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Four Code Bootcamps Are Now Eligible For Government Financial Aid (hackeducation.com)
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp notes a pilot program for improving computer science education which includes financial aid for students at four code bootcamps:
In this week's Hack Education Weekly News, Audrey Watters writes, "The US Department of Education has selected eight higher ed institutions and eight 'non-traditional providers' that will work as partners to pilot the DoE's new EQUIP experiment, meaning that students will be able to receive federal financial aid for coding bootcamps, MOOCs, and the like...
"Good thing there haven't been any problems with for-profit higher ed and exploitation of financial aid, otherwise this would all seem like a terrible idea."
The original submission has more details on the participants (including the four code bootcamps). Ultimately the program involves pairing "non-traditional" providers with higher education institutions -- and then monitoring their results with a third-party "quality assurance entity" -- to improve the ways we measure a school's performance, but also testing new ways to fund training for computer careers. (I'm curious how Slashdot's readers feel about government loans for attendees at code bootcamps...)
"Good thing there haven't been any problems with for-profit higher ed and exploitation of financial aid, otherwise this would all seem like a terrible idea."
The original submission has more details on the participants (including the four code bootcamps). Ultimately the program involves pairing "non-traditional" providers with higher education institutions -- and then monitoring their results with a third-party "quality assurance entity" -- to improve the ways we measure a school's performance, but also testing new ways to fund training for computer careers. (I'm curious how Slashdot's readers feel about government loans for attendees at code bootcamps...)
I've got a computer engineering degree. While I do currently have a job, some of these bootcamps claim to offer just a handful of weeks of work then the connections to get you an interview. They claim they get jobs that pay 6 figures on average to nearly all their graduates.
When I was looking for a job, this seemed pretty tempting. It's also hugely more efficient if any of their claims are true. It makes more sense for people to finish high school/get a cheap associates degree and then use a bootcamp to get relevant, immediately useful skills. Out of all the courses I took for a degree, at least 80% of the knowledge I don't use on a daily basis.
On demand education makes a ton more sense. Train people intensively for the 20% they actually need. 10 years later, those 6 figure jobs doing full stack web dev will probably not be nearly as lucrative or in demand. So people would go to another bootcamp.
It's far cheaper and more efficient if it works. I can't say for sure if it does - as I mentioned, I only looked at advertising copy for these bootcamps - but the idea makes a lot of sense.
Source URL: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-ed-launches-initiative-low-income-students-access-new-generation-higher-education-providers
FACT SHEET: ED Launches Initiative for Low-Income Students to Access New Generation Of Higher Education Providers
AUGUST 16, 2016
Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov
More Resources
pdf icon Transcript of Press Call
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is inviting eight selected partnerships between institutions of higher education and non-traditional providers to participate in the EQUIP (Educational Quality through Innovation Partnerships) experiment.
These partnerships will allow students—particularly low-income students—to access federal student aid for the first time to enroll in programs offered by non-traditional training providers, in partnership with colleges and universities, including coding bootcamps, online courses, and employer organizations. The goals of the experiment are to: (1) test new ways of allowing Americans from all backgrounds to access innovative learning and training opportunities that lead to good jobs, but that fall outside the current financial aid system; and (2) strengthen approaches for outcomes-based quality assurance processes that focus on student learning and other outcomes. The experiment aims to promote and measure college access, affordability, and student outcomes.
EQUIP falls under the Experimental Sites Initiatives, which test the effectiveness of statutory and regulatory flexibility for post secondary institutions that disburse federal financial aid. Through the EQUIP program, the Department seeks to learn about these new models and their costs and educational and employment outcomes for students, as well as explore new methods to measure quality. Testing and learning from this program may help inform future policy reforms.
"I'm thrilled that students will soon have access to these innovative programs, developed in partnership with colleges and new providers, with the help of federal financial aid," said Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell. "As these innovative programs continue to develop, it will be increasingly important to understand what an outcomes-based quality assurance system looks like for such programs. I am encouraged to see that these colleges, providers, and quality assurance entities have stepped forward to provide models for doing so."
Why we are launching EQUIP
Over the next decade, the share of jobs requiring some level of higher education is expected to grow more rapidly than those that do not, with 11 of the 15 fastest-growing occupations requiring a postsecondary education. That is why the Obama Administration has worked to ensure that all students have access to a high-quality, affordable higher education. From the First in the World grants with which institutions of higher education designed and are testing innovative approaches to teaching and supporting students, to recent changes that will allow students to apply for federal aid earlier and more simply, the U.S. Department of Education has continuously worked to promote college access, affordability, and completion.
The expansion of higher education to more students means that students today are more likely to be older, living away from campus, and attending part-time while balancing work and school. To meet the needs of all students, our higher education system must continue to innovate and evolve.
There are many efforts across the higher education community to explore new ideas and affordable models for offering a quality education, such as short-term credential options, and online or blended skills training that is responsive to the need for accountable innovation. These programs can be accessible, affordable, and customized to the needs of a diverse student population.
For students seeking access to these new models of education, there are two key barriers to enrolling: lack of access to financial aid, and lack of information about
What proportion of competent programmers are self-taught? I would expect the majority. On my degree, the only people who could program were the ones who had learned themselves, and the students who relied on the lectures knew practically nothing.
You can't just sit in a classroom and expect to be able to program at the end of the course. You only become a competent programmer by spending a lot of time working on real applications, which generally involves dedicating a lot of your free time.
If I were recruiting for a programming job I wouldn't even consider qualifications and wouldn't care whether the applicant had a degree or not. What I'd instead want to see is examples of the programs the applicant had produced. This would confirm that they could actually program (since many people with degrees can't) and that they have the enthusiasm and dedication to be good programmers. If all you have is a degree or some certificate from a bootcamp, and can't show any work that demonstrates your programming skills, then it's clear that you have no programming skills, nor do you have any interest in programming.
Me: You don't seem to like IT, but you are working in it. Why?
Him: The government told me that I could make a lot of money in IT.
Me: Are you happy in working in IT?
Him: No.
Tossing out code camp degrees massively to folks might seem to the government folks that they have increased the IT skill pool.
They are wrong.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
bad idea we don't need 4-6 years of school + boot camp just to have a chance at a job. Where you may be going up against an h1-b who does not have an 50-100K loan to pay off.
Or you do you want to be like med school where you starting working at your 30's with 250-500K in loans but the down site is no unions and you may just get layed off be for you can pay that loan off.
Last time my old, gray-haired self was interested in switching jobs, companies were willing to pay 30% more than they had budgeted for the position in order to compete with my other offers.
If people don't want to hire you, the problem might not be your age.
I went back to community college on a post-9/11 $3,000 tax credit for job retraining to learn computer programming. Since I already had an A.A. degree, I only had to take the programming classes to get my A.S. degree. That took five years to complete. At the beginning I couldn't get some classes because there was too many students. Towards the end I couldn't get some classes because there weren't enough students, as healthcare became the new money major. After working six years a video game tester, I went into IT support. A decade later I'm working fewer hours per week (my employment contracts prohibit working OT), making more money and paying more in taxes.