It has got all the benefits of the Georgia Institute of Technology with the added perk of being in Augusta.

On Friday, Augusta State University and Georgia Tech signed an agreement establishing a two-year pre-engineering program locally. The program allows students to take their first two years of courses at ASU, then finish up their degree at Georgia Tech's Savannah campus.

"It's getting harder and harder to get into Atlanta because our degree is getting higher and higher ranked," said Jane Ammons, Georgia Tech's associate dean of engineering for faculty affairs. "We just don't have the capacity in Atlanta, especially the first two years."

According to Georgia Tech, only 63 percent of those who applied in 2007 were accepted.

Yet, there is a tremendous need to produce engineers domestically as industry imports them from foreign countries, Dr. Ammons said.

The partnership with ASU will alleviate pressure on Georgia Tech's Atlanta campus, increase production of engineers and provide local students greater access to world-class resources, she said, emphasizing that the degree graduates receive will be from Georgia Tech.

An engineering job isn't too bad, either.

"It's just one of the best bachelor's program jobs there is," Dr. Ammons said, noting that the average starting salary for an engineer is between $45,000 and $60,000.

ASU students can participate in the pre-engineering program starting this year, said J. Andrew Hauger, the chairman of the university's Department of Chemistry and Physics.

Georgia residents who maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.7 and nonresidents with a GPA of 3.0 or better in their math, science and engineering courses are automatically accepted into Georgia Tech's Savannah campus.

Previously, Dr. Hauger could only suggest to students what courses to take in their hopes of transferring to an engineering school, he said. But now, there is a clearly spelled out pre-engineering course load and a guarantee of admission to Georgia Tech.

Not only does the partnership help students by enabling them to stay close to home and save money but it also helps the community, Dr. Ammons said.

"It will help to attract more companies to the area knowing that you're tied in with an engineering school," she said.

The schools formally established the partnership during a ceremonial agreement signing.

"We need to sign all three copies and then we'll move forward, students will come and we'll produce more engineers and the world will be a better place," ASU President William A. Bloodworth Jr. said to applause.