Ivy Tech Community College — Columbus and Columbus Signature Academy — New Tech have announced a new academic pathway that allows New Tech high school students to take information technology courses for college credit and receive an IT certification.
The new programming, called the “information technology pathway,” features a three-year sequence of introductory courses on cyber security, IT support, networking, software development, among other topics, starting during students’ sophomore year, said Mark Schneider, director of K-14 initiatives at Ivy Tech.
Schneider presented the new program to the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. school board members Monday night at the school board meeting.
“We are doing something that is truly unique in the state of Indiana. There is nothing else like it in the state,” he told school board members.
During the sequence of courses, students will earn 23 college credits that are transferable at Ivy Tech or any public four-year university in Indiana, Schneider said. Additionally, students who complete the sequence of courses can obtain a CompTIA A+ certification, Ivy Tech officials said.
The certification is an entry-level credential for computer technicians and covers several different technologies and operating systems, according to the Computing Technology Industry Association, an IT industry trade group that issues the certification.
The information technology pathway is expected to start its first cohort next school year, and classes will be taught by an Ivy Tech professor on the CSA New Tech campus in Columbus, said CSA New Tech Principal Mike Reed.
Sophomores will be given priority for the new program, but any remaining spaces will be available to juniors and seniors, Reed said.
The new programming will help the high school prepare students to enter the fast-changing IT field, Reed said.
“CSA New Tech’s mission is to prepare socially engaged citizens who excel in an information- and technology-rich society,” Reed told the school board. “Our vision is for us to be a revolutionary pathway for education. …For us to continue to be revolutionary, we must continue to evolve and adapt our practices to meet the demands of an ever-changing society.”
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Email CSA New Tech Principal Mike Reed at [email protected] for more information about the new academic programming.
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