NSCC to train in Cisco, e-comm
8/21/00
By Denise Bacote
North Shore Community College and nine North Shore high schools have joined the National Cisco Networking Academy program this year. The participating schools will offer a comprehensive educational opportunity for high school and college students to learn how to design, build, and maintain computer networks in a program designed by Cisco Systems. Teachers have taken instructor training classes at NSCC, led by Krystof Suchcicki, network administrator and regional Cisco instructor.
The Cisco Academy program consists of four semesters of instruction. The high schools will offer their students two semesters of the program this year, while NSCC will launch the full four-semester program, offered early evenings and Saturdays, starting Sept. 9, at the new Institute for Corporate Training and Technology at the Cummings Center in Beverly.
The academy model offers high school students the opportunity to take the first two semesters of Cisco training during the 11th and 12th grades free of charge with the option of completing the program at the college level — saving both time and money. Upon the completion of the first two semesters of the Cisco academy curriculum, the high school students will be prepared to take the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam, and eligible to apply for jobs in the $35,000 range right out of high school.
“This will be a significant upgrade to our existing electrical program,” said Principal Alan Bernstein of North Shore Regional Technical High School. “The Cisco Certification Program joins two other nationally recognized certification programs we offer. The other two are an A+ Certification Program, and a Net Plus Certification Program,” both of which prepare high school students to enter the workforce in relatively high-paying jobs.
NSCC is seeking businesses interested in supplying resources for the participating school systems, and mentors for their students. Internships may also be arranged.
The schools in the academy are: North Shore Community College, Danvers High School, Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, Ipswich High School, Lynn English High School, North Shore Regional Technical High School, Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, Salem High School and Saugus High School.
For more information on NSCC’s Cisco classes, call 978-236-1200, or e-mail ICTT@nscc.mass.edu.
Also this fall, North Shore Community College will offer a new 29-credit E-Commerce Certificate program at the Lynn campus. Classes are offered evenings and Saturdays and are available to both full- and part-time students.
An advisory board of area Web industry experts worked with the college to design the program. Course offerings include: Internet and E-Commerce Essentials, Web Page Design and Creation, Internet Security and Legal Issues, among others.
Students with no prior business experience or little Internet knowledge may have to take additional courses to ensure their success in the program.
According to NSCC Business Division Chair Patricia Brown, students will investigate Web-based business models, market research, direct and indirect distribution models as well as other business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications. The aim of the program is to introduce the World Wide Web and other e-models and systems “as they have come to be uses for marketing selling and distributing goods and services in a global economy,” Brown said.
For registration information, call 978-762-4042. For program information, e-mail Brown at pbrown@nscc.mass.edu.
masshightech.com |
