Dive Brief:

• The University of Oregon is partnering with Trilogy Education to launch a part-time coding bootcamp for adult learners and working professionals interested in web development. The 24-week University of Oregon Coding Boot Camp will be a non-credit program.
• Trilogy said the partnership aims to meet growing demand for web developers in the region. Classes will meet at the University of Oregon, Portland two nights during the week and on Saturdays to accommodate work schedules. No previous training or experience is required to enroll. The program will require 20 hours a week of out of class on homework, projects and experiential learning.
• The program will cover the basics of coding, algorithms and data structure, along with intensive training in JavaScript and other coding languages. Students will also have access to career-planning services, portfolio reviews and recruiting assistance.

Dive Insight:

While demand is high in the job market for those with technical skills such as software development, talent acquisition has remained a challenge for many employers. Accelerated programs that accommodate the needs of working learners can bridge the need to earn, learn and upskill for the next step in their career trajectories. The skills gap for business is pushing employers to get creative; in some cases, even prisons are creating training programs that graduate in-demand applicants.

Colleges are responding to the need, with a proliferation of coding and other skills-intensive programs among them in the last few years. Trilogy has partnered with several colleges — including Case Western Reserve, George Washington University and the University of California, Berkeley — to help them capitalize on prevailing workforce development needs with such programs.

But some administrators question whether they having staying power as an enrollment and revenue driver after the closure of two multi-location programs last year run by private companies. Several privately run programs touted their lower cost and time commitment relative to a college degree program but failed to deliver adequate job placement rates.

As colleges weigh offering their own short-term, non-degree skills development programs, administrators should be realistic about what is possible to teach in the span of a few weeks or months and tailor student expectations on outcomes accordingly.