Queens College, The City University of New York (CUNY), has been a partner with Cisco Systems, Inc. in the implementation of the Cisco Networking Academy Program for over three years.
Queens College was established in 1937 to offer a strong liberal arts education to the working-class people of New York City. Since then the College has grown into a campus of 16,604 including 12,012 undergraduates and 4,592 graduate students. While primarily established as a Liberal Arts College, it has evolved over the years to become a comprehensive multi mission college with professional degrees in both graduate and undergraduate studies. Students from diverse cultural, ethnic and geographical Diaspora form a part of the Queens College community. The Student community represents 120 countries and speaks 66 different languages making this campus truly international.
Queens College has been called "World Class" by the London Times and received a four-star rating in The New York Times Selective Guide to Colleges. NBC-TV's "Sunday Today" show featured Queens College as "The College of the Future" because it takes advantage of ethnic diversity and offers innovative academic programs. The College is ranked Tier 2, Northern Universities by U.S. News and World Report.
Queens College became a Regional /Local Academy in July 2000 and began offering the CCNA curriculum. The Office of Information Technology (O.I.T.) was chosen to research, plan and implement the Cisco Networking Academy Program at Queens College, as the staff possessed both the technical and the training expertise necessary for a successful implementation. The Office of Information Technology provides a comprehensive array of computing, information, and media services to the Queens College community. Students, faculty, and staff use O.I.T. facilities for instructional, administrative, and research computing.
Queens College offers both CCNA and CCNP curriculums to the enrolled student population as well as to the local community. In addition, it has become a Regional Academy for both the Wireless and Security courses, also offered through the Cisco Networking Academy Program. Training for the new courses will begin in the summer of 2003. This initiative by the College demonstrates their continued commitment to providing specialized knowledge and technical proficiency in the field of computer networking.
Queens College has over eight staff members teaching the Cisco Networking Academy curriculum, representing various departments within the Office of Information Technology (O.I.T.). The staff represents departments such as the Director of Development, Help Desk Managers, Systems Network Infrastructures specialists and The Director of Network Servers.
The College presently offers the Cisco Networking Academy Program through the College Continuing Education Programs and has a strong commitment to prepare and retrain the workforce in the City of New York in accordance with their Master Plan: 2000-2004.
"No other institution has a greater responsibility for the preparation and retraining of the workforce in the City of New York than the City University of New York. The University will work closely with partners in the city's private, nonprofit and governmental sectors to ensure that new programs are developed and that all who need to acquire skills and credentials are provided with a sound opportunity to do so." (Master Plan: 2000-2004).
Queens College continues to build upon several promising initiatives to establish an array of effective partnerships to provide interested students, in both degree and non-degree areas, with high quality technical instruction.
Encouraging women into the IT workforce is a focus of the Cisco Networking program. In conjunction with Cisco Systems' gender initiatives, Queens College provides scholarships to women through Women and Work Programs. Students have been selected to receive these scholarships, based on their income and academic achievement.
Queens College has a Cisco infrastructure, which allows the college to "grow their own" technicians through internships, as well as entry level positions, as they continue to expand their network, by using graduates of the program.
The Cisco Networking Academy partnership allows Queens College to fulfill that goal by collaborating with local Cisco Networking Academies throughout the city. This collaboration enhances the College's reputation as a leader in education at all levels, and demonstrates its commitment to become a source of technology know how.
Queens College takes pride in collaborating with the private industry, as well as creating opportunities for individuals to acquire skills and credentials.
Successful partnering with Cisco Systems, Inc. has brought a level of recognition to Queens College within the City University System of New York. In addition, both the New York City and Long Island economy, as well as private and public sector industry have benefited immensely from the increased availability of high quality, well-trained computer network specialists.
For more information please contact
Marie Zwickert
