Bryant & Stratton College IT Program Offers Students the Whole Package

IT studies at Bryant & Stratton have been restructured to help students graduate and be hired shortly after.

The school’s diploma and associate’s programs were revamped last fall. Students now learn a foundation of computer technology, hardware and operating and information systems, and they can prove it.

Each of the IT programs prepares students to sit for a certification, a credential that many employers desire more than a degree.

“If you say you have a degree, an employer doesn’t know what you were taught. If you say you have a certification, they know all the skills you have,” said Leslie Young, System Curriculum Manager at Bryant & Stratton College.

Young said before the program revisions, her team did a lot of research, to include looking at what employers wanted from new hires. She read the job advertisements in every one of the school’s markets. What she found is that every employer, in every major market, wanted applicants to have certifications.

An industry expert who advised the school confirmed what Young found. Certifications were absolutely critical to make students more employable.

Now, students who graduate from the IT program will be prepared to sit for up to three CompTIA certification tests. The cost of one test is also covered by Bryant & Stratton. The degree programs and certifications are:

Information Technology Assistant Diploma – Provides students with the foundation to pursue entry-level positions and take the CompTIA A+ certification exam.

Networking Technology Associate Degree – Students gain the skills to install, configure, secure, administer and troubleshoot network systems. Students will be prepared to take any of the following exams: CompTIA A+, Security + and Network +.

Security Technology Associate Degree – Students learn to assess a business for risk, develop effective security policies and procedures, respond to incidents and prevent breach of data.

Young said even though the associate degree programs prepare students to take all three tests, it is not necessary for them to do. The A+ certification is the most basic of the certifications. A student who takes the Network + exam, a slightly more advanced exam, will prove they know the basic skills tested in A+.

Students who really want to boost their employability should consider taking both the Network + and Security + exams, paying for one out of pocket.

Bryant & Stratton students also are guaranteed to have the most up-to-date technology to work with. The school does not maintain its own computer labs, and instead, has students use simulation labs, operated by an outside vendor who updates the program every time one of the certification tests is updated.

Therefore, as technology and information changes, students are not stuck with defunct equipment in a computer lab. The technology in the simulation labs is updated regularly.

The labs also allow students to access practice certification tests.

“They’ll know exactly what they need to review before they sit for the test so they don’t waste time or money,” Young said.

Also, every IT faculty member at Bryant & Stratton has taken the test for the topic they teach.

“This is so they can discuss them during the course,” Young said. “They are able to say, ‘yes this is important and yes this is really on the test.’ We want them to be able to advise the students correctly.”

Finally, because the IT program focuses on the certifications, many textbooks can be used across a series of courses and save money.