Teas Border Business
McALLEN, Texas – Contributing his success in the real world to professional certificates he received while pursuing a bachelor’s degree at South Texas College, Alejandro Farias believes STC’s Computer & Information Technologies Program (CITP) greatly increased his chances for employment in the Information Technology industry.
Alejandro, who previously had earned a Computer Application Specialist Certificate from STC, graduated in May with a Bachelor of Applied Technology in Computer and Information Technologies. While pursuing his baccalaureate degree, he was able to obtain a Google IT Support Professional Certificate and Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate as well.
Now employed as an IT Support Specialist at Lone Star National Bank, Alejandro reflects on how important the certificates were as he entered the job market.
“Some certifications like Python were challenging, but the program’s IT support feature helped me a lot when it came to end user’s issues,” Alejandro said. “I learned to stay calm, and how to keep the user calm as well, which are so important in our business. Surprisingly, no matter how simple the tips were, they were very effective.”
The CIT Program at South Texas College is now ensuring that success stories like Alejandro’s are the norm rather than the exception.
Beginning in the fall, the BAT-CIT program will integrate six of its courses with Google Professional Certificates or Amazon Web Services (AWS) certificates. The Bachelor in Operations Management (OPMG) will also incorporate a Google Project Management certificate into two of its courses. The goal is to have all bachelor’s degree candidates obtain a professional certificate as they work through the program, according to administrators. The CIT and OPMG program courses set up for certificates include the following:
CITP 3305 System Analysis and Design with a Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate
CITP 3306 Internet/Intranet Server Integration with a Google IT Support Professional Certificate
CITP 3312 Fundamentals of Information Security with an AWS Academy Cloud Foundations Training Certificate with an option to pursue/obtain the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification.
CITP 3320 Database Management with a Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate.
CITP 4301 Capstone with a Google Project Management Professional Certificate.
CITP 4350 Advanced Computer Programming with a Google UX Design Professional Certificate.
OPMG 4321 Project Management Seminar.
OPMG 4347 Capstone with a Google Project Management Professional Certificate.
“We are embedding these IT certificates in each of these courses so that when they finish the course, students will have invaluable knowledge and practice gained from them to help our graduates in the workforce,” said Saeed Molki, Computer Science and BAT-CIT Department Chair. “All of our faculty have the certificates themselves, so they can offer these courses this way. All of our lab assistants who are in charge of tutoring have the certificates as well. This is something we have been working on for nearly two years.”
South Texas College is one of 100 community colleges across the country and only four in the state of Texas currently offering the Google certificate program.
An initiative of Grow with Google, the certificate program is offered in partnership with Coursera, a leading online learning platform for higher education focused on mastering fundamental skills in the IT workforce, including troubleshooting, customer service, networking, operating systems, system administration, and security.
Coursework includes a combination of interactive learning strategies and assessments, including video lectures, practice exercises, and supplemental reading, to support and enhance the learner’s information technology skills.
Since Fall 2020, the start of the certificate at STC, at least 177 students of the BAT-CIT program have successfully obtained Google professional certificates.
“I have always seen the value of programs like Competency-based Education or micro-credentialing, or industry certification and they are all part and parcel of more added value that we can give to the students,” said Dr. Ruben Flores, Program Chair for STC’s Bachelor of Applied Technology in Operations Management (formerly Technology Management). “You know the CIT Program has always been the model. They are the ones who have always worked with integrating industry certificate/certifications as part of course curriculum and have done an excellent job. CIT gave me great ideas as to where I want to take the program. This will encourage the instructors in my own program to embrace this as well and build a stackable experience for students.”
Students interested in the course offerings and who are seeking information on the various Google certificates can visit course information websites at:
https://grow.google/certificates/it-support/
https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-data-analytics
https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-it-automation
https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-data-analytics
https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-ux-design
https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-project-management
