As local industries implement cloud-based solutions, there is an increasing need of skilled technicians to implement, maintain, and troubleshoot cloud services. This project team plans to design the curricula for a degree in Cloud Administration Technology with the input from local industry representatives to meet industry workforce needs. Students will get training related to networking, Internet of Things (IoT), programming, virtualization, and cloud computing. The project will take an interdisciplinary approach to prepare students to transfer their knowledge and skills to the workforce. The proposed project has the potential to grow the local talent-pool of cloud service technicians and provide a model curriculum informed by industry's needs for other community colleges to use.
The three main goals of this project are: (1) to design a new curriculum leading to an AAS degree and/or a certificate in Cloud Administration Technology, (2) to increase the supply and diversity of the IT workforce in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region by increasing the enrollment of military veterans, removing obstacles for attendance of other students, and incorporating devices specific to students with special needs, and (3) to improve curriculum for the existing certificate in IoT and Smart Technology. The project team intends to work with local industry and high schools to enhance existing courses and develop new courses, while making the program more accessible to all students. The proposed curricula will be disseminated on the ATE Central website and outcomes will be shared locally at the biannual advisory committee meetings. The project team will attend and present at the annual ATE PI conference, as well other professional development conferences and workshops.
After much research, the PI and Co-PIs, along with MGCCC administrators, decided to add Cloud Administration "options" to two of our existing Information Systems Technology (IST) degrees: (1) Computer Programming Technology and (2) Computer Networking Technology. For each option, only 25% or less of the existing curricula was changed.
The National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program has been funding innovation at two-year colleges for over twenty years. With a focus on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy, and strong partnerships between academic institutions and industry, ATE promotes improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels.
To learn more about ATE, please visit the NSF ATE program home page.
| Certificate | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| IST 1163 | Database & SQL Concepts | 3 credit hours |
| IST 2533 | IT Project Management | 3 credit hours |
| IST 1134 | CCNA 1: Introduction to Networking | 4 credit hours |
| IST 1433 or IST 1154 |
Web Development Using HTML & CSS or |
3 credit hours |
| Operating System Elective+ | 3 credit hours | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| IST 2154 | Introduction to Cloud Computing | 4 credit hours |
| IST 2584 | C# Programming | 4 credit hours |
| IST 1143 or IST 1624 |
Principles of Information Security or Network Security Fundamentals |
3 credit hours |
| IST 2534 | IT Project Management | 4 credit hours |
| Diploma | ||
| Semester 3 | ||
| IST 2134 | AWS Cloud Infrastructure | 3 credit hours |
| IST 2144 | Microsoft Azure Fundamentals | 4 credit hours |
| IST 2163 | Microsoft 365 Administration | 3 credit hours |
| IST 2594 | Advanced C# Programming | 4 credit hours |
| Associate of Applied Science | ||
| Semester 4 | ||
| ENG 1113 or ENG 1033 |
English Composition I or Technical English |
3 credit hours |
| MAT 1313 or MAT 1033 |
College Algebra or Technical Mathematics |
3 credit hours |
| SPT 1113 | Public Speaking | 3 credit hours |
| Humanities or Fine Arts Elective | 3 credit hours | |
| Social/Behavioral Science Elective | 3 credit hours | |
+Choose from:
IST 1253 Network Administration Using Linux
IST 2524 Linux Operating System Fundamentals
IST 2464 PowerShell Programming
PI Robin Hayes
Co-PI Vic Gauthreaux
Co-PI Jamie Gruich
Co-PI Brian Donegan
Co-PI Jamie Olson
| Certificate | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| IST 1124 | IT Foundations | 4 credit hours |
| IST 1134 | CCNA 1: Intro to Networking | 4 credit hours |
| IST 1253 or IST 1244 |
Network Administration Using Linux or |
3 credit hours |
| IST 1484 | Fundamentals of Virtualization | 4 credit hours |
| Semester 2 | ||
| IST 2154 | Introduction to Cloud Computing | 4 credit hours |
| IST 1224 | CCNA 2: Routing and Switching Essentials | 4 credit hours |
| IST 1624 | Network Security Fundamentals | 4 credit hours |
| IST 2533 | IT Project Management | 3 credit hours |
| Diploma | ||
| Semester 3 | ||
| IST 2134 | AWS Cloud Infrastructure | 4 credit hours |
| IST 2464 | PowerShell Programming | 4 credit hours |
| IST 2163 | Microsoft 365 Administration | 3 credit hours |
| IST 2144 | Microsoft Azure Fundamentals | 4 credit hours |
| Associate of Applied Science | ||
| Semester 4 | ||
| ENG 1113 or ENG 1033 |
English Composition I or Technical English |
3 credit hours |
| MAT 1313 or MAT 1033 |
College Algebra or Technical Mathematics |
3 credit hours |
| SPT 1113 | Public Speaking | 3 credit hours |
| Humanities or Fine Arts Elective | 3 credit hours | |
| Social/Behavioral Science Elective | 3 credit hours | |
