Vex curriculum suggestions

[annie1939]

I am the robotics coach at a private school with about 200 kids in the high school. I am going to try to get an engineering class in the curriculum for next year. I have to do it inexpensively and for a max of about 10 kids a semester.
We do not have any shop facilities (no lathes ,cnc machines etc). We have portable power tools only. We do happen to have 6 vex kits that are not being used. Does anyone have experience with any of the vex based programs out there? In my search, I came across the following:

• Intelitek VEX Based Curriculum - http://www.intelitek-shop.com/produc...products_id=77

• CMU Robot Academy VEX Curriculum - http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/...um/vex_online/

• Autodesk vex curriculum - http://www.vexrobotics.com/edr-resources/

I am looking for something that they can work on at their own pace, is collaborative, and offers open ended challenges. But I want something with some meat to it. I don't want them just building toys to drive around. I worked with the Intelitek program over the summer, and liked the fact that it covered the mechanical principles as well as the electronics that we could apply to our competition robot. This is a college prep private school and all the kids will be taking AP classes before graduation. Will it be challenging enough?

Any suggestions or critiques out there? Obviously Project Lead the Way is out of our price range. I want a "packaged" curriculum to start with. Administration would be happier with that than having me (an retired engineer not a professional educator) develop one. I can always embellish later.

Thanks,
Ann