UMBC's proposed undergraduate major in electrical engineering - the school already has graduate programs in the subject - has drawn objections from officials at Morgan State University who say it would duplicate a program there and harm that institution. After meeting with representatives from UMBC and Morgan State last week, MHEC officials told UMBC that they tentatively agreed with Morgan State's position.

"The Board of Regents and MHEC have two sets of standards for judging programs," said Charles Middleton, the system's top academic officer. "The board looks at if a program is compatible with the institution's mission and can be done within existing resources. This [UMBC electrical engineering] program meets those requirements.