Tech Degrees Alaska

(ARA) - You're confident that an IT career is right for you. But do you need a degree or are certifications enough? Or do you need both? Those issues are at the heart of an on-going industry debate that begs the question whose job is it to provide IT students with education and whose to give them training.

Meanwhile, the need for certified IT professionals who also hold degrees grows greater every day. IT corporations, faced with difficulty finding experienced professionals, often decide someone with certifications is their next best option. Corporations prefer not to spend money on training and try to push the job onto universities, according to a 2006 report in Certification Magazine. Universities, however, want to educate but not necessarily train students, believing certifications should be left to tech schools and associate degree programs, education experts say in the report.

Meeting the Need
Western Governors University, a non-profit, online university that employs a competency-based approach to education, has stepped in to fill this gap in educational expectations. By incorporating up to 10 certifications as part of six IT degree programs without adding classes or costs, WGU has become the ideal university for educating and training qualified IT professionals.

WGU provides a real-world model to higher education, especially in IT. The certifications included in WGU's IT programs are constantly updated to reflect the trends and needs of the IT industry. With such heavy emphasis on certifications, acceleration is another key component for many IT students, as many of them come into WGU already possessing one or more of the certifications necessary for graduation. Students are able to accelerate their degree programs because their knowledge and experience enable them to pass their assessments quickly.

"WGU fit perfectly with my own skill sets, with my IT professional goals, and my background," says Ervin Willis, U.S. military veteran and WGU IT graduate. "The flexibility of the program, the affordable price, and the infrastructure make WGU as direct and credible as possible, and I see more institutions using a model similar to this one."

About Western Governors University
WGU has flourished into a national university since its inception in 1997, growing from 530 students to over 10,000 representing all 50 states. The governors of 19 U.S. states created WGU to increase access to affordable higher education. Roughly 85 percent of students come from underserved populations, defined as African-American and Hispanic minorities, the poor, those from rural areas or first-generation college students.

For more information on the IT programs at WGU, visit Western Governors University.

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