Becoming a Cisco Networking Academy

Steven Luse

Professor of Information Technology

Horry-Georgetown Technical College

PO Box 261966

2050 Hwy 501 East

Conway, South Carolina

(843) 349-5265

luse@hor.tec.sc.us

Becoming a Cisco Networking Academy is as simple as filling out an application, sending it to Cisco, and waiting to see whether your institution is approved. If your institution is ready to make the necessary commitment and Cisco wants you as a partner of the Cisco Networking Academy family, then great. Welcome aboard!

It takes more than just desire to become part of the Cisco Networking Academy Program. Your institution must be a nonprofit organization and have a desire to make a difference in people's lives. Consider these important questions. Why would our institution want to become a Cisco Networking Academy? How would we benefit from becoming a Cisco Networking Academy? And how can becoming a Cisco Networking Academy enhance the services we already offer?

As we look at networking today, it is more than simply a high tech means of replacing sneakernet for a company. The industry has advanced from sharing data and information from within an office, between offices in the same building, and between buildings, to sharing data and information around the world. Growth of the Internet over the past 10 years has been astounding. Just look at the number of times each day people access information on-line. As PCs become faster and more efficient, Internet use puts a greater burden on local area networks (LANs). This is due, in part, to the type of information accessed via the Internet. The burden on LAN infrastructures has become greater. More users are downloading graphics, video, and now streaming video.

What's a LAN Administrator to do? Doing more, wanting more, expecting more out of existing outdated LAN infrastructures seems to be the mindset of everyone today. The problem is, when it doesn't work, calls are made to the network administrator to make it work. It is the network administrator's job to perhaps make the impossible happen on networks that were not designed to handle such a load. Possibly the network administrator was not trained or educated in the field of networking. Therefore, he/she cannot fix the problems. Isn't it the network administrator's job to make the network fast and efficient, and fix problems before they cause interruptions in service? When one clicks on the Internet icon the desired site is supposed to be there two seconds ago!

Network administrators need the proper tools to do their jobs. One of the most important tools is proper training in building and maintaining networks. Hence, the educational institutions enter the picture. The traditional method of education has shifted from teachers teaching to students monitoring and evaluating their learning and becoming more accountable. For years teachers have been teaching students but have our institutions always encouraged students to do as much as possible to help the process of their own learning? In order for students to be successful they must take an active role in the educational process.

Today, for individuals to become successful in the administration of networks they need more than academics and head knowledge. They need practical hands-on experience! Students are demanding that educational institutions provide them with skills-based learning environments that will prepare them for real-world situations and a job.

If we look at the age of students enrolling in colleges today, we see that they fall into certain categories: first-time enrollment out of high school, adults working full time, and adults returning to school to make a change in careers. Choosing a career usually depends on whether one can get a job upon the completion of one's education. According to Nicholas Basta's article "Information Technology, A Boom of Historic Proportions is Creating a Wealth of Opportunities " published in Industry Focus, "there is a shortage of trained information technology (IT) professionals. The shortage of IT workers in the United States and around the world continues to grow. The shortage of information technology workers in the United States alone weighed in at 850,00 for the year 2000. In the coming decades employers will be unable to fill positions due to a lack of trained specialists."(Basta pg 1) This is also confirmed by the META Group Report, "an estimated 850,000 Information Technology jobs would go unfilled by the end of 2000"(Business Editors, pg 1). The number of positions will likely continue to increase annually for the next 30-40 years.

Bills are presently before Congress to open the United States job market worldwide. This means that skilled trained professionals from other countries will be allowed to enter the United States to fill these positions. With such a demand within the industry, educational institutions have both the opportunity and the obligation to step in and fill the gap.

The Cisco Networking Academy program can help meet the demand for well-trained network professionals. Built on a system Cisco Senior Engineer George Ward developed for training teachers and staff to maintain school networks, the Academy Program was launched in October 1997 with 64 Academies in seven states. According to Cisco, the Academy Program was created to teach students how to design, build, and maintain computer networks at schools and academic institutions without IT or network support centers. Today, as the following table indicates, the program has grown worldwide.

from the Cisco Networking Academy Statistics: updated 03-30-01

"The Academy program provides a comprehensive E-Learning program that includes four semesters, 280 hours for the Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA), and 280 additional hours for the Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) program."(QAP pg 11) The Academy Program curriculum is Web-based allowing for updates and improvements to be made as soon as changes in technology and industry occur. Lab exercises provide hands-on work for students allowing students practical experience needed to understand how real-life systems work. Students really put their hands on equipment, performing all labs on equipment they configure.

Students are evaluated weekly by on-line tests provided by Cisco's Assessment Server. Skills-based testing also tests a student's practical knowledge. In trouble shooting equipment with a myriad of problems their instructors build into the equipment ­ along with some that just develop and are welcomed by the instructors ­ students demonstrate their ability to fix problems.

A question one may ask is, does the Cisco Networking Academy Program conform to any formal educational standards? The Cisco Academy Program adheres to all educational standards. The Cisco Program also follows the Secretary of Educations Commission On Necessary Skills (SCANS) guidelines for workforce skills.

The Cisco Networking Academy Program is set up to provide support at all levels of the Academy Program. Cisco's tiered structure allows oversight at each level. The following table depicts the structure.

(from the Cisco Quality Assurance Plan)

According to the Quality Assurance Plan and Academy Operations Guide version 2.1 published by Cisco in November 2000, each level has a parent above it and a child below it. The parent is responsible for guiding the child academy and for the continued education of instructors. Cisco's Quality Assurance Plan (Cisco Systems Inc.) states,

"Each Super Cisco Academy Training Center trains, supports, and monitors the instructors at CATCs. Each Cisco Academy Training Center (CATC) trains, supports, and monitors the instructors at the Regional Academies. Each Regional Academy (RA) functions as a hub supporting the ten Local Academies (LAs) in its geographic area and providing links between these LAs and the parent Cisco Academy Training Center (CATCs). Regional Academies must train instructors and support LAs. Local Academies (LAs) are non-profit institutions and community-based organizations that teach individuals the knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking skills they need to pursue a career in networking and succeed in the workplace."(QAP pg 2)

Hands-on lab environments allow students the opportunity to work with actual equipment, not just simulators which are software-driven. Students having difficulties making equipment work, gain hands-on experience with troubleshooting. This enables them to finally feel success when it is repaired and everything runs. Students have commented many times regarding the fact that if it works right every time in the lab, a moderate amount of learning takes place. However, if it doesn't work in the lab, and the student has to fix it, then a great amount of learning takes place. Instructors can build problems into the lab and then monitor how students working in teams or individually trouble shoot and make it work.

Student Assessment is provided through the Assessment Server. Students log on via the Internet and complete on-line exams. The assessment process provides a means for instructors and students to evaluate student progress. Student scores can be measured to worldwide averages so that a comparison can be made as to where each student fits within worldwide mix of readiness to enter the job force. Administrators can compare teaching effectiveness and individual teachers can get immediate feedback on which topics students are mastering and which they need additional training. The frequency within the assessment process provides students with feedback on the areas they need to focus.

In conclusion, we in technology education in the United States have an obligation to fulfill. Becoming a Cisco Networking Academy benefits both school and service community. It allows others to see that your school is indeed keeping up with the technology age while providing training that will place your students in good paying positions. The question before you now is: will your institution step in and fill the gap?

Works Cited

Basta Communications, Inc., www.graduatingengineer.com, April10,2001 Business Editors, IT-Jobs in US Nears 1 Million, M Booth & Associates, georgem@mbooth.com

Cisco Networking Academy Program Statistics, Cisco.com March 30, 2001.

Quality Assurance Plan and Academy Operations Guide, vs 2.1, November 2000, Cisco Systems Inc.