BCC selected to create Center for Information Technology Excellence

BELLEVUE, WASH. -- Bellevue Community College has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to establish a state-wide Center for Information Technology Excellence.

A ‘one-stop shop’ for Information Technology (IT) education, the Center will serve as a statewide resource for Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges. It will provide industry and educators with proven methodologies for IT training, labor market information, customized curriculum and “best practices” that will assist the community college system in meeting the current and future needs of local and regional industry partners.

“The highest growth of IT-related jobs now and in the foreseeable future is expected to be in non-technology companies, where IT is needed to support a wide range of technology-enabled business processes,” notes Dr. Paula Boyum, BCC’s Vice President for Workforce Development. “This is happening now in healthcare and biotechnology, for example, among many other fields. The Center for Information Technology Excellence will be a leader in helping community and technical colleges respond to such shifts in the workplace.”

Responsiveness to employer and workforce needs and trends in Information Technology is one of the primary contributions community and technical colleges make to their communities, notes Boyum.

BCC allocates substantial resources -- including state and federal grants, auxiliary income, tuition revenue, contract training and public/private partnerships -- to develop and deliver industry-driven education and training in support of emerging technology trends. Over the past three years, BCC has allocated over $5 million per year to these efforts.

Working with industry and professional organizations, BCC has responded to workforce needs by developing innovative cross-disciplinary courses and providing flexible offerings through fast-track programs, customized training, distance education, on and off-site instruction and variable scheduling to meet the demands of new and incumbent workers.

BCC has launched 36 new or revised computer-related courses and programs to meet shifting workplace demand since 2000, including Advanced Business Software Professional, Computing Security Professional, Medical Informatics, and Mobile Computing.

For further information on BCC’s workforce training programs, visit www.bcc.ctc.edu.

###