Dive Brief:
- Trilogy Education has partnered with Rice University and Columbia University's engineering school to offer two new fintech boot camps to train workers in the growing field, the company announced this week.
- The boot camps will teach students in-demand skills, such as using blockchain technology and the programming language Python. Students will also have access to career-planning services, such as portfolio reviews and recruiting assistance.
- Rice and Columbia join several other institutions that have recently tapped boot camps to expand their offerings and improve their ability to teach in-demand tech skills.
Dive Insight:
"Technology and data are fundamentally transforming the financial services industry," Trilogy CEO Dan Sommer said in the announcement. "The groundbreaking Columbia and Rice fintech boot camps powered by Trilogy will help meet the sector's growing demand for a digitally skilled workforce."
Partnering with boot camps is emerging as a popular way for universities to offer training for coding, cybersecurity and other in-demand skills without paying the large up-front costs needed to build a new program. Trilogy has helped pioneer the trend by providing its services to dozens of institutions.
For example, Trilogy teamed with the University of Oregon last year to create a boot camp for working professionals and adult learners interested in learning web development. The boot camp provider also partnered with Johns Hopkins University's engineering school to teach coding skills to adult learners in the Baltimore area.
In some cases, Trilogy's offerings are being integrated into degree programs. That's the case at the University of North Carolina's business school, which is offering programming boot camp classes for credit toward an MBA or a master's in accounting.
Earlier this year online program management company 2U snapped up Trilogy in a $750 million cash-and-stock deal. The acquisition was part of 2U's larger strategy to offer more educational opportunities at a range of price points.
Other online education companies have made similar moves; in March, Zovio, then known as Bridgepoint Education, acquired boot camp specialist Fullstack Academy.
However, there are critics of Trilogy's partnerships with universities. That's because its boot camps are offered under the branding of its partner institutions, which can mislead some students about which entity is delivering the education, Inside Higher Ed reported.
Even so, Sommer told Education Dive in an interview earlier this year that its partners approve "every element" of the programs.
"We work closely with university partners to review student progression, to make sure programs are on track," he said. "The university brand will have the prominence, no question. But maybe on the landing page, when we talk about the program, there's a more prominent call-out box that has the university brand and the Trilogy logo and explains what Trilogy is and its role."
