NACC Plans to Offer Google IT Course as Short-Term Certificate in 2021

December 07, 2020

The Google IT Support Professional Certificate program at Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC) provides a fantastic opportunity for local residents to train for a new career or improve their IT skills. This program continues to catch the attention of local residents, as 95 students have enrolled in the five-part program since the program began in January this year.

The course has been so successful that Northeast plans to include the Google IT Support Professional Certificate to the college’s list of Short-Term Certificates. This will provide students completing the course with a certificate from both NACC and Google. The college has received official approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award students a Short-Term Certificate upon completing the requirements of the Google IT Support Professional course.

“This certificate provides students with job-ready skills and can open the door to employment opportunities with Google, Walmart, Hulu, and more. There is an increasing demand for IT/tech jobs in the U.S., and these jobs have a media salary of $56,000 according to Google,” said NACC President Dr. David Campbell.

Another advantage of the course, students can choose to share their information directly with top employers after completing the certificate.

“The certificate program requires students to complete five two-hour courses,” said course instructor Bryon Miller. “Credit hours earned through the Google IT Support Professional courses can also be counted toward a student’s pursuit of a Computer Information Science (CIS) degree,” added Miller.

NACC is administering the certificate through the Coursera online learning platform, where students access self-paced courses with interactive assessments and videos. Miller serves as NACC’s on-site instructor for the course.

“Northeast and Google have followed through with their partnership to provide area residents and students the opportunity to obtain an IT Professional Support Certificate. We are especially thankful to Google for their partnership in this project,” said Northeast President Dr. David Campbell.

The community’s response to NACC offering the certificate has been fantastic. The course has enticed students of all ages and backgrounds. Interim Dean of Instruction Chad Gorham explained the course demographic further, “We have had college graduates, high school students, individuals with jobs, and even individuals without jobs or underemployed contact us about the certificate.  Some see this as a way of finding a new job, while others see an opportunity to advance their career.  Others have indicated that they feel the training offered could help them to be more efficient with their own technology and home computer system.”

“We are excited to continue this partnership with Google and Coursera and to be able to provide our community access to this program. The course content is great and provides interactive opportunities for students to practice what they are learning. We look forward to seeing others take advantage of this offering, “said Miller.

NACC is among few colleges in the nation currently offering the Google IT Support Certificate. Completing the course and earning the certificate will give students an added credential when applying for jobs in information technology support.

For more information about the Google IT Support Professional Certificate and employment opportunities, visit www.grow.google.

For information about completing the certificate at Northeast, contact course instructor Bryon Miller at 256-638-4418 or 256-228-6001 ext. 2360 or email at millerb@nacc.edu.