12 Dually Enrolled High School Students Earn Industry-Recognized Credentials
Enterprise State Community College is proud to announce that 12 of its students enrolled in a new Computer Information Sciences (CIS) program have earned their first of several prestigious industry-recognized credentials. What makes this so impressive is that the students are dually enrolled high school students, that they earned the credential after taking only one college course, and that 100% of those who took the certification exam passed it on the first attempt. The credential that the students earned is the CompTIA certification in IT Fundamentals, which can be a stepping stone to more advanced certifications such as A+, Network+, and Security+. The CompTIA IT Fundamentals exam covers foundational information technology concepts including identifying and explaining computer components, installing software, establishing network connectivity and preventing security risks.
The 12 students who earned the CompTIA IT Fundamentals certification are attending the Wiregrass IT Center of Excellence (WITCoE), a regional high school career/technical center launched last fall which is housed on the ESCC campus. WITCoE represents an alliance among local school districts, community colleges, and workforce and economic development to provide for a better qualified workforce in the Wiregrass Area. The Center will prepare students for employment in high wage, high demand jobs immediately after high school graduation. The 12 students who earned the CompTIA certification in IT Fundamentals at the end of last semester are: Josiah Ayala (EHS), Ryan Braden (EHS), Jordan Clark (Geneva HS), Andrew Douglas (Kinston HS), Jackson Dyess (EHS), Bryce Fearing (EHS), Josh Jones (EHS), Tre’von Jones (EHS), Josh Lavoy (EHS), Chris Nolder (EHS), Keval Patel (EHS), and Johnny Wagner (EHS).
Most of the students enrolled in ESCC through WITCoE are pursuing the College’s new short certificate titled “IT Professional”. It consists of eight 3-credit-hour courses (24 total credit hours) that train students in the areas of hardware and software support, networking, IT security, and open-source operating systems (Linux). These courses also help prepare them for corresponding CompTIA certification exams. Students who earn the IT Professional certificate will have completed the technology core of ESCC’s new AAS degree in IT Auditing and Assurance (coming Fall 2017), a two-year degree which, with only a few years of on-the-job experience, can lead to a 6-figure salary.
Both the IT Professional certificate and the IT Audit and Assurance associate degree are open to traditional college students as well as dually enrolled high school students. Graduating seniors and adults who are interested in the program should contact the ESCC Interim Dean of Instruction, Leslie Reeder, at 334-347-2623, ext. 2203 or lreeder@escc.edu for more information. High school students who are seeking admission through dual enrollment should contact WITCoE Principal Dr. Brent Hanchey at (334) 347-2640 or bhanchey@enterpriseschools.net.