, tutoring, and mentoring from first year through graduation. First year college students will benefit from a full academic support service that includes faculty, counselors and peer tutoring. This activity has two components: Academic Support and Advisement and Faculty Mentoring and Advisement.

Activity II (Enhancement of Engineering Laboratories and Learning Experiences Through Laboratory Equipment Acquisition) - Undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SME&T) courses and related laboratory experiences sets the stage for low-income Hispanic students who will become the next generation of Hispanic engineers. Meaningful laboratory experiences would provide students with the opportunity to approach science and engineering in such a way as to encourage students to continue to advance, rather than end, their studies.